How to stop being so naive with scammers? Even though I know the correct thing to do

pw23

I've always considered myself very good with money and always looking for the best deal and money saving

i most definitely count the pennies

But on two occasions now I have gone past my own judgement and gut feeling and made a stupid decision, specifically when dealing with a scam

If anyone asked my opinion on the deal, I was o offered I would say to them to stay clear and it was clearly a scam but for some unknown reason my brain seems to bypass this logical judgement and just go ahead with the deal, knowing full well based on my feeling alone that I would  be making a mistake, I have done this two times now and I am a bit worried about my Ability to be rational when the deal seems too good to be true 

for example, yesterday I messaged the seller on Facebook marketplace about AirPods and he was offering a very heavily discounted price for brand-new ones and I was fully aware that the fraud market of these AirPods is very rife. I still made the conscious decision to meet them and after briefly checking in The products over decided to pay the £90 for the AirPods Pro 2,  Compared to the retail price of £250 

Since  returning home I have now seen the Bluetooth doesn't work properly nor does the Force touch on the stems and these are clearly counterfeit fakes but even though I  suspected this At the time I still went ahead and bought them

Like Mentioned if anybody asked me my opinion if they were in my shoes, I'll tell them to run a mile and not go ahead with anything but for some stupid reason I Did

So whilst I know this is a very unusual common sense question to ask, I just guess I wanted some opinions on how I should talk to myself regarding this poor decision

This happened a few years ago when someone was selling a iPhone and they wanted the money upfront and trusting the gift of the gab send the money and lost it

It Annoys me because I know well what I'm doing is wrong, but still go ahead with it, As it seems to be such a great deal and don't want to miss out

A bitter hindsight rant

 or maybe a mental health disorder?

tacpot12

Yes, it is likely a mental health disorder, albeit a very low grade one. You might lack some impulse control, i.e. you cannot wait to buy something in a safe environment so you buy in a dodgy one. The cost of buying safely is relatively small I'm currently shopping for a new iPhone and have my eye on one on eBay for £200 or one a trusted mobile serivce provider's website for £259 for the same item in (apparently) the same condition. So I have to consider - am I happy to lose £200 to save £59?

The best way to address the issue is to get help from a friend when you need to buy items and are tempted to buy from eBay and especially Facebook marketplace. Having a friend with you should help, but only if you are prepared to listen to your friend if they point out the reasons why it is too risky. 

Silvertabby

Rule 1.  NEVER buy anything from facebook, either marketplace or business sellers.   If anything catches your eye, google the website - and  double check that  the company is UK based as well as taking heed of independant reviews.

Rule 2.  If anyone cold calls you, just say 'bollox' and hang up.  (Apologies again to BT and Vodaphone...)

Rule 3.  If something is too good to be true, then it's almost certainly a scam.