The problem is, you still do not have the chips for the lower priced gang who're waiting. If I wanted to pay $599 for an e6700, I wouldn't have had to take a risk on you with a cancellation fee, I could have bought it from newegg 10x over by now. Hell, even if I wanted to pay more for the chip, you still may not have it. Why wouldn't I just go elsewhere and pay more from someone that has it in stock for sure?
By your logic, ANYONE could make money if they did business this way.
Hell, I could setup a store selling PlayStation3's right now. Here's the deal:
(1) everyone pay me $650 now to "get in line" on a pre-order
(2) there's a 5% cancellation charge
however, *not stated in original contract*
(3) I'll do "my best" to get them as soon as possible on release; it's a tough marketplace you know... no guarantees
(4) I'll only sell them to you WHEN I can both get them (at all) and get them at a price I can make a profit on them
Now, NO ONE is going to take me up on this offer unless they have been given some expectation that I'll actually be able to get them before they could have found it on their own. Point #4 insures that I'll make money. Do I really care if I get 10 pre-orders or 100 or 1000? Hell, of course I'd take as many as possible -- what's my loss potential? Zero! Eventually, I can get 1000 of them, though it may take months -- meanwhile, that cancellation policy will keep you all waiting a bit more than you would have otherwise.
Now, I know tankguys has costs, and I believe they aren't profiteering here.. regardless, do I really care if their business practice costs them money if I want out when they've failed to deliver despite product now showing up elsewhere at similar prices? No. That's their choice to charge the $ when they do. If they want the BENEFIT of customers lining up to buy a product, there also comes the risk that they don't profit as much as they hoped.