That sucks... But, if they showed up once, they're bound to show up again (well, hopefully anyway)...
I considered getting the BD set, but decided the DVDs were good enough. I watched the original series on a crappy B&W TV, so poor picture quality was part of the nostalgia factor, LOL.
If you’re going for the nostalgia factor, the Japanese LD set is far superior to the DVDs. The episodes were compiled from Columbia’s syndication prints (so, the second season opening for all episodes except “Too Many Girls”), the usual syndication soundtracks (with songs like “Forget That Girl” & “For Pete’s Sake” instead of their original network tracks), and a much brighter/warmer color palette than the dark and murky DVDs. Before I got the blu-ray set, the LDs were what I’d watch when I wanted to see the show.
In case anyone's interested, "The Monkees" series on Blu-Ray is available again. For how long, who knows, but it's there to be had now: The Monkees - Complete TV Series Blu-ray Promo Code: CC22WMG10
I seen a used copy of "The Monkees-Season 2" (Rhino release, in the mini record player holder) for $39.99 at a used media store yesterday afternoon... So, those sets must still be holding their value.
Online, the older Monkees series DVD sets go for more than that most the time. I've seen them for well over $100 per season. So that's a good buy.