Let me be the devil's advocate here for a moment please.
If buying directly from the label (any label) makes such a big difference, shouldn't the customers see some of that difference on the prices as well?
I find it strange that in most cases I have to pay the same amount of money for ordering either directly through the label or through another seller. Sometimes it's even cheaper @_@ (e.g. Matsuri digital)
It's the same case with preorders. I usually end up paying more for a cd that isn't even out yet than someone else that bought the cd a couple of months after release. Surely, it should be the other way around, shouldn't it?
I support my music and buy originals and I have a maximum monthly expenditure limit (otherwise my wife would have divorced me by now), but in the end every little bit I can save, eventually it will go towards another cd purchase.
Thoughts?