But ... but ... but ...

That's the perspective of the publisher, coming from the traditional publishing background. What about the perspective of the buyer, and the perception that something *should* cost less?  Many traditionally-published authors are self-publishing now (aren't they, David? ;) ), and finding that the costs are not so huge. And in addition, they can make the selling price more attractive, and keep more of the revenue themselves.

Michael is trying hard to justify a publisher's high prices. Oh, the cost of uploading to several places - it must be huge. I suspect that the majority of the work is subcontracted out, much as some self-pubbed authors are doing.

One image that sticks in my mind was a video of a meeting at a publisher, to discuss different cover artworks. There were something like a dozen people in this huge meeting room, with a posh conference desk, etc etc etc etc. That is where the high costs come in - overheads. 