[fjtorres]

It is no more free market economics--that handy-dandy bugaboo of the age--than it is morality. All it is is standard-issue human ego. Everybody is the main protagonist of the story an everybody else exists for their convenience.
High-minded values always give way to personal convenience; "I want" always wins, one on one, so you need numbers to create mores or guns to create law if you want to sway the masses.
And in retail, if you don't have the masses you don't have a business.
For an example of why charging admission to bookstore is a non-starter just look at the disaster that was Barnes & Noble's holiday sales; they didn't just face reduced sales--times are tough and people buying less books is no shock--but they suffered reduced traffic. People weren't even browsing.
And to add insult to injury, even small booksellers that typically discount less than B&N saw good sales; it wasn't bargain hunting that did them in.
Regardless of the ethics of browsers and moochers and shoplifters some issues are part of the cost of business and making a crusade out of them will only make matters worse by inconveniencing the paying customers.
Before you can sell anybody anything, first you need their attention and you can't get their attention if you drive them away with fees and "taxes". That is not compatible with human nature.