Pirate sites will be around simply because, no matter how cheap something is, someone will want it for free. We see that on this board. I think that most of the pricing issues (i.e. ebooks at hardback prices) are simply because the publishers are still trying to hold on to an old business model (hard back, followed by either trade or paperback a year later).
I think that over time, authors and publishers will realize that the old business model that is predicated on books having a short shelf life don't work in the ebook world, and they will actually make more money over time with ebooks that are always in print and always available for the consumer to buy.
The best price point debate is, IMPO, a situation where both sides will need to compromise. The law of supply and demand works both ways. If you price something more than people will pay, then you don't sale. However, if you will only pay less than the product cost to produce, then there won't be any product. Some think that just because you have an ebook, all the product costs go away. Certainly the printing costs go away, but printing costs is only a few dollars per book. Most of the costs still exists.
Here is an interesting story that goes into
detail.
IMPO, the big thing that ebooks will do for publishers is allow them to potentially lower their margin by increasing their volume, though that volume will be stretched out over a longer period of time.