EBay refining process for travel service

By Laura Bly
USA Today

Already a haggler's haven for airline mileage awards and cheap trips to the Bahamas, the online swap meet known as eBay's travel service is expanding its horizons — and vowing to raise the ethical bar on sales of too-good-to-be-true vacations.

Launched two months ago, eBay Travel (www.ebaytravel.com) still includes thousands of listings from individual sellers auctioning off everything from Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards vouchers and time-share weeks to used luggage and travel alarm clocks.

But the travel category, like the rest of eBay, features a growing number of fixed-price, "Buy it Now" options — many of which are offered through such established online retailers as Priceline.

"We're trying to become a 'well-lit showroom' of travel," said eBay vice president Doug Galen.

Part of that effort includes a just-launched "seal of approval" program aimed at weeding out illegitimate or misleading offers, most notably vacation auctions that require successful bidders to pay hundreds of dollars in charges that aren't disclosed during the bidding process.

The new vetting process for travel sellers will require them to post information such as a tax identification number or membership in an industry trade association, and includes insurance that protects buyers from up to $450 in fraudulent charges.