missjennifer1978 , regarding the Unpaid Item Strike, eBay can remove it if you can prove that the seller has excused you from buying it.
http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/appeal-upi.html
Have a look in this page, the point i mentioned is the 2nd point.
So basically, since he already replied you saying that it is ok not to complete the purchase, you are able to request ebay to remove the strike should he file for one.