Why should anyone bother with Avalon or BFL when you can get other chips that are faster, more efficient and delivered on time with companies that are actually polite, responsive and supportive when you develop DIY boards? Note that many are also offering "protection" against the vagaries of the difficulty spikes...
Oh how history is soon forgotten...
I think the key here isn't promises made beforehand, but delivery as promised. We have yet to see if KnC, BitFury, etc will actually deliver on anything thus far promised! Lets see how that "protection" works if/when they slip dates... Remember BFL was heralded as the king of ASICs this time a year ago, and they were selling with PayPal so you'll get your money back if they don't deliver as promised in "two weeks"(tm)!
The protection works as long as it's within the valid timeframe of the third party providing it's stipulated terms, or that of the country's laws surrounding the payment method chosen. It has nothing to do with the vendor, it's out of their hands. History's never been forgotten, just consumers have blindly lept into purchases without informing themselves of options they have if terms of sale aren't met and what period of time they have available to do something about it. It's not the manufacturer or the 'protection' available's fault, just the dumbass throwing their money at stuff without reading.