Is this eBay buyer a scammer?

I listed an iPhone worth $800 and a buyer bought it from eBay. They're eBay account only has positive feedback. They asked me for my PayPal ID and they gave me their ID as well. They're eBay registered shipping address is in New York. But they told me to ship it to somewhere in South Africa because it's for a friend who works in an airline company. They said that they paid through PayPal but the funds aren't here yet. If I do receive the payment, should I ship it too them. I will be contacting PayPal for advice, but I also want help from this community.

This could be the work of Charlene.

Online stores routinely refuse to ship to addresses different than a credit card's registered address, maybe a hacked paypal account?

Total scam.

He's going to send you a fake email, claiming it's from Paypal, claiming the money has been paid and that it will be released when you provide proof of shipment. (While Paypal does hold the money, they don't send emails like this and the payment is visible when you sign into Paypal.)

The buyer NEVER needed your paypal ID. There would have been a pay-now button in the emails they received.

Do NOT ship to this person. Learn to put your eBay setting to limit sales to the USA.

Just tell them you don't ship to South Africa and cancel the transaction unless they have a US Address to send it to you. Did you look at your Paypal account and see if there's money in there and if the transaction is complete? If the funds are not in your Paypal account, don't send anything but this sounds fishy and even if the money goes in, they will probably try to get it back from you and keep your phone both. Cancel the transaction.

SCAM
1 - the buyer NEVER needs your Paypal ID. Period. They MUST pay through Ebay's checkout page. If they ask for your ID and pay you directly, that is a breach of Ebay's terms and negates all protection you have from Ebay. NEVER give out your Paypal details to anyone for any reason
2 - You NEVER ship anywhere but the buyer's verified address. Period. They want you to ship overseas so you have NO protection. As soon as you send the phone they will file a dispute with Ebay that their account was hacked and there's an unauthorized transaction. Ebay will contact you for proof of delivery to the buyer's verified address. You won't have this as you sent to South Africa, not NY, and they refund the buyer out of your account while their accomplice in South Africa keeps your phone

NEVER send any phones or anything electronic overseas. Make sure your settings show that you do not ship abroad and state very clearly in your ad that you will ONLY ship to verified addresses. 99% of scam attempts will be from overseas buyers or buyers trying to get you to ship to unverified addresses

NEVER give out your Paypal details to anyone on Ebay for any reason. Nobody needs it. The reason you use Ebay is to keep your Paypal details private. The buyer MUST pay through Ebay's checkout page and Ebay transfers the money to your account. If he pays you directly you have NO seller protection and will even get your Ebay account closed for doing an offsite transaction to evade Ebay's fees

Also NEVER offer Buy it Now with electrronics or phones - 95% of scam attempts will use this as their accounts are rarely open long enough to complete the bidding process.

Report the buyer As soon as possible to Ebay. Tell the buyer you are sorry but you can't ship overseas and can only ship to the verified address in NY and it's their problem if they want it sent to South Africa - they have to send it themselves

You can't relist the item until after you report a fraudulent buyer

Since the account had positive feedback, this sounds like the real account holder has been hacked and a scammer in South Africa is using their account to steal items

Also change your Paypal ID As soon as possible if you gave it to these scammers. They will use password hacking software to hack your account and pay for other auctions online