The hardcopy has EXTRINSIC value. You own it, and you can resell it. The softcopy has very little extrinsic value. You neither own it nor can give it away.
There is some intrinsic value to the softcopy, but mostly convenience and being freed to sell your hardcopy.
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If you've already purchased a hardcopy, why does a softcopy cost anything?
Reverse it: If you've already purchased a softcopy, why does a hardcopy cost anything?
Because the hardcopy has intrinsic value? So your position is essentially that a softcopy has no intrinsic value, which is very arguable.
The hardcopy has EXTRINSIC value. You own it, and you can resell it. The softcopy has very little extrinsic value. You neither own it nor can give it away.
There is some intrinsic value to the softcopy, but mostly convenience and being freed to sell your hardcopy.
Because a hardcopy cost $$ to print. What does a digital download cost to distribute? $.000000001 ?
You're talking about cost, not value. The two are only loosely related at best.
And marginal cost at that, ignoring fixed cost entirely.
Because a softcopy is valuable even to people who already have a hardcopy, and therefore they're willing to pay for it?
Because the publishing industry doesn't believe that we should own the things we own.