damn, sorry to hear about that.
Guess I'm just to trusting.... almost everything I've bought was with paypal gifting.
But I usually do a little research before hand.
How long they have been a member has alot to do with it, along with if they have bought/sold items before. Also will try to find out if there are members on other GP sites.
Thankfully I've never gotten screwed and I've bought alot. Hopefully it wasn't to much, but as the saying goes "You live and You learn"
p.s. not trying to be a dik