Sell confirmation bug or anti-farming by Anet?

I looted a blue Aegis, armor 16, req. 10 tactics, receive physical damage -1 in a stance.
I went to sell it to the merchant along with all my other trash and i got asked if i was sure i want to sell it.
I selected "no" and then it happened again. The merchant didn't think twice about handing me some cash for the purple smiting staff i was selling.

It wasn't a quest item or a customised item, just a random trash drop from spearhead peak.

That's got to be a bug right? Or maybe Anet did it on purpose to stop the bot farmers? Interesting.

Well if you tell the merchant "NO," why would you expect him to buy it?
Next time, try saying YES

Or maybe you could realize that the OP is wondering why the merchant is bringing up the dialogue in the first place.

@Tactical-Dillusions: Are you certain that you didn't have it in one of your weapon sets? And why does a bug with the merchant mean that it's all of a sudden anti-farm code?

The Merchant should only ask you to verify you want to sell something if it is equiped (in another weapon set) or is customized.

confirmed this is the case. most likely ran out of space while farming and wore the shield?

Or you tried holding it to see what it looked like and forgot to change before zoning? Happened to me a few times.

Ah yes, i suppose that's a possibility. Maybe i clicked the shield at one point in the inventory.
Still, would be a good little bit of code to have. The bots would get bottled up at the merchant, lol.

Thanks guys, i'd forget my head if it wasn't attached

This is not the case for me. In pre-searing the merchant had asked me if I wanted to sell this blue item on my inventory. I have no reason to equip this item nor remembering that I have equipped this because I only use a longbow and a necro staff.