Mayor of Stupid Town: I got scammed while trying to buy an Xbox Series X

As the sun goes down and the PC boots up, I'm still reeling from my idiotic choices in the last 72 hours. I trusted someone I didn't even know to handle one of the important transactions in my existence - the purchase of a Xbox Series X.

For several months I've been on the hunt for a new Xbox. As you can imagine all I found were overpriced units on Facebook marketplace for a console that is five years old at this point. I sold my airsoft gun and BBs, photography equipment, and an old crockpot - and I still didn't have enough. This didn't include having to deal with the constant annoying inquiries if what I was selling was still up for grabs or no call no shows to buy my needless crap. 

So I turned to eBay, searching for a miracle - what I got was a ticket to stupid town and I was its sole occupant, tourist, and mayor. I saw an ad for used Series X for $200. I quickly scanned the description line to get a sense of why the console was so cheap. The seller, I'll call him “Gary” said to contact him by phone if anyone had serious interest. Of course I hit him up and the guy seemed to be a clear communicator and a great showman. I skimmed over the dozen of positive ratings on his eBay profile. This only reinforced my blind trust in the man. He even sent me a mini video clip of the console turning on and working. I was dead worm on a rusty hook.

For some reason the site had the Series X shipping cost ballooning up to $237. So if I had paid through eBay outright I would've been down $437. Gary had a clever plan. He encouraged me to make a deal on Chime; pay $200 for the console and $16 for the shipping. I wish at this moment I would've backed out because in the back of mind I knew this could've been a setup, but all I could think about was getting my hands on that sweet prize and relaxing at home, while playing Hogwarts Legacy or the new Indiana Jones. Yes, I am one of those people.

I have no excuse because no joke my mother-in-law was scammed two weeks ago by some sophisticated frauds posing as anti bank theft protection. The egg on my face the entire weekend was my own hubris after I paid the golden boy Gary. Once I asked for the tracking number of the package he went radio silent. I messaged him a couple of times while in class and got nothing. I noticed he changed his Chime screen name, but I still held onto hope. Yesterday morning I saw that he scrubbed his entire eBay account - like he never existed - just like my brain cells. All I can do is weakly smile at myself. I notified Chime that one of their users is scam artist. I filed a police report, but honestly what good will that do. I am a bigger clown than Phil Spenser and he gets paid millions of dollars to embarrass Xbox. I do it for free. Should I publish his Chime account or name? I don't know, I don't want to stoop down to his level, but he did rip me off of my hard earned money. We'll see how this goes.

For now, I'll start over again saving here and there. I need a win right now so I am going to go play Lost Planet on my 360.