The chance of chips actually being faulty is extremely low. This is a low complexity design to begin with, on an old, tried and tested process node with some of the highest yields in the industry. Avalon chips are tested before being shipped. During shipping there are no pins that can bend or break. Even if by some miracle he ends up with a faulty chip, steamboat has explained that people will be able to buy additional chips to replace faulty ones out of a reserve amount. Out of all of us with extra chips there will be chips left over that we can get a refund for from steamboat that can be used in just such a case. Steamboat works on an assumption of a 1-5% faulty chip rate. My guess is that the DOA rate will be a fraction of one percent.