It’s a squeamish, slippery feeling when you realise you’ve been conned. I thought I was buying a carved antique wooden bed frame and new-ish mattress on Facebook marketplace, a site where I’ve started wasting too much time and money.

The truth is that I may have developed a low-level addiction to Facebook Marketplace. It has all the hallmarks of gambling; randomness, opportunity and risk.

It all started when I was on maternity leave. I would scroll my way through, delighting in the bizarre and the practical, the free, bargain-priced and tell ‘em they’re dreaming. It’s a veritable feast of consumer psychology and insight into how people value items. 

I’ve bought, in no particular order, dahlia bulbs, Brugmansia cuttings, a tv, an antique dinner set, an ill-fitting dress, an ill-fitting shirt, a ceramic side table, roller shoes for Joey and I’ve sold or given away toys, paintings, linen and a coffee machine. 

It’s been fun but I have to stop. 

Why? 

Because I got scammed. I 100% knew better when I transferred the money before I received the item but I did it anyway. I was rushing, I was about to go into a show (phone on silent) and I wanted the bed delivered that afternoon as a gift for my hubs and his busted hip. So I bypassed the bank’s warning, ignored all the red flags and transferred cash to a total crook. 

First, they paused the messages. Then the listing disappeared. By the time I was sure I’d been had, the same impossibly-priced bed had been relisted in Sydney and I spent 30 mins on hold to the fraud division of the bank. 

The woman I spoke to said that 90% of the listings on FB marketplace are scams. I’ve lodged a dispute and they’ll let me know in 4 – 6 weeks if they can retrieve the funds from the seller’s bank. It’s unlikely. The money was transferred via Osko so it’s long gone.

It’s not the first time I’ve been scammed. My maiden voyage into the wilds of dumb internet transactions was via an Instagram Gorman sale. That was a vastly more sophisticated scam (complete cloning of the Gorman e-commerce site) and I did actually manage to get the money back (thank you NAB!). 

On marketplace, I’ve noticed that sellers have started asking for hold deposits on items (don’t do it) and yes, there are weird duplications where an item will be listed in Newcastle and Sydney at the same time. 

I checked the FB profile of the seller and it looked legit but I’m guessing it was a stolen profile. The bed, when it was relisted, was posted under another very real, benign-looking profile. 

So don’t be an idiot like me. This might seem like a Captain Obvious statement but please don’t ever transfer money to someone before you receive the item, no matter how much they pressure you or offer immediate delivery upon receipt of payment.

Let my stupidity be enough for all of us. 

Have you ever been scammed? What happened?