Offensive Dr. Seuss Books Are Being Removed From eBay

eBay has said that it will stop the resale of some Dr. Seuss books that have been discontinued due to their offensive imagery.

Why Has eBay Banned These Books?

On March 2, 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced that it would stop distributing six Dr. Seuss books, including The Cat’s Quizzer and If I Ran the Zoo, because they "portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong".

Dr. Seuss Enterprises was founded in 1993 by Audrey Geisel to promote her late husband's work, though she died in 2018.

On its blog Seussville, the company said:

Dr. Seuss Enterprises, working with a panel of experts, including educators, reviewed our catalog of titles and made the decision last year to cease publication and licensing of the following titles: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer.

Since these books are no longer available from booksellers or other retailers, second-hand marketplaces become the next best option. To that extent, eBay has told The Wall Street Journal that it will remove these books from its website.

The removal process may take some time, but eBay says it is reviewing existing seller listings and monitoring newly published listings.

It's not clear why eBay decided to take a stance specifically on this. For example, the controversial comic Tintin in the Congo continues to be sold on the auction site.