'German watchdog group Falle-Internet.de said eBay was found negligent and will have to pay damages to an Austrian buyer who purchased gold bars from a German PowerSeller on eBay in September 2007. The case highlights the line eBay straddles between being "just a venue" in legal disputes, and as a safe marketplace when enticing consumers to shop there, a line that the court seemed to recognize has become blurred.
Cases like this are also why eBay has shifted much of the risk to sellers, with 21-day holds and rolling reserves....'