Macmillan it seems like you just do not get it that the consumer is aware that the biggest cost for book publishers is actually printing a book.
We were sympathetic to that and managed to at least purchase a paperback book now and then because we knew you had actual costs that needed to be covered for each book produced. E-books are not the same and we know it.
Once you produce an E-book, you can make a many copies of it, as you want for much less than a penny. We the consumers know this and we know actions speak louder than words. Macmillan the only reason you publish books to make money and you are not happy with a little bit, you will grab as much of our money as you can possibly get.
E-books are already a problem for me because of restrictive DRM, lack of resellabiity, difficulty in loaning books to friends, etc. In fact, the only good thing about E-books is that you can store a lot of then in a small place.
Sadly, that will not be enough for me to invest in a dedicated E-book reader or in an E-book collection as I would if they were a reasonable price: $9.99 or less for new releases and $4.99 for books that have aged a year or so. I would also have to retain the right to transfer the book to anyone I please when I please. I will not purchase the rights to read a book. I will only purchase an E-book if it is actually mine to do with as I please!
I know this may upset the publishing companies but all I have to say is get over it. Learn to live in the real world with the rest of us and quit being greedy.