said by dentman42
:Plus, the $3.99 bargain bin ("cut-out") CDs have been around since before P2P. Why buy a new CD for $15.99 now (they were $12.99 when I got my first player back in '86, with a promise that as R&D costs were recouped, the price would drop dramatically) when it will be available cut-out or used for less than $5 in a year or two?
While I agree with you about $16 being more than $13 (ie: The price SEEMS to have increased not decreased due to R&D cost recovery) you are using two separate definitions of $1. $13 in 1986 dollars is much more than $16 in 2008 dollars due to inflation - IOW: The actual price HAS dropped as measured in "constant" dollars. Waiting a year for price to drop to $4 is a separate issue (like waiting a year to buy a book you want to read [not just own] as a paperback in lieu of it's original release as a Hardback book).