With $50 fee to check it out, looks like a scam. Legit offerings usually have a free trial period or some other way to introduce you to their product. There are thousands of free books on the Internet (and I mean legit ones) and some scam places simply package them up and sell them.....
For some free content go to http:/www.inkmesh.com type in a genre and hit the free button. That site is just one of many free places for books......
Here is another
ePub Books - MobileRead Forums. All the books are in ePub format, and will read perfectly in iBooks....
Don't label something as a "scam" without real proof. With many electronic products, it would be easy for someone to "scam" the owner of this membership site (if they offered a "free" trial period. Some people would take advantage of it, sign up, download the ebooks they wanted for their iPad and then cancel the membership before the trial period ends to avoid getting charged.
I see nothing wrong with a person creating a website/membership site and getting paid for their hard work. I take it you don't have a problem with Apple making money from the ebooks they sell off the bookshelf, so why would you have a problem with a small business entrepreneur doing the same thing?
Unless you have real proof that the website is ripping people off I would tone down the rhetoric. Oh, btw, you may have noticed the product is sold through Clickbank. Clickbank has a mandatory 60 day money-back guarantee on all products. So, if you think it's a "scam" just cancel the membership and request a refund. I suppose some unscrupulous person could do this to "scam" the owner of the ebook membership site.