Thanks for sharing your experiences. Sorry to hear you were scammed - it's not pleasant. Sadly, if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

With regard to eBay, you are covered by buyer or seller protection if you go through the site. However, if you contact someone off the site, as this person was asking you to do, you are not protected. eBay warns you to never exchange direct contact details with anyone who contacts you via eBay.