I bought a TacT 2.2X from Tact, two weeks later they announced the XP for immediate release. I complained and they upgraded the unit for just the price difference. They were a pretty established company at that point.
Lessloss is different, they're trying to get some market penetration in a brutally difficult environment. The Audiogon promotion may get enough product "out there" to get a foothold, or it might make folks mad like Tvad who bought at retail price in good faith. I understand their idea and would guess they see the gamble involved. They may feel it's the only way to sell any cords. While these cords are quasi-affordable in our twisted world, it's still a lot of coin for 6 feet of wire.
As a new and unknown company, I'm sure they are operating on razor-thin margins. The promotion may actually be selling cables at a loss to expose new folks to their wares. A pre-existing customer, while thinking they are loyal buying more cables, is not furthering the goal of expanding the customer base. As such, selling that customer more cables at a loss is bad business. Offering a cable at $400 might even be a recognition of loyalty.
I'm just guessing, don't assume any of this is reality. These are good guys though, with solid engineering chops and great sounding gear (the DAC for sure). I just hate to see them get thrown under the bus. Tvad's complaint is sound though, can't argue with that.