Not a problem with the seller

You say you are using the app

The app is widely and long known to show 'free' postage when it is not free postage at all

What case do you want to open? there are no grounds for one

It is not the seller's fault the app wrongly shows 'free' postage

The seller is not obligated to accept a cancellation request

It would be the same if you had an item listed for sale, a buyer who was using the app saw 'free' postage on that listing when it is not 

Feel free to buy from whatever site you wish

eBay Help is at the top of very page

How do I open a case for breaking the law? I'm not fussed whether the violation was the eBay website itself or the seller, that's largely irrelevant.

https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/consumers-and-businesses/products-and-services/business-practices/ad...

Why is there no way to simply open a case with eBay?

To put it simply, you can't open a case until you receive the item (not as described) or the latest estimated delivery date has passed (not received). To answer your question, the reason why is to minimise the number of frivolous cases that could potentially clog up the system. There's no point opening a case for not received while the item should be in transit and has a high probability of being delivered, and there's also no point opening a case for not as described before you've inspected the goods. 

Hi everyone,

This discussion has gotten a bit heated. Please remember that, while it is fine to disagree with others, discussion should always remain friendly and respectful as required by the Community Guidelines .

Thank you for your cooperation.

It’s really frustrating when this happens. If the website showed free postage, it’s understandable to feel misled. Have you tried contacting eBay support directly? They might be able to help with this.

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@jiska78 wrote:

A seller offered free postage but when I checked out they tacked on $7. I immediately cancelled the order. Two days later the cancellation was rejected and the item posted.

 

 

• The seller was either not offering free postage or the free postage referred to pickup being an option. As has been mentioned, the app is glitchy and will show free postage in the search results; however, when you click onto the actual listing and look at the description and the postage tab, you’ll have seen the appropriate postage information. It sounds as though you didn’t read the actual item listing but relied solely upon the list of search results - is that correct?
• When you look at items in the cart and in the checkout page, you should see the full amount including postage. That lets you be fully informed before committing to buy or actioning payment.
• The seller did not “tack[…] on $7”. It was included in the listing. The seller cannot change the price or add postage once a buyer has committed to buying; that is not a thing.
• Once you’ve hit the Buy Now button, you as the buyer can’t cancel. You can request a cancellation but the seller is not obligated to cancel the purchase. (It may not even be possible to cancel; some businesses have their customer orders immediately sent through to the warehouse, and messages or cancellation requests are not seen and cannot be connected to a placed order.)
• If the seller allows change of mind returns, you can take that route when the item arrives.
• You do seem to blame the seller - but it was your error. Not a huge issue: but it’s not fair to blame the seller who has so far done nothing wrong.
• You are also blaming eBay - and I’ll agree that eBay have a responsibility to ensure their app is fit for purpose. It has never been perfect… so you may want to consider buying in eBay only when using the full site. At any rate, reading the full item listing is also a much better idea, no matter how much eBay tout their app.
• There is no avenue of complaint for this, though. Having failed to check the relevant information either in reading the full listing or at the checkout, you will be held legally to have had the information to hand to make an informed choice, irrespective of the awkward and potentially misleading search results view in the app.
• I’d chalk this one up to experience, but you will probably have the chance to return the item.

It should show the total amount (including postage) before you pay.  This gives you an opt out before going through with payment.  Did this not happen?