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The more I think about it, the more I consider the mindset fundamentally flawed.
When I buy a hardcover, I don't normally buy the paperback.
When I buy the trade paperback, I don't normally buy the hardcover.
Ebooks are no different.
Most books I buy once; regardless of format. Occasionally I re-buy books I already own, usually as replacement copies, but that's not common.
It's the "bird in the hand..." problem.
Yes the person who buys an ebook may buy it instead of the hardcover; but they may also buy it instead of a five-shot caramel macchiatto at a hundred and seventy-five degrees from Starbucks.
Not selling something because someone might have bought something else is stupid.
J.K. Rowling doesn't allow electronic editions of the Harry Potter books. All I think it's done is make sure that the electronic versions people do have aren't making her any money. I think she's lost more in ebook sales because they aren't legitimately available than she would have lost in hardcover sales from people who bought the (hypothetical) ebook version.
Ebooks should be counted as just another edition - no different than the various paper editions. People normally only buy a book once - let them buy it the way they want it.
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