Our new Boswell bookseller blog is:
theboswellians.blogspot.com

I agree with your thoughts about timing being the most important aspect of ebook pricing, but want to comment on one other thing. You write “(the cost of production, in this case, is wholly irrelevant to pricing,” but I’d expand that to the cost of production is always wholly irrelevant to the average consumer. People want to feel like they got a good deal no matter the item, the purchase timing or the sales channel. For example, after AMZN arrived on the scene, booksellers saw a wave of consumers asking if we would match AMZN’s price. This was simply because it was often a cheaper price than most stores offered and they knew that shipping would eat into any apparent saving. They asked because they liked the appearance of getting a deal online & wanted to see it they could get a real deal (actually a better deal w/o shipping) locally. After a while they became used to the new status quo & stopped asking. I look at ebook price “boycotting” as the just latest round in the eternal consumer quest to get a good deal, even if it is just the appearance of a good deal (cheaper than a paper book, but minus the ability to resell, regift, throw at the wall if the story sucks, etc.).

Now, bundling a physical book with audio and/or e- versions for a minimal additional cost — that would be a genuinely good deal.

Rich