I agree with you on the general point, but the deal with the publisher can get you quite a bit more than "wee little advances." The publisher lends credibility

I agree with you on the general point, but the deal with the publisher can get you quite a bit more than "wee little advances." The publisher lends credibility/gravitas to the enterprise (which may or may not be important, depending upon the type of work), and can (if they choose) bring a large marketing budget (and sophisticated marketing apparatus) to bear on your behalf. I'm not arguing that self-publishing isn't the more lucrative option in many cases; I'm just saying that going with a traditional publisher is not necessarily a sucker bet.