whereby I am enjoying the benefit of being able to "manufacture" one million copies of my $10 dollar python script at a cost of Zero.....

while simultaneously asserting I have suffered a $10 Million Dollar "loss" when  disparate users worldwide collectively create one million copies of this same script via unauthorized digital downloads on torrent.

Your business model is not the same as mine or PhilC's. PhilC, myself, Sixus1 and others have generated revenue to support one or (many) more people doing this professionally, and have done so for many years now. Other content professionals do the same.
Our creation of content is exactly the same as R&D in any market. We acquire tools, and there is a cost of production. There are often, but not always, salaries and taxes paid, and these are no more subjective than a company estimating salaries (if you take it seriously). What happens thereafter depends on if you are running a true business, a multi-service contractor or just having a hobby that pays some extra coin.

Brokerages like Rendo assume the cost of marketing and first level support for you, and you pay them a percentage of the revenue. If you are an indie business, you also do this yourself. Brokerages costs and indie business costs are ongoing. Products that are not marketed and supported die on the vine relatively quickly.

Let me share a teachable moment with you in regards to one brokerage. We were told that the shelf-life of content was very short, which we knew was wrong. Their estimates were that some pieces of content would effectively have no value after 6-12 months. That estimate was based on the short view of marketing as accepted by that brokerage - and that they were doing all the marketing. Five years later, we got an apology and acknowledgement. The right kind of marketing and support for a product generates ongoing revenue, but its also an ongoing cost, too.

Old concepts of production and sales, cost of goods, bill of materials did not fade away; they were transformed in part or in whole to digital analogs. Usually the digital analogs cost a lot less, but not always. Concepts of theft are different too - "shrinkage" is something else in the digital world. And old concepts of marketing have been replaced by new ones that are not free.

There are many vendors who do nothing more than make some models, do some promo renders and write a little text, and then let Rendo run with it. The same thing plays out in other types of brokerages - ie photo stock, music production, etc. You can choose not to do the marketing and sales (and get nothing), or hand it over to a brokerage for a percentage, or you can do it yourself.

Best regards,

chikako
Meshbox Design | 3D Models You Want