At some point when I worked in book retail, some trainer broke down the numbers on how much of a book's cover price went where: publishers (cost of goods), rent, payroll, etc. I don't remember the exact breakdown, but by the end only a few pennies were left for profit.
I'm sure publishers have similar breakdowns of where their money goes, and I'm sure a small percentage is for the physical components of DTBs. If they are a for-profit company, there is bound to be pressure to maximize their profit while controlling costs. That's basic business.
And part of the equation to remember is that the whole operation, as an aggregate of all their titles and format lines needs to be profitable. The market seem to bear a bigger profit for them (for now) on ebook titles. I'm OK with that. It means they can keep more mid- and backlist titles in print and afford to bring them out in ebook, too. It means more chances for new or slower selling authors.
Do I think some publishers, some times, may be getting a little greedy? Sure. The $13-$15 prices on some backlist is a bit much. But when I can get the majority of titles I want for $10 or less, I'll bide my time on those titles til the market shakes out a bit more.
And it will. Remember when DVDs first came out and studios put out any old VHS master in the new format for big price? Eventually the market adjusted, prices went down and studios realized they had to remaster, provide new extras, etc. if they expected premium prices. The plain jane releases dropped to the point where you can pick them up for $5-10 bucks now. I wouldn't be surprised if ebooks follow a similar trajectory.
