I got bored and emailed the guy telling him he was asking too much for the bike. He replied:
thank you for the unsolicited feedback...I never claimed to be a bike expert and hence not sure of the depreciation of the bike...didn't think 45% discount off a great bike that is virtually brand new was so foolish and would evoke such laughter - I guess some struggle for any reason to be happy....when I decided to look into mountain biking the appeal was the camaraderie of riding and the acceptance of beginners wanting to learn and explore a new thing - judging from the posts the personalities are about up to par with what I heard after doing some more research
I will ask in your expert opinion, what is a fair price for a mint condition bike like this?