Adding a buy it now price costs 50p upfront, whether it gets used or not, and the buy it now option disappears as soon as any bid is placed.

What you describe might work if I removed the auction component entirely.

Also note that the closest thing to a "scam" that I was subjected to was the on-platform non-paying bidder. The off-platform experience was just 2 honest individuals conducting a transaction without trying to cheat each other.