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The fact that an industry continues to exist and prosper is a very strong indication that "most readers don't pirate". It certainly indicates that enough readers don't pirate for a profitable industry to continue to exist. And, of course, locating a good pirate copy, downloading and transferring it to a device for reading if necessary may not be that onerous, but is nowhere near as easy as one click at Amazon or purchasing on ITunes. Human nature being what it is this convenience, combined with a reasonable price and the advantages of obtaining the book from a legitimate source are things most people value. This is why I believe we still have a viable industry. Of course, when pirate copies are available and legitimate ones are not, some proportion of people choose not to wait. It is unlikely that they will then buy a legitimate copy when it does come out. Likewise, the higher the price, the more sales will be lost, including to piracy.
It's not rocket science.
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