I was even told directly over the phone that my status as a customer was less important compared to those who ordered in June/July, because I didn't help them fund the initial costs. What kind of a company says that to a customer

Wow! What a despicable attitude to customers! That really is disgraceful.
But guys (i don't know how to say in english but I try, maybe someone can undestand it) look into yourself and a bit use your brain. What he got on the phone is the raw truth.
Back in june we paid a lot of money in 7 days for an unkown company. And the whole story now is only history....
This is true, we took a lot of risk on these guys and those of us who got in early + got our units delivered are doing OK with the recent upswing on the exchange rate.
However, it's still concerning a CSR would say this to a customer. Not a good attitude to have when you're dealing with machines at this price point.