The way all ASIC vendors so far have forced the community to shoulder ALL the risk basically is unbelievable
How so? The only one that's done it so far is Avalon...
Any company that takes pre-order money for a product that simply does not exist yet is putting all the risk on buyer.
So, I'm assuming all the risk when I go over to GameStop and preorder the next latest title 6-12 months in advance?
I understand the point your trying to make, but if refunds are a feasible option for the
customer "investor", then the risk is limited. Hence why Avalon is the riskiest investment opportunity out there right now...once you give them your money, that's it..nothing else you can do except wait for your product.
At least with BFL (and bASIC there for a while) you can get a refund immediately. With ASICMiner you can just sell your shares (though I'm not sure how liquid they are).