What happened to my SENT BTC? Did I get scammed or was it lost in the ether?

[MisteredF]

Trying to make a long story short.  Compressed to save space but the "details" are 100%.  I don't know very much how this "technically" works so maybe an expert can explain:

Purchased a couple "coffee cards" from a seller.  Seller tells me to send funds to his/her BTC address:

Seller writes:  My BTC address is: 1GmQFe5vhMJJ4hfMoTNaoR5HJDVdHfh8Ye

I will send the codes as soon as payment is received.

OK, I immediately send payment (a bit more than $20) and post HASH:

I reply: Payment sent.  Hash:  1a885393910d03c2cfe1a42e686277db1499111ce8f876f9fdcb885b4889c3cc

I get cards immediately but a bunch of things (a problem with one of the cards) went down after that and a partial refund was requested which the seller agreed to send.  Then I get a message from the seller stating he NEVER got my funds:

Seller writes: I haven't received it, are you sure your wallet sent it?

http://gyazo.com/37e305d9810dd7b9af24da8c05f6b8e3

Yes, I have sent you the right address. I can prove it (the address) to you if you want. It's showing on the BlockChain that you have sent the Bitcoin, but I have no access to it in my wallet. I can't send you anything (refund) if I don't have anything.

More messages went back and forth all stating that while the transaction shows a complete that he didn't get it. Does this happen with BTC, does it just really get lost in the ether or am I being scammed?  My wallet says payment is "COMPLETE" Seller SEEMS honest but of course looks can be deceiving.  Where did the money go or was I simply ripped off?  Not posting the name of the seller or the message thread at this time because I don't want to "bad rep" him unless I am sure I have been scammed. Never heard of this happening but like I sad, I don't know much about the technical side of BTC.

[1715485395]

1715485395

[1715485395]

1715485395

[1715485395]

1715485395

[1715485395]

1715485395

[InceptionCoin]

Looks like 1a885393910d03c2cfe1a42e686277db1499111ce8f876f9fdcb885b4889c3cc is standard tx(one of outputs even spent already). So you probably were scammed. You may suggest seller to import privkey of 1GmQFe5vhMJJ4hfMoTNaoR5HJDVdHfh8Ye into one of online-wallets like blockchain.info. It will helps if there is problem with his local wallet and this tx.

[cr1776]

If you check the 1GmQFe5vhMJJ4hfMoTNaoR5HJDVdHfh8Ye address with that transaction, it shows up.

Bitcoins just don't vanish, it is either an unspent output or not.  So it seems the seller is scamming you or has a problem with their wallet.

[DannyHamilton]

Bitcoins don't "disappear" or get "lost in the ether".   The problem is on the seller's end.

There are two possibilities here:

• He has scammed you.  He intentionally sold you codes that he knew were crap, and now is pretending not to have received the bitcoins so that he can avoid giving you anything back.
• He is inept.  He didn't know that the codes he was selling you were bad, and he doesn't know how to operate his own bitcoin wallet.  He has therefore either been hacked, has malware running on his computer, or simply screwed up by giving you the wrong address.  He honestly can't access the bitcoins because he's got no idea what he's doing.

In the first case, people need to be warned so they aren't also scammed by him.

In the second case, people need to be warned so they don't do business with someone who is incapable of managing his own operations.

Either way, it is unlikely that you will get anything back, you should not do any business with him ever again, and if you are a "good citizen" of the community then you will warn others of the risks they would be taking by engaging in transactions with him.

[altcoinex]

• He has scammed you.  He intentionally sold you codes that he knew were crap, and now is pretending not to have received the bitcoins so that he can avoid giving you anything back.
• He is inept.  He didn't know that the codes he was selling you were bad, and he doesn't know how to operate his own bitcoin wallet.  He has therefore either been hacked, has malware running on his computer, or simply screwed up by giving you the wrong address.  He honestly can't access the bitcoins because he's got no idea what he's doing.

^^This. We can all clearly see (https://blockchain.info/tx/1a885393910d03c2cfe1a42e686277db1499111ce8f876f9fdcb885b4889c3cc) not only does the TX exist, and went through to and was received by the address 1GmQFe5vhMJJ4hfMoTNaoR5HJDVdHfh8Ye. Furthermore, those bitcoins have already been spent. If he didn't get them, either he gave you the wrong address or was hacked -- in either case 100% his fault and not yours at all. You can prove you sent it to the address, and that *someone* received as well as spend it. It is his fault if he gave you an address to pay to that someone else is in control of.