1. The mono box set is being re-pressed to meet demand. The price is still high, but so is the stereo set (mono is higher, though, and has fewer albums). I'm buying it, but I'm a completist. 2. The reason the Beatles didn't go with digital downloads for all these years is because digital has generally meant "iTunes," and for years Apple Corps and Apple Inc. have been battling each other in court. Even much of the solo material was withheld from iTunes while the battle raged on - for a long time, the only Paul McCartney material on iTunes was his guest appearances with Brian Wilson or on compilation albums. The recent settlement paved the way for digital downloads on the most popular digital format.