I dont think he was assuming that you were offering to pay alot, rather, making an educated guess based on the price they are fetching - you dont have a choice but to pay a lot. As for the chop shop, I dont think he was assuming that either, rather suggesting you start with a small frag and let it grow - saves some money, you get the frag, and you also get the satisfaction of watching it grow. In a 25 gal tank, and even in a 90, it wouldn't take much longer for a 2-3 polyped frag to look like a colony than it would a 10-15 polyped frag.
Internet lingo is hard to read/interpret at times, thats how I read it, seeing as most of the people around here tend to be less violent than that.