Here's the obvious reason: They want to price this Above the cost of their current products. That way, people will need to PAY MORE even if they are just upgrading an order. So you have a 50Gh/s box, you upgrade to this you have to pay another $2000.
This. A board with lower wattage, hashing power, and cost makes perfect sense in all areas but one.
If BFL needs money flowing in (not out) then offering something like 100 GH/s card @ 87W and $899 won't help.
Someone with a 60GH single ($1500?) would likely hedge their bets asking to upgrade it to 100 GH/s card and get a partial refund. Even those who truly upgraded to say 2 cards would only mean a token amount of new money $300 coming in.
The stupidly high wattage, high price single offering (w/ 10% upgrade fee as an added insult) is designed to ensure most upgrades will result in significant additional revenue. This is what BFL needs and why the next gen was offered like this. It also leaves though who don't upgrade in a tight spot. If competitors don't make your un-upgraded BFL rig obsolete (and a net negative profit), BFL own 2nd gen product will.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. The smart thing to do would be to seek a refund. No BFL "all sales are final" have no merit when they haven't yet shipped and have missed their own shipping schedule. A sale occurs when money AND product change hands. BFL doesn't have sales, they have orders and the UCC doesn't allow "all orders are final w/ no exemptions for non-delivery".
My guess if BFL is betting that most users will opt to upgrade rather than cancel.
I think you are spot on.
It looks like this thread needs a Public Service Announcement!
If you have ordered from ButterFly Labs and have not yet received your product, you are entitled to a refund whenever you request one (per FTC rules).
First ask ButterFly Labs for a refund, they will probably say no but you might get lucky.
If you ordered via PayPal you can file a complaint with them even if you are outside the 45 day window. One customer has already gotten a refund from PayPal that was outside the 45 days.
If you ordered via Bitcoin or Bank wire, you can fill out a complaint with the FTC and they will advocate for you with ButterFly Labs to get your refund. You can also contact the office of the Kansas Attorney General and inform them that you have had your money taken with no product delivered for months, just more promises.
There are also several threads on how to get a refund from ButterFly Labs, here are two:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/yes-you-can-get-a-refund-from-bfl-266945https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/butterfly-labs-did-everything-they-could-to-make-getting-a-refund-impossible-272585