Mike Frechette, vice president of Hartford Ventures, the Hartford, Conn.-based insurer's venture capital arm that invested in and partnered with BuySafe, noted that the new product is geared toward eBay "power [high-volume] sellers" looking for increased credibility in the market.

"We guarantee the sales terms, such as ?money back guarantee if not completely satisfied,' or whatever the terms of sale in the eBay ad are," Mr. Frechette explained. "We don't guarantee the quality of the items purchased."

He added that eBay requires that each ad include a terms of sale provision.

Hartford acts as the bonding company for these transactions, underwriting the bonds and providing the claims service. Limits up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per seller are available.

Steve Woda, a founder of BuySafe and a former USF&G surety bond underwriter, had the idea for the start-up after "getting burned" in an eBay transaction involving the purchase of a $400 computer. That incident, according to Mr. Woda, gave him the idea to apply his surety training to the online sales arena.

"The essence of surety is that it helps people who don't know each other transact business," Mr. Woda said. "It provides an objective third-party to guarantee the transaction."

Mr. Woda explained that BuySafe pre-qualifies sellers who apply for the bonds by investigating their credit history and other factors. If they are accepted into the program, the BuySafe seal will appear in their eBay ads.

"We make certain that the buyers either get the product as per the terms of sale or we pay them back their purchase price," Mr. Woda continued. Mr. Woda noted that, while BuySafe can reimburse the purchase price to the buyer, it cannot force the seller to hand over withheld merchandise. Hartford's Mr. Frechette pointed out that was the reason the program does not pursue the rare collectibles market, where buyers are focused mainly on getting the item and not their money back.

As with any surety transaction, the bonding company can attempt to collect its losses from the principal?in this case the sellers of the auctioned merchandise?who fail to perform, Mr. Woda said.

eBay did not return calls for comment on the BuySafe program.