So whats happening with pricing?

I have purchased a number of pieces of software recently (ESET Security Suite, Zemana AntiLogger,,,,,, also had the same experience with Symantec assorted but not purchased products) and there seems to be a hug range of prices for these products with the most expensive always being the publishers of the program.

So is this a new trend (or has it been around for a while and I just missed it)?

Are publishers trying to push purchasers of their products to on-line stores (Amazon, C-NET for example) for some reason? Do they not want to sell direct? It would seem so or they would not allow such significants discounts from their re-seller,,,,,,,,Right?

Or am I missing something?