Some of the best books I've read have been freely available, as in it was the author's intent to release them for FREE, go figure.
Most of the non-fiction I read needs to be edited before its readable on my Kindle, sometimes I edit a book and then send it to an author so they can reupload
As far as waiting for price drops, I'm actually a fan of one price point to rule them all, 99 cents seems to do allright, and no one would ever have to wait.