You know what else would help qualify potential buyers, but do it more accurately? Publishing the actual pricing.

Not it wouldn't, much as engineers might think it so. Sales is not purely technical, it is an emotional process. If the seller can convince the buyer to buy, they generate a lot more income than having people go through sticker shock. One of the first things they teach you in sales is to focus on the benefits of how the product will make the user's life better, and use that to anchor the price.

Also, the "contact us" pricing pages are not for regular people, they are for VPs or executives to go through. That it filters out regular people is a feature, not a bug.

Maybe we should rethink that system then, because making such decisions on emotions likely won't lead to the best outcome for buyers

It's human nature to make emotional decisions, not necessarily logical ones. I'm not sure how one would rethink the system rather than using it to our advantage.

Who gets the advantage though? Corporations only concerned about profit?