What possible reason could a publisher have for charging more for an electronic book (Kindle) than for a hardcover book?  I assume that they are mortally afraid of what happened in the music business.  And they should be.  But the answer is to embrace the change not deny it.

This printed book is cheaper than the e-book

E-books are dramatically cheaper to print and distribute and there are no return expenses.  The cost of promoting, editing and marketing will remain the same whether the book is printed or electronic and people will pay for that.

I’m doing two things to combat this bad behavior by publishers.  First I’m complaining publicly on my blog, on Amazon and on the publishers site.  Second I’m voting with my money by buying books I want from the used market when the e-book price is high.  That way I get the book and the publisher and the author get nothing.

One final thought that might convince my environmentalist friends.  One and a half billion books were sold in the USA last year.  They clog up houses and landfills and consume miles of trees.  E-books will end a lot of that environmental destruction but only after publishers end their luddite like obstructionism or are replaced.

There may be an opportunity for an e-book only publisher!  How would they get name authors?  Maybe by publishing books about the environment.