Arduino for STM32

Ok, thanks for the reply.
I guess the lesson I learned from this was not to buy crappy components from crappy websites.
I'll order new microcontrollers + converters (!) from robotdyne so my problem is solved in a way. Thanks again.

Ok, thanks for the information.
I'm still pretty sure my programmer https://www.ebay.com/itm/FT232RL-3-3V-5-5V-FTDI-USB-to-TTL-Serial-Adapter-Module-for-Arduino-Mini-Port/381374421597?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D225074%26meid%3D4c296b58bc1c4a078a9fa3164a9d0b2e%26pid ...

I wasn't trying to sound frustrated buy I actually am indeed :)

About the stm32 core and the bootloader; I am pretty sure I have those correctly installed.
You can always avoid that concern and just load your sketch via serial:
Do you mean with 'via serial' uploading with the FDTI programmer I ...

Hi all,

Recently I decided to upgrade from an Arduino to an STM32 board. I bought my board from https://www.ebay.com/itm/323747797666 (seller stopped selling but it should be the generic 'blue pill' module) and I got the programmer from
https://www.ebay.com/itm/FT232RL-3-3V-5-5V-FTDI-USB-to-TTL ...