The difference is that when you buy those things, you get a product. It's an even exchange at the time, and you have the chance of your product either making you money, or growing in value itself.
This really is not the difference you are making it out to be, but if you think this is that important, imagine putting a large contribution towards an
Ouya or any number of kickstarter projects.
The problem here is treating bitcoin strictly as an investment, when it is more functional as a currency. I have an ASIC preorder from the first day, meaning I took $800 in fiat that I had sitting in my Mt Gox account and converted it to bitcoins and then bought an upgrade. At that time, I guess I could have bought $800 in bitcoin and sat on it and I'd have over $1600 now, but I really didn't have plans to buy more bitcoin. If I did have such plans, I would have bought the SC upgrade and bought some bitcoin. Fundamentally, though, buying bitcoin as an investment and buying a miner are different actions and it doesn't make sense to comingle their finances any more than comingling the cost of an Ouya with bitcoin.
At any rate the clock is ticking and the premium paid by BFL customers that paid for products months in advance is rapidly losing value.
I agree with this. Really, it was delivery after the halving that dealt the largest blow to profitability because no matter how many other ASICs were out there, everyone was still getting twice as much.
Though I see what you are saying, I disagree. But first I will say that I expect your situation doesn't apply to what was being suggested by the OP (they can correct me if I'm wrong). Taking fiat, exchanging to coin, then purchasing an ASIC is basically buying the ASIC in fiat, you simply used bitcoin as an electronic exchange medium, the same as if you used a credit card. If someone has already gained bitcoin, either through mining, or trading, and has been floating the coins around, for whatever purposes, and used those coins to secure an ASIC order, that is more akin to use as a currency (as you hold dollars in your wallet, until it is time to use them, rather than holding Gold doubloons).
Now on to the separate idea. One of the primary motivations behind investment is the idea (fact?) that your fiat tomorrow will be worth less than it is today. To push fiat out the door in the form of investment, purchase, whatever, is supremely logical, as you will not see such a great return ever again. If you can see potential for your money to be worth more in the future, it only makes sense to save it.
Whether you invest in an Ouya, a house, a prostitute, you are secure in the fact that you made a wise decision buying now rather than later. Bitcoin, clearly not so much, be it an investment, or as currency, the valuation fluctuates wildly such that it is difficulty to know what the wisest course of action is. So in this radically different situation, placing coin down on something now, with the expectation of return later, is not wise as it is with fiat investment. You either need to be using it as you said, as an investment (so in this case it was a poor investment), or as a currency (whereby you receive product for your purchase). As to whose fault it is, I don't know that I can say it is BFLs fault, aside from missed target dates.
The part that I agree with however, is that you *did* make an investment, and a poor one, which has cost you, had you plunked down bitcoin on a promise.
