I'm really hoping this marketing is an aberration and not a trend. The last thing my budget needs right now is some bozo in the houses with a clue. It's much cheaper to ignore a series and pretend that I would have no interest in it than to be lured into yet another line of books with the temptation of the first volume being free or low priced. (Oh sure, the first ones are always cheap. And safe. And all the cool kids are reading it.)