First of all, DO NOT ORDER from ButterFly Labs. They are barely shipping orders from November 2012 (
https://forums.butterflylabs.com/blogs/bfl_jody/) and they are refusing to give any refunds. Read the following email they sent me a few days ago.
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-instate 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."
We operate under the US Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) 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."
We are working to fulfill our current order backlog as soon as
possible. Our current estimate is by September 30 we should have most
of our order backlog fulfilled. Your orders should ship in advance of
that date.
With appreciation,
Dave
Butterfly Labs, Inc.
Account Manager
800-809-6463 (MINE) Ext. 101
The whole situation over there is a mess. People are getting banned left and right with no explanation for exposing these frauds. Please help spread the word so other people dont have their money stolen.
