Yes, this will be an attempt to educate you. No, it won't be painful. Let's first talk about what is ethical and what is legal. By the end, you may or may not agree, but the conclusion is that buying a system and re-selling it on eBay is, indeed, illegal and unethical. Let's first look at the act of buying a PS3 and turning around with the full intent to sell it at a much higher price. Note, it is your intent to sell it at a higher price. This is called scalping (think of the people who by popular football game tickets and tries to sell them for a very high price outside of the stadium) and scalping is illegal.
Secondly, the act is unethical (more subjective, but think about the definition of ethical) because it is not honorable nor moral to buy a system with the full intent of making a profit off of someone who is desperately trying to get a hold of the system (maybe their job hinges on getting the system for some odd reason).
With these perspectives in mind, can we blame eBay and Sony for taking down PS3 auctions? We say no. In fact, I support the move. In a perfect world, the people who truly want the system for personal enjoyment should be able to get it without having to pay a foolish amount. No, they aren't being told to pay that higher amount, but what other choice do they have if they want to get it for little Timmy for Christmas, or so they can properly report and review new games that come out? Commence counterpoints or applause. Applause is nicer, though.
[update: it should be clarified that the auctions being removed account mainly for the violations of the Terms of Service on eBay -- not so much "for the heck of it"... and there's no personal agenda here (no mention was made of the three people in line in front of a certain person who made it clear they only intended on reselling on eBay), just an interesting perspective on "American capitalism" vs. "Moral views". Thanks for all the responses! They're all great.]
