After eBay announced its new third party endorsement policy (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m01/i25/s01), there was some concern among sellers that this would affect the most popular services - BuySafe and SquareTrade. However, both are still allowed and did in fact work with eBay during the creation of this policy.

In an email, Steve Abernethy, CEO of SquareTrade, confirmed, "SquareTrade worked with eBay's Trust and Safety team as they were defining this policy to ensure the SquareTrade Seal is compliant with eBay's published policies."

"eBay clarified in our discussions that this new policy was absolutely not intended to target or inhibit use of the SquareTrade Seal, but was intended to prevent false or over reaching qualitative claims about a seller's trustworthiness, particularly based on unknown or lesser known 3rd party organizations."

Steve Woda, Founder and Chairman of BuySafe, posted a response to the new eBay policy on the BuySafe group board stating that they were also involved in its creation. "BuySafe worked with eBay during their development of this new policy,... All of the language in the BuySafe Seal has been explicitly approved by eBay, and we are in full compliance with the improved standards."

eBay spokesperson Catherine England said the SquareTrade and BuySafe seals fall under accepted use under the new policy.

So it's business as usual for both of these companies, and no changes to either service or seal are planned at this time.
About the Author
Lissa McGrath is a full-time freelance writer and the author of 20 Questions To Ask Before Selling On eBay (Career Press, 2006). She is also the copy editor of six other eBay related books. Lissa can be reached through her website http://www.lissamcgrath.com.