[aothman]

I think ultimately the profit cut they take - a practically usurious 50% - is too large to be an equilibrium price for what they do. There is a long-term sustainable biz model in what they're doing, but it involves taking a much smaller cut, just because they're not adding enough value to justify a huge cut (they're not exactly investment banking). I expect that in the near future market competition (particularly Google deals) will drive the middle-man profits down to something pedestrian.