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[tgp1994]

Does the fact that one copy of the game happens to show up in Amazon somewhere in Germany actually mean it's "protected"?
Looking at this from a different perspective, if it becomes impossible to find a physical copy in any corner of the internet, how is one to make it available online? That is supposing, of course, that people haven't already distributed it across filesharing networks, unless it is those networks that abandonia intends to acquire its content from.

Besides, the game probably isn't even localized. It did so poorly in the United States, I can't imagine Maxis attempting to sell it elsewhere.

[Japo]

We disqualify some sellers (including Amazon Marketplace non "FBA") when the licensing chain can't be verified or something, but we have to draw the line somewhere to be called legit.

It's a sad obviety that a game can't be considered abandonware before it stops being distributed legitimately. So yes pirate sources are then acceptable, after the game has become abandoned. It's also possible that someone makes a copy of his game that he acquired legally when they were available for sale.