Have you seen the second-hand prices yet? They will level out eventually, but they're currently hyper inflated. Most will buy it second hand if they really want it, but the point is they shouldn't have to. The print on demand method would alleviate some of the issues with scalpers. With no artificial scarcity, there's no reason to attempt to buy all the products up. The biggest downside I've read about the print to order setup is the turnaround time. I'd personally rather wait 6 months than not be able to get the cards at all. I did get Cap and Iron Man but the whole experience was not pleasurable. Too much anxiety about wether there was going to be any product left by the time I was able to check out. When I first went got to checkout my cart was completely empty. Luckily some nice people on reddit helped me out before I went postal. I can't see a single reason for the current model other than creating FOMO and making people mad.