There’s something that’s hard to measure yet has a huge impact on US ebook prices. One group of avid readers that jumped on the ebook bandwagon right at the beginning (remember when the original Kindle was $399? When Palm Pilots were used as readers?) were foreigners who lived in countries with high English book prices + low selection. As rules developed, these people have ended up spoofing US addresses to maintain their access. They are often willing to pay a high price because the equivalent paperbook is either not available or even more expensive where they live. That may be why $10 is so profitable. It’s what Amazon capped a lot of their bestsellers and $10 is cheap when shopping from another country.
