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My absolute peak price for an eBook is 3/4 of the going market price for the paper version (note: that's not the same as 3/4 of the list price!). If the book has DRM, it's worth rather less to me, as I then have to spend time and effort removing the DRM (for archiving, future-proofing, and use on whatever device I like -- but personal use only).
Thus, I already pay more for DRM-free books. I also pass up purchasing tons and tons of eBooks that I would otherwise be interested in because the pricing is out of whack.
There's no good reason why the eBook of a current front-list hardcover should cost more than about $10, or $6 for a paperback. There are, of course, a number of bad reasons -- such as publishers who can't get their heads around the idea of cutting layers out of the value chain between themselves and me.
Remember that markups between the publisher and the final purchaser represent the vast majority of the cost of a book. Estimates range between 60% and 85%, depending on the particular publisher, book, retailer, etc. Cutting out just one of the layers of markup in the chain can cut the cost to the end-user (me!) by 30-50%... without reducing the publisher's gross one iota.
Xenophon
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