that, contrary to conventional wisdom, people who buy
something at a discount may unconsciously derive less
satisfaction than people who pay full price, or a
premium, for the very same thing.”

So that’s it, huh?

Back in the 80s, reading up on Japan, specifically a
book about Americans *marketing to* the Japanese, the
writer recounted the story of a well-known imported
drink (whiskey, maybe) that decided to lower its price
to become more competitive. Sales tanked. Part of
the allure was its *price*. Sales rebounded when the
price was put back up. Japan is also the land that
coined, “A melon is wasted on a foreigner.” (It’s just
fruit to us; at the price they *pay* for it, it’s
almost a sacred offering as a gift!).

Also in the 80s, someone in a nice-market online
startup told me, “You better charge as much as you can
because no matter what the price, people will still
think you’re cheating them.” (Perhaps that is a
uniquely American thing…)

I suspect, however, that people reading e-books are more interested in the text itself rather than the book as object and are likely to derive more pleasure from having lots of cheap books than a handful of more expensive books.