If you are saying that if you submit to the more established directories you will be included in many other directories then IMO that is not correct. While some directories do get their content from places like dmoz the great majority do not. Google in fact get their directory content from DMOZ. There are many directories that require payment for listings (Yahoo for example) and the great majority of niche directories rely on submissions to get listings
IMO its a waste of time and energy submitting to directories that:
- Do not provide readable anchor text links
- Do not have much traffic
- Are not well indexed in the major search engines
But it is well worth your time to submit your sites to directories which are well indexed and which will provide you with a readable anchor text link as opposed to a generic URL only link.