Alex, I like you but you're a white apprentice at an all black radio station and I'm assuming you have shit all experience in managing a manufacturing business or keeping on top of a giant workload by yourself.
Yeah, I have no problem with you either but your points here are bogus. I don't have to have experience in a manufacturing business to know better. And the fact you bring my personal life into it just kind of shows that you know your wrong but don't want to admit it.
I went through a Somewhat similar situation myself, actually, and have seen other small companies go belly up because they couldn't keep up with orders already paid for. It's a slippery slope. You already spent the money people paid you on other things and when it comes time to make their part, those funds have already been spent. It's just bad business practice, simple as that.
I paid $300 for a few car parts from a small builder that made them as orders came in. When I ordered, there was no wait time listed on his site or between the emails we exchanged. 6 months and many unanswered emails later, I got an email saying he had a wait on parts because he couldn't keep up with orders.
3 months later, for a total of 9 months after I paid him, he makes an announcment saying the metal supplier up and left and robbed him of $15,000. Which is super made up but that's besides the point. The point is simple and stands. Let your customers know if there's a wait and don't take their money until you are ready to either make their part or send it out.