Free? Or not?

Hello, faithful readers!

So many authors offer something on "perma-free" status; basically, they give away part of their portfolio in hopes of attracting readers. Then, the theory goes, the readers are more likely to, having seen your writing prowess, head over to your other, non-free works.

Others criticize this idea, claiming that it provides a glut of material for free and makes it harder to convince anyone to pay for good work. Why would readers pay for what they can get for free? Also, many people (you know who you are!) pick up anything they see for free, whether or not they actually intend to read it, resulting in inflated figures compared to actual readership growth.

I'm on the fence about it. I know I wouldn't put a novel on perma-free, but short stories are a possibility. I'd like to hear what others think: does an author having work for free make you more inclined to check them out? If the free work was high-quality and enjoyable, does it make you more likely to purchase their other books (for reasonable prices, of course)?

Thanks for your feedback!