Do you asks seller to pay closing costs?

[Marty Gold]

As I understand it, a purchase price can be as much as 2% over the appraisal value.  And I've heard that some people make an offer higher than asking price with the understanding that the seller will, to reciprocate that higher offer, pay some/all of the closing costs. 

This basically lets the buyer free up some cash and technically finance the closing costs.   

Has anyone done this before? Is it a smart strategy?

Thanks