First of all, assembly setup is PART of assembly. Would you rather the chips came in and then waited for parts to be purchased and gathered? You didn't realize when you signed up for SB's group buy that he was prepping and assembling everything to be able to basically just put in chips and then test the miners once assembly was finished? Did you not read the part where SB said he paid OVER retail PLUS expedited shipping costs to have everything ready when chips arrived? That's specifically why I chose this group buy, SB promised to have a short time between chip receipt and full miner in hand. This is a risk I PERSONALLY KNEW I WAS TAKING WHEN I SIGNED UP. You should have read a little closer, and you would have realized this as well.
Also, what part of ABSOLUTELY NO REFUNDS did you people not understand when signing up for this? Sure it's the right thing for him to do morally, but he is under NO obligation to refund even as much as he is. He explained the costs and why refunds cannot be 100% and I completely accept his explanation. I'd even wouldn't mind it if SB decided to take a bit just for his effort, which has been substantial. People got paid for doing work with your assembly money, get over it. If you couldn't afford to lose 100% of the money, you should have never risked it. Investing 101.
I read every word published, understood the risk, am glad to get any refund (although not entitled to it) because I was prepared for the 100% loss of my btc, and am over it. The chips didn't come in, the K16 doesn't work, and there's a fully prepped assembly line ready to do nothing. We're all let down, not least of which is the organizer. I imagine SB would do things differently next time. I was pining how this mining scheme is a unique business that people are glad to foot the initial start up costs for someone else's business, even with the threat of complete failure and no refunds. Few think BFL was right in doing the same thing, and the chorus of 'never presales ever again' grows from customers and providers.