You have to keep in mind that Lik's work does well even in top blind competitions like Nature's Best and the NANPA Showcase. Even if the images don't win, they score well when judged by professionals, and the consistency of top images is impressive - he's got one or two top images every year.
Perhaps more impressive is the marketing strategy behind the images. For Lik's team, submitting images in major competitions is a marketing strategy. It helps produce an impressive list of marketing materials promoting his top images. Going into his gallery and being told - this one was exhibited in the Smithsonian - adds credibility and it also sells prints. There is nothing left to chance here - you enter good images in a dozen top contests and you'll end up with some winners - that easily justify the cost and effort.
His galleries are a similarly impressive strategy. I was recently in his newest gallery - in San Diego. It's his 18th gallery and they all follow a similar approach. There was little sales pressure, but a lot of things to help make a sale. Images were very large prints under acrylic - very impressive and striking from a distance and up close. The lighting was perfect and focused on the prints. And the quality of the prints was very good. I found the brightness of color and light was striking - not oversaturated but striking in terms of tonal value. I have no doubt that he has a professional team optimizing his images for a large print.
I'd have to assume 18 galleries are producing $40-50 million a year in revenue or more. He's probably paying $20 million or more a year in salaries for a team of people to sell, edit, market, promote, etc. That's probably 200-300 people being employed.
You have to take the comments from gallery owners with a grain of salt. Lik has cut out the galleries and deploys their 30-40% cut on his own group of galleries. This strategy has allowed him to promote and sell his work more aggressively and with some interesting strategies that could not be used with traditional galleries.
The model Lik uses for developing and selling a limited edition of 500 prints makes sense. It sets some boundaries and established a value for the entire edition. I can back into a $6 million price as the present value of the entire edition. I'm not sure I can justify the price for the print, but it does provide an approach for the price. We don't have all the details as to exactly what was sold and how it was priced or structured.
The lack of resale is a concern, but I don't think most owners really care. The Lik owner who posted here is a good example - he likes the work, it's reasonably priced, and it's not going to be sold any time soon. If a large print from a well known artist was sold in a traditional gallery, a $4,000 price tag is not unreasonable.
I respect the business model of Lik. I think he has shown that there is money in nature photography and developed an innovative business model. More power to him.