OneTwo
·Sad story. Out of curiosity, did you do a Google image search on the FS pics he had posted on FB?
The main flag for me would have been that 'he needed money' yet was readily willing to sell for a lot less than the actual value. That kind of defeats the purpose of selling things to get money. I would think a seller would take the info "you know, it's worth more than you are asking" and immediately research and relist for a higher amount.
Agreed on the flag of "needing the money", again I knew better to be rushed but with everything taken into account it seemed like it was legit. The story they told was that they went to some local pawn shops and were only offered $1000 for it so they were okay with what they had for an asking price and didn't want the hassle of having to deal with it any longer. In hindsight definitely a red flag to which I should have paid more attention. And maybe a part of me just wanted it to be legit but that's why I shared my story, this all could have been avoided if I followed rule #1: Buy the seller.
Scammers often try to find an asking price that seems like a bargain, but isn't too good to be true.
If I may ask, what was the price?