In reply to Khürt Williams.

I think the bigger issue is that it's commonly known that Elseiver and others are essentially minting money and not adding as much value to the process for what they receive. They could afford to drastically cut their prices and still make more than comfortable margins while creating more competition and innovation in the space. Their business model is a complicated tangle that includes non-disclosure agreements to University subscribers preventing them from discussing their rates with their peers to prevent better competition. A quick web search on the topic should unearth loads of articles and even government testimonies about their (and other major publishers') competitive and problematic business practices.