I am unsure, either raising items like in this case or preventing suggestions that drop an item from being made. He's also doing it in a way where he won't get banned, if you send him a trade offer he just lets it sit there until he buys something else with the metal or sometimes just recrafts the metal (into rec) so the trade offer becomes invalid.

The part about not adding him about trade offers on his profile also suggests that he's fully aware of what he's doing and that there are a lot of people who get their trade offers 'declined'.

7 days later, still hasn't purchased one: https://backpack.tf/profiles/76561198066429311#!/compare/1477612800/1478217600

He hasn't even purchased any of the other items he has buy orders for, so i'm inclined to believe that salvage's accusation is valid.