giving more hash power is less expensive than giving people refunds... especially if they have to refund in btc (which i can't see how they can afford to do, even if they promised it)
You've miscalculated something, I think it is just the opposite. The refunds are the cheapest option for HF for two reasons: If they refund the BJ they can resell that miner again, and also they don't have to give the MPP to the buyer and can also resell that MPP. Refund once, sell five times. Especially if they can refund BTC partially, not the full BTC amount which they obviously plan to do. I do believe they will not ship on purpose to provoke the refunds and then sell the "miners-in-hand" which will sell like pop-corns.
it's been the logical move for a while now... hate to say it, but the miners were priced in $$$ right? Only when things are priced in BTC can you demand full BTC back on refund (like Avalon chip buys)
It is converted to $$ at time of sale so it is cashed out at time of purchase. They could send back BTC but at the $$ value.
It's not like they have any goodwill to salvage with early customers anyway.