This came to me because I am trying to buy land to develop into lots and then resell, and because I have had to deal with others in the middle when trying to buy certain higher end appliances, water heaters, solar equipment, etc. that won't be found at Sears or Home Depot. It seems to me that agents and sales persons will steer you to what makes them the most money, and often will not listen when you try to tell them what you really want.
In some cases we need their expertise, to be sure, but it seems that a lot of times they use their knowledge against us. And the prices get jacked up a lot when you have to buy from retailers versus the manufacturer.
How can we get these people to do what is best for us, or failing that, go around them? And why do so many companies insist on using middle men and won't even talk to the end consumer?

You have to be insane to buy land or a home without a licensed realtor.

Done it before, in the past, no problems. You do everything with the mortgage and title companies. Well, there was one problem, they miscalculated the pro-rated property taxes in a way that the seller got off the hook for half a year, then 2 years later tried to get us to pay. We laughed! The mortgage or title company ended up paying, as it was their mistake.
I have had expensive dealings with distributors and retail outlets that had to order the item in, as it wasn't in stock, so why can't the actual supplier deal with me directly and let me pay the same price as the distributor?
Actually, using the internet, I have been able to do just that. I wonder how long before some of the middle-man type businesses get pushed out of the loop. I suspect that the more of us that try, the sooner that it will happen.