Re: BFL or Avalon

There is zero speculation involved.

Absolutely wrong. When people purchased BFL or Avalon, there was no guarantee that they would be receiving a product or when. It was PURE speculation and a gamble as well. People decided to take this gamble and base their purchases on speculation. Speculation that the price would not drop, speculation that they would receive a product, and speculation that that product would be hashing the amount advertised.

Basically you are saying "never buy miners" because so far, none of them are shipping the same day.

No, I am not saying "never buy miners". I am saying that one customer gave up 200 BTC for a miner that will (probably) not earn him back that 200 BTC.
That customer will be worse off having ordered that miner. He gambled on BFL delivering and lost. Simple.

You are correct that he gambled and lost, but he gambled on far more factors than just BFL delivering. This is what Hexed has been attempting to point out, as far as I can tell.

Name those factors?
It is not the exchange rate. The customer traded BTC for a device that creates BTC.
The only way that can make sense is if the device will ultimately produce more BTC than the customer gave up for it.

Now if he could sell that order (or device upon shipment) for 201 BTC, then he would be slightly better off than having done nothing and merely keeping his 200 BTC.