I just saw the recent pre-pub announcement for Christ the Stranger: The Theology of Rowan Williams
The print price is listed as $120. That looks shockingly expensive, compared to the $24.95 regular price. I looked for where that figure came from and it's the SRP for the hardcover on the publisher's website. But the paperback sells for a SRP of $24.95.
What purpose does it serve showing us the highest possible price available for these books in print? A better comparison would be the paperback SRP when a paperback edition is available. When we buy a digital book, all we are getting is the content, not a nice hardcover binding. So the paperback edition is a more likely alternative for us than the most expensive price the hardcover might ever be sold for (but even that is usually available for less; Amazon sells it for $87.60).
