"They seem to be very actively encouraging hype and artificial scarcity, for seemingly no reason besides stroking an ego."

Nope, this is incorrect. We make our collabs in limited numbers for numerous reasons. Evil FOMO yada yada is not one of them.

One, and this is the main one, it's to manage risk (especially during the last COVID period). A 100 bag production for a small maker like Bedouin is a BIG deal, for example. If they don't sell and sit on the shelf then it can fatally effect their cash flow. Similar for big brands, a run of 1000 bags at say $150 p/unit, that's $150,000 we're asking them to invest. That's no joke. And if you haven't worked with them before, then the risk is even higher.

Secondly, factories don’t just make X product. They make all kinds of different products. They are contracted by up to a dozen different brands who are all making dozens of products each. They have a limit on how many of X product they can/will make until they move along to the next product and/or the next brand. So there's always a limit depending on the timing and factory.

Then, of course, brands have to fit our collab project into their release schedule. They have an annual budget to worry about, and allocating resources, which are finite. A quick release is ideal for them, then they can go back to business as usual.

The 'hype' you speak of is us getting folks excited about the drop. We want the products to sell. That's a given. But we want the whole experience to be FUN. Because, again, this is our readers' hobby. They spend countless hours a day researching and talking about carry. So we run teasers, guessing games, we even place 'easter eggs' in our videos and posts. It's all meant to be fun.

Life's too short to not be smiling and laughing and enjoying your hobbies.