@Matteo: the double "he" isn't a mistake. Yaoi! :-P
I knew it! Well, in our game we have a double she (Vega, the hardholder - that name's cool! - and Impala, the driver).
Anyway, reading it, Johnstone's suggestion makes sense to me, except maybe for the fact that, if the skinner WANTS 1-barter, the hardholder MUST give him the gift, willingly or not.
I'm not sure if the wording of the hardholder's special could cancel the skinner's special option, though. It says he CAN give a gift for free, not that he can CHOOSE to give it or not thus making the skinner's special not working for that option.
I think the former's the right interpretation.