Potential scam

[har579529]

Hey there Ebay people. 

I have a situation which I believe might be a scam but am not 100% sure due to being quite new at this. Anyways, a buyer contacted me about an item asking me to send it as a gift to their friend in London. This buyer used a freshly made account and asked me to contact them by whatsapp number for further details. Upon doing so they urged me to buy a 400£ apple gift card to put inside the package before shipment saying they will pay me the 400 alongside 30 more for my troubles. They mentioned "contacting ebay" to get the money for this before shipment. 

Now I refused to pay for the gift card asking them to send this Separately. However, as they have already made an offer for this item (which I can accept), should I send this or will there be a scam further down the line. 

Please give me your advice on this situation. 

[**peaseblossom**]

Sounds like a scam.   Assuming they haven't bought it from you yet just put their ID on your blocked bidder list:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/bmgt/BuyerBlock

[tobiasd4]

You only have ebay protection when posting tracked to address supplied by eBay when buyer pays.

[plpmr]

" asked me to contact them by whatsapp" 

most definitely a SCAM.

there's no reason to ask to move off eBay except to set up a scam.

Never respond, just block them.

[har579529]

Thankyou all for your helpful words. I have blocked the buyer and rejected their offer! I will use this thread again for any further inquiries. God bless you all. 

Sam.H 

[john1297576]

If you had fallen for the gift card, which would not be through ebay, you would never have received the money, the “friend” just get a free gift.

Any “buyer” who makes unusual requests, should be placed on blocked bidders list.