[jabagonuts]

The value of a book is not in its format (digital vs. print), but in the quality of the content and the reputation and relationships the authors have earned due to their previous efforts. And you can always try negotiating a discount via postcard ;-) http://www.sandimetz.com/99bottles/postcard

[paultannenbaum]

For me as a consumer, the format is very much correlated with price. I am always willing to spend more money for a physical copy of a book than the digital version. For them as publishers, it also costs less to come to market with a digital versions, and so should be reflected in the price. I do hear what your saying about value being derived from content, but without a free preview of a couple chapters and a price that I deemed to high, I ended up passing.

[khedoros]

If I don't think about it, yes, a physical version seems to be worth more, because I feel like I'm actually buying a "thing", rather than just paying for access to information. It feels nicer to know that printing it cost the publisher more to produce; there's a sense of fairness. It's an interesting psychological effect.

[doomtop]

A physical book can also be interacted with and utilized, physically, in ways a digital copy cannot.

[khedoros]

And the same can be said about the digital version. You can use it in ways that you can't use a physical one. Which is better is completely a matter of preference, IMO.

Physical: It's pleasant, intuitive, and the tactile aspects change as you go through the book. Page layout and the feel of flipping through the book can be nice mnemonic devices.

Digital: I can carry a few thousand books on my pocket, put copies on all my devices, do full text searches, follow hyperlinks in the document, etc.