^Searching for used paper books is not dissimilar to finding e-book deals and there's a lot less footwork involved.
I read paper books bought cheap, paper books bought expensive, paper books from the library, free public domain e-books, and purchased e-books. Only about 40% of what I read is on the e-reader, but I still like having one a lot. It just opens up another stream for finding books. I'm not expecting the e-reader to replace all of my reading options any time soon.
I don't think you've wasted your money, but it might be a little while before you realize the value of your purchase.