"The fact that the vast majority of people think that ebooks should cost less than physical books means that they should, because people's perceptions of value

"The fact that the vast majority of people think that ebooks should cost less than physical books means that they should, because people's perceptions of value are what makes up the market." That's oversimplifying. What people think things should cost and what they are willing to actually pay may be entirely different things. Furthermore, as demonstrated by your own comment, people's ideas of what ebooks should cost varies wildly. In this situation, publishers are segmenting their customers. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend Joel's Camels and Rubber Duckies: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/CamelsandRubberDuckies.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/CamelsandRubberDuckie...