gaia has an offer system now  

the way it works is that on an item page in the marketplace, a user can click ‘offer,’ set a timeframe + amount of currency, and once submitted, that amount will be held in escrow for the given period.

its unclear if notifications for it were implemented. i dont see it in the settings, so it might just come down to sellers looking at the offer listings section of the marketplace. probably that’s something that will be improved upon with addons though, such as with GaiaUpgrade’s popup notifications for newly MP listed items on one’s wishlist.

one nit is over there being no delay for confirmation of the exchange should a seller choose to take you up on an offer. once the seller takes that action, the exchange is made and the offer is closed. the buyer doesn’t have to confirm anything whatsoever. i suppose given the limited timeframe of offers, and the use of escrow, this makes sense, but its something to keep in mind if you aren’t expecting it!

overall im super pleased with this new feature! i near instantly, i was able to get my hands on some unlisted items with no recent sales by putting in some offers.