Morrus,
I agree, there's a lot of good PDF stuff out there. But I still can't bring myself to consider PDF-publishing as "on par" with hard copy.
I mean this as no disrespect to PDF writers/publishers. There are some truly excellent products out there. But...
I can't address the reasons why other people don't purchase many PDFs; I can only go into my own reasons.
1) As mentioned, it's difficult to browse PDFs before you buy them. I won't pick up an RPG book based solely on the cover and blurb without at least a quick flip-through, unless it's something I already know I want.
2) Part of me rebels at the notion for paying for a product that I can't hold in my hands. I know that, in this day and age of the Internet, that's at least somewhat an outdated notion, but it's still there, nonetheless.
3) There is, of course, the convenience issue; even if the total cost may be lower, I don't want to have to print out 60 pages to reference the book during a game. And no, I don't have a laptop, and would refuse to use them during the game even if I did.
4) Perhaps the biggest impediment, however, is the fact there's no assurance of quality on a PDF.
Now, before you yell at me, I know there's never any true assurance of quality. We've all seen some print books that were real stinkers. But the truth is, it's easy--some might say too easy--to publish a PDF. To publish a print product, you have to either find a publisher who likes it, or be so sure of your idea that you're willing to devote thousands of dollars to a print run. PDFs have neither of those barriers to entry; you don't need to find a developer/publisher who likes the stuff you've produced, nor do you have to output any enormous amounts of capital.
The good PDF stuff is on par with the good printed stuff--I don't want anyone to think I'm saying otherwise. But the problem is there's nothing to impede the tide of personal projects that simply aren't up to professional quality.
Certain companies and certain names, of course, can be trusted. With, say, Monte Cook or Silverthorne, you know largely what to expect, and I've heard some good things about many of the PDF publishers we have as members here on EN World. In terms of just picking up PDFs sight unseen, however, they simply cannot compare to picking up a hard copy product, because you never know if you're looking at one of the gems, or one of the folks who thought they could sell their homebrew from high school.
PS: It should go without saying, but all this is in my experience only, and should not be assumed to apply to anyone else.
