I'm glad to have you, Mitch. I've been one of the ones pretty vocal against Mondo these days, and there are those there like Wonka who take issue with what I have to say. Certainly, Mondo's production is usually awesome, and I don't think the issues are there. Rather, its the business side of Mondo that gets the focus. I really do look forward to some discussion.
All I can say is please don't assume that we haven't obsessively analyzed the exact issues that you've mentioned.
First, as for servers and websites, I think that you'll actually find that our store holds up incredibly well during hugely populated drops. Sure, a lot of folks don't get through, but when thousands of people are trying to buy 400 posters, that is bound to happen, no matter how fast your website is. Believe use, we have multiple dedicated servers and pay way too much money for hosting, but people will get shut out no matter what when demand exceeds supply.
Speaking of, as for edition sizes, we've done our best to gradually increase edition sizes over the years, but the majority of our audience isn't interested in a print that's not collectible (and I'm not talking about flippers). Furthermore, the limited nature is also what appeals to the studios, as well as keeps artists happy (as they're able both to sell their own personal copies quickly and maintain collectibility, gaining them more interest and job opportunities from other clients).
Lastly, the toughest one, policing flippers. This is an incredibly hard thing to do. I've been around the poster scene for years now, and I can honestly say that I haven't seen a single person do it effectively (you mentioned Obey, but I'm almost certain that Shepard is no longer actively banning people, and I don't get the feeling that it went too well for him). Not only would it take gigantic personnel resources, but you also have to understand that there are two sides to every story, something that we run into A LOT. For every accusation, there's an equally passionate argument on the other side about whether or not they engaged in flipping, and it can get very heated. Trust me, we don't like when people immediately flip stuff either, but it's more of a problem with the scene than with how one company handles it. We limit orders to one per household (I can verify this) and check credit cards at mystery screenings, but beyond that, as secondhand witnesses we just aren't in a position to call people out.
The thing that bums us out is that these issues pertain to about one out of every ten releases we do, but they're the only ones that people remember. I don't think anyone is complaining about the edition sizes being too low on Gremlins 2, the Once Upon A Time prints, House by the Cemetery, etc. This job is a constant "razor's edge" situation with trying to figure out demand, we're just trying to do our best.
Hope that clears some things up. Cheers.
