I sent an item and got scammed

[pc_grove]

I received and offer for a gaming laptop 2 days after listing it for sale and I then received messages after accepting the offer to then send a reminder to the seller about payment when 1 day later I received an email from what I stupidly thought was eBay as I forgot to check anything since I was getting hasty with things.

I sent out the order to the seller when the day it got delivered to them I realised that it was a scam and was not going to receive any money and it has been one day since then.

What should I do from here? The laptop was valued at £610 pounds 

[lighting_signs_and_vintage]

Oh dear. So 'buyer' made an offer which you accepted, but you don't have the setting on for 'immediate payment' I assume, buyer then sends you their address manually by email and you send off, then realise that they still haven't actually paid - right?

I thought this was why eBay introduced that 'choose payment upfront' system for offers??

Did it get sent to an address or some sort of parcelhub? Tracked, photos etc?

[dancewithadingo]

Good Evening PC

That's awful. It would appear that you have been scammed. Ask your buyer to send payment,which is highly unlikely,and then if nothing is received speak to eBay.   As things stand i think that you will have to report the situation to Action Fraud. 

Wait and see what other respondents have to say and what advice they offer. You need to act quickly and in time if you haven't been paid then for what it's worth take legal action.

Good luck.

[zoomingmouse]

It would be worthwhile to flag this account to Ebay <link below> as they may have done it before & you have messages detailing how they move, which you can point out & ask them to read while you’re on the phone.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid 

I'm not sure what you can do to recover your money, or item, other than threatening court action if you can locate them, but hopefully others have some ideas.

I would take screenshots of anything relating to this as things can disappear & you may need the info at a later date.

Just some practical things that may bear fruit in reporting to Action Fraud/Ebay/communication with the buyer.

Is there any info given under the 'send invoice' - like their name & address, phone number etc.?

Does it marry up with the address given via their message?

Has the buyer got any feedback at all?

If so what is it like - any hints of fraud?

How long have they had the account/when was it opened?

Did you send it to an inpost locker?

I'm not familiar with these so is there any account info linked to the locker of their identity? Any photos of their face when opening the locker?

I'd also be looking for your laptop on websites to see if it's come up for sale anywhere.

I really hope you can get somewhere with this, but please take some time to read the boards about how best to proceed with any future sales.

Unfortunately these types look out for new/infrequent sellers with low feedback counts, especially as it's leading up to Christmas when they are looking out for items that they can quickly turn around for cash.