Ash Bradford found a bed frame with a brand new mattress on Facebook Marketplace for an 'absolute steal' so she contacted the seller right away.

Having just moved to Brisbane from Sydney, the 23-year-old was in need of a bed for her new home. So when she saw the 'great deal' in a listing posted 30 minutes earlier, she thought it was 'too good to be true'.

For just $260, Ash asked if she could look at the queen-size bed frame and mattress in person so the seller, known as Angeline, sent over her home address.

Ash and her mum realised the address was only a 20-minute drive away from where they were so they decided to swing by to check out the bed set.

But just minutes into their journey, Angeline sent over her PayID via Facebook Messenger, demanding Ash make a $50 deposit due to the 'overwhelming response' she received from potential buyers.

'The woman goes, 'Oh how long are you going to be?' I was like, 'We're going to be 20 minutes.' She goes, 'I've actually got a lot of people asking me about this... So what can we do so you don't waste your time driving here?'' Ash recalled.

'I was like, 'I'm super interested. All I want to do is come have a look first. I need this bed by Saturday'. And she goes, 'You're going to have to do a $50 deposit'.'

The mum and daughter were just 15 minutes away from the property when Ash received another text from the seller insisting she make a deposit.

Ash Bradford found a brand new bed frame and mattress on Facebook Marketplace for an 'absolute steal' so she contacted the seller right away

'She's like, 'Well I'm going to need a deposit.' I said, 'I'm just going to take my chances here because I'm driving.' But mum was actually driving while I was texting.

'Mum and I thought this was sounding very much like a scam.'

Ash said she noticed the spelling was starting to feel off, and Angeline's messages were creating a sense of urgency - leaving her feeling frantic.

'I just stopped responding to her from there because I'm not paying $50,' she said.

When the pair arrived at the address, Ash texted the seller, 'Hey we're pulling up', to which she received no response.

'Then we get to the front door, we ring the doorbell and no one answers,' she said.

'So I text her again, 'Hey we're here.' She doesn't answer that either. We ring the door two more times and there's no one home.

'Then she texts me, 'Have you paid your deposit?' I'm like, 'I'm at your house, I'm at your door.' She goes, 'Sorry I stand by what I said previously. I just need a deposit first'.

'Mum and I are staring at each other, and we thought it's a scam and we're probably on a random person's porch right now... This is probably not her house.'

For just $260 for a bed frame and mattress, Ash asked if she could look at the set in person so the seller, known as Angeline, sent over her home address

Furious about the situation, Ash sent the seller a 'passive aggressive' message.

'I said, 'Hey I think you're scamming me. Thanks for wasting my time.' Then she comes back to me and goes, 'I don't waste people's time',' Ash said furiously.

Speaking to Daily Mail, Ash said she and her mum knew something wasn't right the moment the seller began demanding a deposit.

'Alarm bells'

'Mum and I had alarm bells ringing the moment 'she' asked for a deposit on a mattress. Who even does that?' she explained.

'But there we were, still driving to her place with our hearts racing. I remember mum finally saying, 'Stop replying, this is way too pushy,' and that's when it really sank in.

'Looking back, the whole thing was basically a giant neon red flag. The price, the photos, the too-good-to-be-true quality - everything was screaming scam. And usually, if it feels too good to be true, it absolutely is.'

And it isn't the first time Ash has fallen for a fake ad on Facebook Marketplace.

'You definitely meet some characters on Facebook Marketplace,' she said.

'I've been scammed more times than I'd like to admit. Some cons were clever enough to fool me, and others I spotted before they got far.

'My rules now? If you feel rushed, it's a scam. If they ask for a deposit, it's a scam. If they claim they've already organised shipping and prepaid, that's 100 per cent nonsense.'

After the bizarre encounter, Ash said she was so mad that she ended up deleting and blocking the seller on Facebook.

Despite the frustrating experience, Ash said there was a silver lining after sharing her experience on social media to warn other Aussies to be vigilant when trying to buy things off Facebook Marketplace

Despite the frustrating experience, Ash said there was a silver lining after sharing her experience on social media to warn other Aussies to be vigilant when trying to buy things off Facebook Marketplace.

'What surprised me most was the response after I shared this story,' she said.

'The TikTok community came through in the kindest way - I had people DMing me offering their spare beds, some even including free delivery.

'Thanks to them, I ended up with a bed, a frame, and delivery all sorted. Honestly, I just felt so lucky and grateful.'

Common Facebook Marketplace scam

Her video has been viewed more than 150,000 times - with many sharing their own wild stories after using Facebook Marketplace.

'I actually had someone turn up to my house after paying a deposit for a car on Marketplace. They had my address. I was not in fact selling a car,' one shared.

'Someone put my trailer on Marketplace and people rocked up at my house asking for MY trailer that they paid for online. I'm sorry WHAT,' another revealed.

'We did this for a car. The seller said he was going to sell it because someone else was interested so we gave him a $200 deposit. We went to his house, met him, saw the car so we felt we trusted him so we sent a deposit to pick it up Monday. Then he blocked us. It was my hard earned money and was going to be my first car,' one said.

'Omg that happened to me when I was buying a car. They told me to pay for a reservation fee/deposit which was $50 and I paid for it and after that no response and the ad was taken off Facebook. I got scammed. Definitely a scam, don't fall for any scam,' another added.

'I paid a $200 deposit and drove 50 minutes to be scammed for a couch and they waited until I got to the location to block me. You can see if their profiles have been made this year it's most likely a scam because it happened to a friend on the same day,' one shared.