It does create something new, it creates value. I'm amazed at the 'arbitrage is bad' comments, I can't remember seeing it anywhere before. Someone who finds a buyer for a thing that couldn't be sold before (i.e., was worthless) creates value by enabling the transaction.
Re:Confessions of a Used-Book Salesman
by DLWormwood on Thursday October 07, 2010 @06:18PM
(#1769758)
To continue citing those from my background, “value” is an modern invention of “intellectuals,” and therefore, either of the devil or a liberal plot.
It creates a new opportunity for the seller - those individual books were previously not available online. they were just sitting in a bookshop.
Finding these books, then placing them online, and handling the shipping to the buyer is certainly adding value.
TL;DR: I believe in “work smarter, not harder,” but most people I know/knew believe in the opposite.