> eBay deciding unilaterally that people can't buy or sell already-printed copies
eBay isn't deciding that, it is deciding unilaterally that it will not participate in the buying or selling of those items.
eBay probably has no interest and in any case has no power to make decisions about what can be bought and sold, only about what it will participate as a facilitator of buying and selling.
My parent's objection was that eBay was a monopoly, and as the only place to buy or sell used books they should face higher scrutiny. I pointed out that Amazon is a serious competitor of theirs; eBay is far from the only place for used book selling.
> Well I guess I’ll just go and buy my copy at the other well known online auction site…
Online auctions aren’t the only places to buy and sell goods.
They aren’t even the only places to buy and sell goods online.
Plenty of places still selling them (though, because of the announcement that they won’t be published, prices are insane right now, as they’ve become instant high-interest speculative collectibles.)
I just bought a bunch of Dr. Seuss books because honestly I’ve never seen them before, never read them as a child, but now I’m deeply curious to find out what is in them
eBay isn't deciding that, it is deciding unilaterally that it will not participate in the buying or selling of those items.
eBay probably has no interest and in any case has no power to make decisions about what can be bought and sold, only about what it will participate as a facilitator of buying and selling.