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Originally Posted by neilmarr
Something to bear in mind is that the bigger the publisher, the more likely it is to opt for the Agency 5 Model....
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Not exactly. It's more that the larger publishers have the clout to pull it off; smaller publishers can't get away with it. Also, many larger publishers have consciously opted not to use agency pricing so far.
Harlequin for one doesn't currently use agency pricing. You're not going to suggest that Harlequin does not have the right to set prices for its own books when selling them through their own store, are you?
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Originally Posted by neilmarr
I can't help but wonder if the oft-resulting ebook-treebook pricing anomaly (especially on new releases and potential blockbuster sales) is a way of hitting back against Agency 5.
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It isn't.
Steep discounting, especially on best sellers, was going on years before agency pricing went into effect.
Your interpretation is essentially backwards; the discounts were a reason for, not a reaction to, agency pricing. Although the publisher received a full payment from the retailer, they believed the steep discounts on new hardcovers, especially best sellers, was decimating the perceived value of their product.
They were also unhappy with the $10 price point that Amazon was pushing, and the prevailing wisdom was that eventually Amazon would lock up the market and demand that the publishers lower the wholesale price.