They keep changing their FAQ for Refunds: BF Labs inc. are in damage control.
www.butterflyabs.com FAQ internet site snapshots researched on Internet Archives WayBackMachine
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.butterflylabs.com/
Jan 23 2013 FAQCan I get a refund on my pre-order?
Butterfly Labs, INC. is accepting pre-orders for ASIC based products, expected to begin shipping in late November or early December 2012. Your pre-order with payment confirms your place in line for delivery once we begin shipping. Payments made for pre-orders of ASIC based products now under development should be considered non-refundable until products begin shipping or 1 January 2013, whichever is earlier.
Feb 26, 2013FAQ:Refund Request
Question:
I submitted a refund request to
[email protected] but haven't heard back yet. When can I expect confirmation?
Answer:
3-4 workdays to start the refund process
7 workdays for wire
2-3 workdays for Paypal or bitcoin
April 30, 2013 - July 25, 2013Can I get a refund on my pre-order?
All sales are final unless we fail to perform. That means if we do not ship any machine at all. If you would really like a refund anyway, just ask and we'll probably be able to take care of you. Nonetheless, we reserve the right to handle it on a case by case basis.
Refunds usually take 3-4 days to begin the process. If you paid with a bank wire, it will take an additional week or so for the funds to appear in your account. PayPal and Bitcoin refunds can take 2-3 days for the funds to appear in your account.
Bitcoin payments and refunds are processed through a third-party vendor. The amount refunded is based on the US Dollar equivalent at the time the transaction is initiated.
Presently Aug 7, 2013Can I get a refund on my order?
A
While we reserve the right to handle refund requests on a case by case basis, pre-ordered products are non-refundable as is clearly stated at the time of purchase. The reason for this is that
pre-order funds are used in the build process which makes it impractical to reverse. It's also been observed that some small number of customers have placed orders as part of a bitcoin price hedging strategy which involves multiple requests to cancel and then re-enstate their orders as market conditions change. This has created an enormous customer service burden which is resolved by enforcing the all sales final policy.
Some customers have asked why we've given order cancelation refunds to others, but they can't get one. The answer is that we had opted to process order cancelation requests during our long product development phase as a courtesy to those who endured the stress of the unknown. However, once full production began, a notice was sent out advising that orders would be shipped as produced according to the order queue and that if anyone was unwilling to endure the wait, they had a final opportunity to cancel. Customers were required to positively confirm their desire to remain in the order queue and accept the order terms.
Pre-Order terms for new orders were updated on the website on April 1, 2013. The terms state, "I accept the terms of the sale and understand that all sales are final and there is a backlog of orders and production & delivery of my order may take 2 months or longer."
As a Wyoming Corporation, we operate under the US Federal Trade Commission's business guide for mail or telephone ordered merchandise. The relevant guideline suggests that if no delivery terms are stated or agreed to, then 30 days should be assumed. In our case, we've gone to great length to ensure there is no ambiguity. Customers are/were notified of the back order situation, the inability to cancel their order and the multi month wait to be expected.
Here is the relevant FTC guideline text:
"when you advertise merchandise, you must have a reasonable basis for stating or implying that you can ship within a certain time. If you make no shipment statement, you must have a reasonable basis for believing that you can ship within 30 days."