Discounted E-Books: Cheap or Inexpensive?

So I just lowered the e-price of my novel on both Barnes & Noble and Amazon this week and am wondering if it was such a good idea. I’m not exactly second guessing myself, or am I? Not sure. I guess I am. Did I just defeat my own “logic”? Reminds me of the old line, “I used to be indecisive, but now I’m not so sure.”

Anyway, the issue I’m facing is one of ego. Personally, I think people should pay $100 per copy for my book because, after all, I wrote it, therefore it must be good, right? Worth every penny. But then I tapped into my inner capitalist and realize it’s a competitive market out there and I need to set my ego aside and price the book to actually sell. So I did. $3.99 per copy. That’s $6 off the original price and just about the same off my royalty.

The big question (well, okay, two questions) is: Does lowering the price that much cheapen the book in the truest definition of “cheap” or just make it less expensive so more readers can buy it? And then by extension, should I lower the paperback price, too? Or should I leave it along as are they totally separate items that have no bearing on one another? (Sorry, that was three questions. My train of thought just jumped the tracks.)

I’d like to hear from fellow authors and readers alike on your thoughts about this topic that I’m sure every author has tackled at one point or another.