[rayalez]

Things cost as much as people are willing to pay for them.

If I'm willimg to pay $5/$20/$50 for an ebook, it should be irrelevant how much it costs to distribute it.

It has information in it and if I want this information I will give author the money.

He may have determined his price by considering the distribution costs, or how much he wants to make per hour, or based on how much he thinks people will buy it for, or he may have simply pulled it out of his butt.

If I'm handing him $50, and am not disappointed after reading the book, it is not a rip-off.

[dceddia]

To expand on this: if the book can provide value above and beyond its selling price, it is a worthwhile purchase.

Your examples of "how to price" are all focused on what the author wants (or what he can get away with). The way to justify a higher price is to focus on what the READER wants, and the value they will get out of the book.

An ebook about learning React, for instance, might be worth $39 because it will save the reader HOURS of reading through random blog posts. How much is their time worth? (source: I wrote and sell an ebook about this. People actually buy it :)