The author addresses the issue of when the buyer bears the risk of having to pay the agreed purchase price, even if the goods have been lost or deteriorated by chance. In current law, this problem is regulated by §§ 446, 447 of the German Civil Code (BGB). According to § 446 BGB, the risk passes to the buyer upon delivery of the purchased item. However, if the goods are shipped at the buyer's request, the buyer bears the risk of accidental loss or deterioration upon delivery of the goods to the carrier. The reform draft by the Law of Obligations Commission proposes the deletion of § 447 BGB, so that the transfer of risk should solely be governed by § 446 BGB.

Reinhardt critically examines the reasons provided by the Law of Obligations Commission for the deletion of § 447 BGB and ultimately concludes that retaining § 447 BGB is sensible, as the risk distribution expressed in § 447 BGB arises from the content of the agreed obligation. Furthermore, the provision of § 446 BGB is discussed in detail, as some of the reasons the Commission cites for deleting § 447 BGB are derived specifically from § 446 BGB. The author also finds these reasons for § 446 BGB unconvincing and traces § 446 BGB back to a changed understanding of "casum sentit dominus," according to which the party to whom the item is economically assigned bears the risk of accidental loss. Additionally, the work addresses several specific issues related to §§ 446, 447 BGB as well as the risk-bearing regulations of §§ 350, 818 III BGB.