The commitment is only words. Saying "you can get a refund if it doesn't ship on time and on spec" IS only words if we judge by what happened with all US fail companies. HashFail promised full BTC refunds and now they told DyslexicZombei that he didn't even purchased units from them when he sued them.
If they are going to reneg on the commitment (which I doubt), then it costs them even less. There is no legitimate reason not to make the commitment unless: 1) they aren't as sure the miners will ship on time and on spec as they claim to be, and 2) they believe they would stand behind the commitment if they made it. Draw your own conclusions.