The publishers' dilemma is that they can't sell direct to the public without screwing the existing retailers and distributors, who can be expected to retalliate

The publishers' dilemma is that they can't sell direct to the public without screwing the existing retailers and distributors, who can be expected to retalliate (see also: Amazon blacklisting Macmillan). As ebook revenues are currently around 1% of all publishing revenues, this would be Extremely Unwise (in business terms) to the publishers. As ebooks become more important, expect to see a lot of friction between publishers and the current dead-tree retail supply chain, not to mention their attempts to stay relevant (B&N's Nook, Amazon's Kindle). But it's not really going to get serious for another couple of years.