It’s a scam in capital letters.
The instant that a gift card is mentioned, and the suggestion that eBay is holding the payment in escrow, you should immediately cease all contact with the soi-disant buyer.
The instant you see an email from a gmail address purporting to be eBay, you should immediately cease all contact.
The instant you’re addressed as “esteemed seller”, ditto.
Picture of a gift card plus its receipt enables the use of it. Scam.
Funds not visible in your summary and eBay account = scam.
The whole thing reeks of SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM.
Only sell as per eBay’s policies.
OP, you are too new and uninformed to sell higher value items at present. eBay is in most respects a safe platform for selling, but you have to know what you’re doing.
Are you even signed up for Managed Payments? If not, you can’t even be disbursed any payment. But that’s not the same thing as eBay escrow (which doesn’t exist).
I would strongly suggest you try dipping your toes in the selling waters with lower value items that you’re happy to sell from around the house, and read through eBay’s Help pages (including Policy pages). Post in these boards with questions; the responders here are always happy to give you helpful advice, particularly if you’re taking the time to read through the relevant pages.
Just remember that with scammers, the less you say, the better. Also make sure you keep all communications within eBay messages; don’t communicate email to email.
