eBay's Trust & Safety department has banned the use of "trust seals" by sellers and has rolled out a new policy. An announcement posted on Tuesday said eBay has seen a recent increase in such seals "that claim to guarantee a seller's trustworthiness. We feel these seals can undermine the importance of a seller's feedback rating and comments. They can also send a confusing message to buyers."

The announcement said eBay has no way to verify that the information used to award the seals is objective and said it has "concerns about how credible they may be."

Third-party seals that guarantee specific transactions or items are allowed, and seals that show sellers belong in business or craft-related organizations are allowed.

eBay has set up a page with more information about its Third-Party Endorsements of eBay Members policy (http://digbig.com/4gbmt).

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200601241127362.html