To be covered by eBay's money back guarantee you must have paid through eBay checkout, and by one of the following methods of payment:
- Credit card or debit card
- PayPal or PayPal Credit
- Apple Pay or Google Pay
If you paid the seller direct through PayPal you won't be covered by eBay, but may still be covered by PayPal's buyer protection policy. However, if you were persuaded to class the payment as a family and friends payment, which is intended for gifts, there are no refunds.
How did you fund the Paypal payment? If from a credit or debit card, there's a chance your card issuer might be willing to make a chargeback, to get your payment returned. This is uncertain, as when you pay through PayPal as a third party you lose your statutory card purchase protection, and may not even be able to issue a chargeback. The problem is that what you used your card for was to buy a money transfer service from PayPal, which they provided, not to pay for the MacBook. Your card issuer was not involved in paying the seller.
I take it you've reported this to the police, who will probably refer you to Action Fraud online. Good luck!
