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[QUOTE=stonetools;1569705]If you are saying that the price of a new ebook should always be lower than the price of a used pbook, well, that's just an unsustainable standard. [quote]
Not lower than, just competing with. Publishers need to realize that their ebook editions aren't just being compared to their own hardcovers & paperbacks, but to the used book market, *especially* for backlist releases.
Many people will pay more for the official new version, but often not 200% more. If the used hardcovers are $4, and ebooks are $15, publishers are going to miss a lot of potential sales. If used hardcovers are $4 and ebooks are $6, a lot more people will opt for the instant Kindle delivery.
It's a part of basic market awareness: what's right next to your product on the shelf, and will people buy it instead? How do you make your product appealing if it's shelved next to something much cheaper?
Since they refuse to offer more flexible usage (non-DRMed books) or better quality (apparently, some marketing group told them typos will make their ebooks look "more personal, like blogs"), price is about all they have left to bargain with.
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