A man recently discovered that he should be more careful when purchasing products from Facebook Marketplace.
User Adrian (@adrian_peru) took to TikTok to vent about how a seller scammed him by selling him a PS4, instead of the PS5 that he thought he was paying for. Viewed 2.1 million times as of publication, the video split viewers on whether the story was real or fake.
@adrian_peru Someone find this scammer. #Ps5 #Ps4 #Scammer #Marketplace #Fuming #Robbed #Exposed ♬ original sound – Adrian
Adrian begins his video, standing beside a PS5 box while his girlfriend plays Fortnite beside him.
“My girl just got f*cking scammed. I got scammed, let me rephrase that,” he says. “So this is my PS5. It’s the digital version.”
His camera then focuses on the PS5 box, as he explains, “This is the PS5 disc version. Mine does not have a disc.”
Adrian explains why he wanted to purchase a second PS5 on Facebook Marketplace: “My girl is always playing Fortnite on mine, so I saw this one on Facebook. This version cost $500 brand new. I saw it on Facebook for $300.”
“I told ’em I’ll buy it, but I was working … I told my girl, ‘Ey, go pick it up.’ She picks it up,” Adrian continues.
Adrian opens the box to show viewers a PS5 controller. Then he removes the top cover to reveal a dusty PS4.
“It’s an old ass PS4, bro. I told my girl, ‘You didn’t check before you bought it?’ She said, ‘Yeah I looked it was in there.'”
Adrian pans the camera between the old PS4 and the image of the PS5 on the box, saying, “A PS4 does not look like a PS5. It’s not her fault it’s my fault. I’m pissed bro, I got a PS4 for 300 dollars in 2023.”
A number of users stated that Adrian should have been more careful when buying something on Facebook Marketplace, arguing that he was at fault for not checking the purchase at the time of the pickup.
“You should’ve told your girl to check it and make sure it was the real PS5,” one said.
“Tips [for] buying from people. Show them the stuff. Check stuff. Make sure works right,” a second added.
“That’s on you, if it’s too good to be true don’t buy it,” a third said.
“Come on $300 for a NEW PS5?? WRITING WAS ON THE WALL G,” another said.
Others commented on the state of the PS4.
“Nah bc bro didn’t even have the decency to clean it,” a user remarked about the Facebook Marketplace seller.
“Coulda been the slim or pro but no bro got the original jet black ps4,” another user laughed.
“At least you got a console, I paid $300 and never got anything and they closed their Facebook account,” someone else shared.
Some commenters claimed that the story was made up for views.
“Am I the only one who caught on?” a user asked.
“I think that Ps4 is yours and you placed it in your Ps5 box!” another exclaimed.
“Plot twist.. She’s playing on the new ps5 and that’s his old ps4 in the box,” a user added.
Facebook marketplace, a classified ad section of the social media site, has surged in popularity because the platform does not charge any fees to use the service. However, the growing user base means that there will be a greater number of scammers.
Common scams usually have tale-tell signs. These include being asked to send an item before payment is received, the price being too good to be true, getting sold broken electronics, buyers claiming to have overpaid and asking for a refund, and fake apartment rentals.
Always use common sense when buying anything from a site like eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace. Checking items before sending payment, turning on the electronics, and picking the item up in person are a few simple methods to ensure you won’t get cheated.
Though digital venues like Facebook Marketplace are continuing to grow in popularity, sometimes it’s better to buy something from a traditional store than to search the internet for deals.
The Daily Dot reached out to Adrian via TikTok comment, and to Facebook and Meta via email.