Well Wonka, that is extraordinary... or just mad.
Why would a company continue to print (in relatively low numbers) posters that sell for fairly small amounts in a matter of minutes only to witness this price explosion a few hours later. Do they not want (or deserve to earn) this for themselves?
It just does not make any sense... I bet their bank manager can't fathom it out either.
Either way, it's been a long five years since I got the first of these type of prints and had weeks to decide if I wanted to make the purchase!
Think in broader terms.
As much as Justin/Mondo have publicly denounced all things flippers and flipping, the bottom line is that Mondo is the long term winners even over the flippers. The exuberant prices realized immediately following a drop does nothing but draw more attention and hype to their products. This in turn causes more of a buyer frenzy where the vets and growing hordes of newbies alike determine 'I gotta have it' which keeps the fast sell outs going, the increasing numbers of Mondo followers on Twitter rising, friends on facebook, etc...it boils down to attention that continues to snowball, and keeps the sell outs happening and on cue.
If they raise print runs, the chances of a fast sellout decrease as well as the cravings from collectors...it would simply put a damper on demand and then Mondo couldn't do what they do.
Also, you aren't considering the percent of flipped prints vs. ones that are kept by collectors, either up on the wall or in a flat file. I would wager that less than 15% (overestimate) of a given drop are flipped, so to Mondo, it doesn't matter...its worth it, even.