Crazyates, do you work for BFL?
The OP declared interested in buying a Bitforce 5GHs, and asked: do they ship now?
It's obvious that an unit bought now WILL NOT ship now. It will takes MONTHS to ship. That's the reality, no need to play games.
BFL had more success in creating a cult than in creating products... and I guess they are well aware of it and exploiting it for their benefit.
That's how weak minds work: If they retract their decision it would be a tacit admittance of making a stupid decision, therefore they defend their bad decisions by all means possible, to the point that when all rational arguments are exhausted they appeal to fallacies and rhetorical devices to defend the indefensible.
This stupid human weakness is exploited a lot in the infamous Nigerian scams, and in many other type of scams.
They trapped people between impossible decisions, between correcting themselves and looking stupid or staying dumb and looking stubborn.
The latter resolution affects less their egos, so that's the road they take.
Nobody wants to admit to be wrong, and as long as that's the case, they will stay trapped in their mediocrity.
I also took a gamble with BFL. I knew it was a gamble, and I decided to take it anyway. I'm loosing, and I'm loosing twice because I decided to pay in BTC (it felt right to support BTC economy, now I know I was plainly stupid as they get fiat from Bitpay in any case).
But at the end of the day, I acknowledge this loss I wittingly exposed myself when taking this gamble, and I move on and I acknowledge I was mistaken. No need to have the Stockholm Syndrome. No need to tell to a new user "They are shipping now!" when he says that he is interested in buying a BFL miner today. Because that's a LIE. I feel better if others don't make the same mistake, it feels very unfair when I see how they still suck new users with the "we're shipping soon" BS.
Thus, I don't understand crazyates position, unless he is paid by BFL.