The $2.99 book might be a promotional price by the publisher. In my experience, if there's a mass market paperback, the ebook is usually priced to match it, if there's only a trade paperback, the ebook may be priced to match it or discounted to $9.99, (probably with thanks to Amazon's pricing model), and if there's only a hardcover, the ebook is usually in the $12-$17 range, more or less to match retailers discounting of the hardcover.
Book pricing is all about trying to convince readers that brand new books are more valuable than the backlist, with higher prices and more durable editions for new books, which is why you see hardcover and trade paperbacks for new books, and cheaper mass market paperbacks for books that have been out for a while. Ebook pricing is all about trying to preserve the paper book market. Sometimes you'll get lucky and there will be a promotional price.
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