Ebay offers buyers SquareTrade warranties

Ebay has boosted protection for buyers in time for the Christmas rush by teaming up warranty provider SquareTrade.

Shoppers using the online auction site can now buy extended warranties on new, second hand and refurbished electronic goods. Ebay said that it had launched the programme "based on overwhelming feedback from our buyers".

The cover can be bought for electronic items sold through Buy it Now sales as well as auctions; whether these items are being sold by retailers, sole traders or private individuals.

The issue of extended warranties has always been a thorny one, with the Office of Fair Trading saying that some are not worth the money. But SquareTrade said its warranties, which last from one to four years are up to 40 per cent cheaper than those offered by other providers and it abides by the Supply of Extended Warranties on Domestic Electrical Goods Order 2005. For example this law gives consumer's rights to cancel unwanted warranties within 45 days to get a refund.

The company will offer both a standard warranty, which will cover repairs or replacements up to the price paid for the goods, or people can also buy additional accidental damage protection as well.

For example if a person buys a £499 Dell Laptop, cover for 2 years for up to £499 worth of repairs or for a replacement would cost £63.99 and with accidental damage £131.99.

The costs rise somewhat for used items, for example a £399 DSLR camera will cost £62.99 for a year's cover but many used items are sold by individual traders.

Vince Tseng, SquareTrade's managing director told Computeractive that many people are happy with Ebay's Buyer Protection scheme, but any claim for faulty goods must be made within 45 days of a sale. If there is a fault with an item there is little redress for the buyer outside this unless the seller is a sole trader or retailer.

"Often faults don't turn up then and although goods bought from a company have protection under the Sale of Goods Act that is not the case when buying from a private individual. It can bring peace of mind to have cover in those cases," he said.

At the moment the cover is only on electronic goods but Ebay said that "in the future, we plan to introduce this programme to even more categories."