1) Readers do not judge books by the publisher, that is, readers do not look at a particular publisher's offerings and base their decision on who publishes what.
This is complete and utter hogwash. I do it routinely and having worked in a bookstore, I know other readers do as well. I also think that with digital publishing and the lackadaisical attitude of some publishers in regard to ebook formatting, that this will become more common. After I read a book blurb that grabs my attention, the first thing I check is who published it. I have passed on some books because I did not care for a particular publisher (A note to authors: Yes, I will judge you based on who you decide to let publish your book.)
It only takes a few bad books to harm a publisher's reputation and make readers/consumers decide to avoid another bad experience and not purchase anything more from that publisher altogether.
2) That more choice is detrimental to readers.
I like lots of choice. I like getting lost in the stacks of a large library or a large bookstore and I worry about an agent who whines that there is too much choice and it is oh, so hard to navigate all the choices in a bookstore (seriously, if I recall correctly, I do believe the agent said this). Perhaps this agent is in the wrong business?
Too much choice for readers is detrimental to agents and publishers--it is not detrimental to readers.
Lately, I am exercising my choice more and more away from agented submissions and I cannot help but wonder if the soullessness I have been complaining about lately is due to the normalization and pasteurization that agents have been exerting on their clients. But, I digress...
Edited to add: My googlefu is still strong and I found the convo that prompted this post.
