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This is extremely naive.
1. It's not *easy* to set up a business like Amazon. It is extremely *hard,* which is why most competitors have failed. Big publishers that have tried to sell directly have failed miserably (although a couple of niche publishers in romance and sf have done okay).
2. If publishers sell directly at a 30% discount, Amazon and other online retailers will drop them. (Also, if they drop the 30%, where is their incentive - they are then making no more than they made selling through Amazon).
3. The big six publishers all have a conflict of interest because each wants to sell their *own* books. Meaning that the other publishers will object if 5 of the 10 bestsellers are all HC books, and they may not all agree to get behind a large promotion for a future "Harry Potter" equivalent because the sales would only benefit 1 of the 6.
4. There is a lot of friction and "stickiness" in getting people to change their ways. I mean, it is just as realistic to ask why Amazon doesn't publish all of its authors itself...that may even be simpler.
5. 90% of sales are still of paperbooks, and it's going to be a long time before that number drops below 70%. (60% of music sales are still on CD). So publishers would be screwed if they dropped Amazon.
6. 75% of Amazon's sales come from non-book items. If you remove books from the mix, you lose a lot of potential customers who weren't necessarily looking for a book.
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