And then of course, another disincentive, is the value of any existing collection of physical books.
The more that buy into ebooks, especially as their sole book source, the less in value physical books become, until they are eventually as worthless as Vinyl after CD's and Video (VHS or Beta) after DVD's.
Of course, there will always be high-priced unique exceptions, that don't make the media change. But most won't be affected by those.
So those of us who have a sizable collection of physical books are looking down the barrel of them steadily diminishing in value. Which is a lot when you have several thousand like I do ... most in paperback or the larger trade paperback. By my reckoning I only have a few hundred in hardcover. Not that I bought them as an investment ... except against being out-of-print.
So I can quite see how many refuse to buy into something that lessens the value of what they own. I expect, that many Publishers feel the same way, having who knows what sort of collections and rarities stashed away somewhere ... some deliberately no doubt.
While you can speculate, that ebooks vs books has an element of control to consider, it is not always easy to see to who's benefit either form is.
There are many things to consider -
Ownership.
Secondhand markets (resale).
Physical publishing & Transport costs (shipping & postage).
Damage.
Updating.
Editing & fees.
Licensing.
Zoning.
Exclusivity.
Lending (sharing).
Anti-DRM (removal).
Non-DRM.
Middlemen.
Indie providers.
Marketing differences (promotions).
Profits.
Long term value (investment).
Digital benefits and being realistic about the future.
Saving trees (perhaps).
etc
P.S. I never really took reselling what I've bought into consideration, except to use that word to placate my wife, for when I am beyond being concerned about my books.
