EBay, PayPal offer new perks to buyers and sellers

By Alexandria Sage

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - EBay Inc buyers and sellers using its PayPal online payments service will be protected from fraud for the full value of auction purchases, expanding a more limited program, eBay said on Thursday.

The company, fighting to keep sellers off rivals such as Amazon.com Inc, also said sellers with top ratings would get an improved 20 percent discount on auction fees.

EBay has been taking steps this year to reward its best sellers and give new incentives to buyers, including coupons.

Later this year, eBay will refund buyers using PayPal up to the full price of items bought on the site in case of fraud. Sellers will be protected from fraudulent credit card use.

The moves -- to be detailed on Friday at eBay Live, the company's annual conference for its top sellers taking place in Chicago this week -- are designed to boost trust in the eBay marketplace as part of a plan to revive growth in its auction business, which has seen slowing growth in recent years.

Customer feedback and ratings of sellers, key ways for them to win buyers' trust on eBay, is one focus in dozens of changes it is making in how buyers and sellers interact. Sellers with feedback ratings of 4.9 on a 5.0 scale get the new discount.

"Buyer and seller protection will become the hallmark of eBay," Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay marketplace operations, said in an interview ahead of her Friday speech.

PayPal Buyer Protection covers undelivered items and items that are significantly not as described. Later this year, PayPal will remove existing coverage limits where buyers in many cases were only protected up to $200 (101 pounds) in purchase value.