I really don't want to do an auction. So none of these companies are actually shipping with an absolute real world price and delivery date? Should I keep my 5830s and 5850s?
Thanks for the long detailed post.
Avalon has a BTC price, BFL has a USD price - but neither have a known delivery date.
Investing in ASICs is speculation. Difficulty, BTC/USD, and delivery dates are all unknown and you'll have to do your own calculation as to what's possible. Why not keep your 58xxs running while ordering asics?