Now that I'm actually running one of these publishers, I see it from the other side too. If I do publish a book that's available elsewhere for free, I'm sure to hear about it from at least one purchaser, who will generally be annoyed and demand a refund. One or two such experiences is enough to make it a priority to check for that problem.

In fact, it goes further than that. It's not unusual for an author to publish a collection of short stories with more than one publisher. If one comes to me after it's been published elsewhere, and I want to change the title story cuz I think the original title sucked, it's a mistake. I shouldn't.

Because if I do, people will complain that I did it to deceive them into buying a book they already owned.

Tricky, this business.