EcommerceBytes-NewsFlash, Number 543 - May 25, 2003 
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Are eBay Users Getting a Square Deal from Square Trade?
The home page of their Web site states, "Building Trust in Transactions."
Square Trade, eBay's chosen provider of dispute resolution and seller verification services, aims to help buyers identify trustworthy sellers they can buy from safely. But some eBay users ripped off by an eBay PowerSeller sporting the Square Trade seal might disagree.
On May 16th, eBay suspended the account of "Liquidationuniverse," a reseller of Toshiba Laptops. Authorities in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Liquidationuniverse was based, are currently investigating the company for fraud.
Liquidationuniverse was a participant in Square Trade's Seal Program. Every buyer that purchased from Liquidationuniverse saw the Square Trade logo on the auction, promising them up to $800 fraud protection, in addition to eBay's fraud protection of $200.
Part of the appeal of Square Trade is that the company verifies participating sellers and requires them to hold a certain standard of selling. What are the requirements that a seller must meet to gain a Square Trade seal?
- Agree to participate in Square Trade's Dispute Resolution should a problem arise
- Have their identity verified by Square Trade
- Commit to Square Trade's standards for online selling
For a fee of $7.50 per month, sellers who participate in the program can display the Square Trade Seal in their eBay listings. The idea behind the program is to give buyers a sense of security.
In reading the fine print, however, one discovers that, unlike eBay's fraud protection, the amount of Square Trade protection is the company?s total liability. If the many customers of Liquidationuniverse go through the process of filing for Square Trade's fraud protection, they will not be receiving $800 each. They will be sharing it.
The program also has a disturbing characteristic that AuctionBytes discovered last week: Once a Square Trade Seal Seller has been removed from the program, the seal and links back to the seller's profile disappears. Buyers have no easy way to find how to file a claim with Square Trade to receive their additional fraud protection. So when a fraud victim who remembers the seller had a Square Trade Seller Program Seal goes back to the eBay listing to check, they find no information whatsoever about the Square Trade program!
AuctionBytes asked Steve Abernathy, CEO of Square Trade, why the seal was removed from Liquidationuniverse's listings. He explained that the goal of removing the seal is to avoid other members or other buyers thinking that the seller is still covered by the Seal Program. When asked why Square Trade did not put an image that the seller's Square Trade account had been revoked, Abernathy said, "I think it?s good feedback and something we can look into to make it more accessible."
What's a buyer to do?
When evaluating sellers, buyers should understand what the Square Trade Seal Program implies: the seller has gone through a verification process. But no anti-fraud system is foolproof. And when looking at the amount of protection promised by Square Trade, expect to share that dollar amount with any other victims should something go wrong.
And it may be a good idea when buying an item on eBay and other ecommerce sites to print out the item description pages. Don't rely on your memory. Item description pages on eBay can and do change.
About the author:
David Steiner is President of Steiner Associates LLC, publisher of EcommerceBytes.com and the EveryPlaceISell.com merchant directory. David, a former television producer, handles business development and advertising for EcommerceBytes. You can reach him at dsteiner@ecommercebytes.com
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