[Deneb]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I agree with almost everything here, except possibly your math.

I think the appropriate price for an ebook is the cost of the currently available paper edition minus the costs the ebook does not incur that the paper version does and plus the costs the ebook does incur that the paper book does not.

I doubt very much that any of us know exactly what these costs are, but I am sure they are not zero. Nor are they likely to be identical for all books

Of course, I don't contest your math, if there is real cost in the making of an ebook it has to be counted in the price, whatever, it's logical.

Originally Posted by Lemurion

Part of the problem too, is that ebook sales are currently very low. This means that even though the overall costs for creating an ebook may be lower than for the paper edition, they take a much bigger chunk of a smaller projected sales volume so they may drive the cost up that way.
Lower total costs over a smaller sales volume may equal greater unit costs.

So, we're back in the "hidden cost etc." that's a explanation for a physical product, not a digital one...

Ok, let's get crasy. I believe they send a pdf to the printer, (pdf was probably created for that), there is no extra cost whatsoever there. Make them sell 3 products: paperbooks as it is now, a pdf version at the exact cost of the book minus all the cost for making a paperbook (fist HC than PB), an epub version at the price of the pdf plus the so huge cost of making an epub...
They don't loose a cent whatever the version chosen by the end reader.
Why not? because they might end up having to explain the prices of the paperbooks?

Originally Posted by Lemurion

Another factor is that while publishers do pay for printing costs, they don't usually pay shipping costs, so why should they lower their prices to pass along someone else's savings to the end user? Shouldn't the person who benefits from the savings be the one to pass them along?

If it's the publishers who decide of the final price they take all the costs into account or they let the intermediates have a say in the price. I don't have to pay for a service that isn't here. Period.