$2000 Camera Stolen a Week Before My 18th Birthday

Hi, I'm Yaseen. I had some pretty exciting plans for this year, but I've unfortunately run into a significant roadblock.

At the end of December, I sold my camera online to someone I met on Facebook Marketplace. There are inherent risks with selling on these platforms, but I thought I would be fine once the money was in the Venmo account I used for the sale. About a week later, my grandmom called me late on a Friday night to give me some distressing news.

The money, all 2000 dollars I made from the sale, was gone.

A charge back was initiated, the account holder claiming they never made the purchase. I'm not sure whether this was a case of a stolen account or done in an attempt to get the camera and keep the money, but its unlikely I'll see the money or camera ever again. We reached out to Venmo, but they offered little help themselves, informing us that they would investigate and communicate their findings with the bank in a process that would take 30-75 days. I have little hope that the bank will choose to side with me, especially in the likely case that the account was actually stolen and the legitimate owner wants their money back.

The fundraiser will:

1. Provide funding for necessities that I would've spent the money on (phone bill, car insurance, gas, etc...)

2. Provide funding for the new camera equipment I planned to buy with the money.

3. In the case of being over funded or the money being returned to me by Venmo, excess funds raised will go toward other general categories of importance in my life such as hobbies, savings, investments, and more (described in more detail below).

Specifically, funds raised will fall roughly into the following categories (within ±25%):

First $700:

Save for car insurance, phone bill, and other necessary costs

Next $1500:

Camera stuff!

Next $500 (if slightly overfunded):

General Spending/Targeted Savings

That may mean hobbies, like cycling, travel, and eating bagels

Maybe, I’ll use it to buy a little more camera gear.

I’ll probably be able to build up some additional savings with this money too, or I might put it toward paying off my phone early.

I don’t have an exact plan in the case that I make more than this from the fundraiser or if I make money fundraising and get my money back from Venmo. In any case I’ll be sure to keep you all informed on what I’m up to. At around $2500-3000 total, I’d probably put most of the extra money towards longer term savings, an emergency fund, and investments. It would be nice to have a cushion, especially with my broke college student days coming up. If I raise an absolutely excessive amount of money that allows a bit of splurging, once again, I’ll keep you all well informed on what I spend it on.

For updates and additional information, visit imlcd.com

OR visit my YouTube or TikTok pages @imlcd

For any questions, you can message me on social media or contact me through GoFundMe

Thank you :)