Secondhand Downloads: Will Used E-Books and Digital Games Be for Sale?

Should consumers be allowed to resell digital songs, books, or video games once you're done with your downloads? If it sounds unlikely, just remember that businesses trafficking in second-hand records and books were once considered controversial before society came to accept them as normal—at least up until the Internet undermined the logic of resale. The next several years should be key to whether a similar industry emerges for digital goods.

The issue came up recently while I was reporting a piece about the future of GameStop, a used video game chain that holds the dubious distinction of being the most-shorted stock in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. One of the reasons for the pessimism is the widespread belief that GameStop will fade away once the industry completes its inevitable transition to digital downloads instead of discs.