Steve D
Also take into consideration the secondary markets that carry pre-owned fpw books. ebay sells stuff at premium prices for the hard to find stuff and less than cost prices for the abundant stuff. Lettered and numbered editions of the Haunted Air sold out and now demands a premium on ebay, but the trade editions can be purchased at less than cover price. Some people don't buy their copies until the trades hit the secondary market at below cover or wait for the paperbacks.
I believe the "hardcore" fans of fpw still buy up the new stuff, but keep it in their collections. The "softcore" fans buy up the new stuff, but resell it. The "passing" fans only buy from the secondary market. So, if there has been any increase in fpw book purchases based on the internet growth, I would have to point to the secondary markets as the main growth.
When I volunteered in the Out of the Closet Thrift Store, lots of fpw medical thrillers lined the used books shelves, but I never saw an A/C book or a RJ book come through our donation doors. It's all on the internet. I'm sure many non-RJ fans buy up the medical thrillers (even though RJ fans also buy the non-RJ, non-A/C stuff); it's just that the medical thriller fans tend to read the stuff then give it away. They don't use the internet to buy their books; they still rely on "second-hand" stores for their books purchases, so these medical thrillers go round and round and round. On the other hand, the internet stuff is purchased mostly by people looking for specific stuff by fpw, stuff for their collections.
"He knows more than you've ever forgotten...in your little finger." Laurel's Sister defending Stan to Oliver.