Chinese E-Commerce Firm DHgate Bows Product Protection Partnership With SquareTrade

DHgate said it’s the first Chinese e-commerce company to offer a protection plan and repair service through SquareTrade. “This type of protection for buyers is almost unheard of” in the international cross-border e-commerce market, said DHgate Chief Operating Officer Noah Herschman. The partnership makes SquareTrade protection plans available for cellphones, tablets, computers, digital media players, home AV equipment and other CE products. DHgate CEO Diane Wang said customers, including U.S. consumers, “will have a better shopping experience and post-sales service, while sellers will be able to reduce their service costs and increase their transaction volume.” SquareTrade, based in San Francisco, is a privately held company backed in part by Bain Capital, and its warranties are available with purchases from e-commerce companies including Amazon and eBay. Consumers now can buy during the checkout process SquareTrade protection that includes free return shipping on portable items for any mechanical or electrical failures, DHgate said Monday. Customers can file a claim and have a product repaired within five business days, and customers will be reimbursed for the cost of products that can’t be repaired, DHgate said. Raj Kapoor, senior vice president of SquareTrade North America, called China an “increasingly important market” and said the partnership will enable it to better understand the needs of Chinese suppliers. DHgate has 5.5 million enterprise and consumer customers in more than 200 countries that buy goods from 1.2 million sellers in 33 China provinces, it said. The U.S. accounts for 50 percent of total merchandise sales for DHgate, it said.