Thanks for the suggestions guys.
This happened to me in alpha, too.
I found you just gotta place a bunch really fast until on stays.
Your strategy works but unfortunately on SB we often have to work with the void around us. With the behaviour of the frames half of a stack gets lost to never be found again.
Try to aim for the top or bottom of the block you want to place the item frames on. Does that work?
~ @KariStar86
Works like a charm! Placed the frames aiming for the top part of a block. Placed the frame every time if aiming high enough.
Actually this issue is, for the most part, associated with clear lag and the lag of the server itself. Item frames are sometimes caught as entities, you might want to wait for clear lag to pass THEN try it again. If that doesn't work check the ping. Continue this and if this resolves the issue, post below.
Pending.
~ @abbythrowsstuff
Tried placing the frames right after the clear lag. Sadly but no. And although I play from Europe I don't usually experience any problems with ping or lag.