Am I being scammed?

Hi, new here and just looking for opinions. I have never sold an item through a site like Kijiji or Craigslist before, but after winning a new blackberry that I had no use for, I thought I'd see if I could unload it. I was looking for a local buyer but haven't gotten any offers I was willing to accept until I was contacted by someone out of Province (I'm Canadian). I may not be familiar with on-line selling, but I'm no dummy and something here doesn't seem right to me. Maybe I'm being paranoid. Allow me to share our email conversation. I would appreciate anyone who would like to share their opinion. Although I was immediately suspicious, I've been playing along figuring if I don't ship the item until the funds are verified to be in my account I should be OK. The following conversation has spanned over a two day period. Everything has been cut and pasted exactly as it was typed. Some of the sentence structures and wording seems off, as if English was not this persons primary language. Also her statement of "my son schooling outside the state" was a big red flag to me. Canada doesn't have States, we have Provinces. Even if her son was attending school in the U.S. it seems to me most people would have specifically said that.

EDIT: it was suggested I post the "buyers" email address. The only contact info I have is the following email address. [email protected]
I don't know if that will help. I didn't get any personal contact info yet.

Buyer: Hey there!!good day to you and how are you doing?Am Whitney Jessica..just want to know if you still have this item and how much it cost?

Me: Yes. It is still available. I am asking $500.

Buyer: Hello glad to hear back from you..I really need to buy this and send to my son schooling outside the state as a gift and i have been trying to buy on Ebay but is has really been so stressful and well i am willing to make you an offer of $550....I will be paying you through PayPal so kindly get back to me with you PayPal email address so i can proceed with the payment..
Thanks..

Me: Where are you located?

Buyer: I am located in Regina saskatchewan..why?

Me: Just curious. I was looking for a local buyer, but I think we can do business. I am setting up a paypal account now. I will contact you again shortly.

Buyer: Okay i am glad you want to go on with me and i will be more than glad because my son has been on my neck lol!! i will be waiting to hear from you soon...Thanks..

Me: OK. Apparently its going to take 3-5 business days to link my paypal with my bank account. I will contact you when that has happened and you can transfer the funds and I will ship the blackberry. Is this OK?

Buyer: Well i will also like for you to remove the ad on Craigslist so i will know you are serious about wanting to transact with me ok?

Me: No problem.

Buyer: hi and how are you doing?i told my son about it and well he is okay with it and he is asking for some pictures....do you mind sending some pics so i can send to him??thanks

Me: Sure. I won't be home until tonight, I will send you some photos then.

Buyer: Okay thank you will be expecting it tonight when you get home...Take care

Hello and welcome to Scamwarners,

The following statement is typical of an African scammer.

..I really need to buy this and send to my son schooling outside the state as a gift

The offer of paying an extra $50 is another sign of a scam.

The scammer will send you a spoofed email that appears to come from PayPal in an attempt to get you to ship the phone before you found out about the scam.

My advice is to ignore this scammer and do not reply or tell him that you know about the scam.

If you have other questions about this scam please ask.

Thanks Mike. I guess the old "Trust your gut" homage plays true here. I certainly wouldn't have shipped it to Africa... not quite that naive... lol. Thanks for the quick reply. I plan to follow your advice. Out of curiosity though, Is there any risk in waiting until the funds are safely in my account and verified by my bank before sending it. Saskatchewan has a high Native American population, some of the Residents who live on reserves are alternatively schooled and it is common for some of them to speak improperly, not using plural terms for example. As I said, I was suspicious from the get go. Being a nice guy I was hoping to give her the benefit of the doubt.

My guess is that you will never receive the money in your account. He will send very realistic looking emails spoofing PayPal and then claim that PayPal is holding the funds until he receives the phone. It is all a lie to steal your money because PayPal does not act as an escrow service and the payment are posted immediately to your PayPal account.

You also have a PM

I saw the PM before this post and responded to it. You guys are doing an awesome thing here helping to protect people. After reading some of the other posts, I felt a little stupid for ever wanting to trust this person. At no point have they ever made reference to a "phone" or a "blackberry" it was always "the item". It never occurred to me that I may have responded to a generic email that was probably sent to dozens if not hundreds of Craigslist sellers. Thanks again. I will not be responding to this supposed buyer any more.