Honest advertising can fix the perception problem. Just outright tell people that it has crashes and/or other bugs and misses content right from the start. Provide a playable demo of the current state. Or relax the refund period to GOG’s 30 days-no-questions-asked.

Early Access is great for games which are already fun to play but unfinished. For that the game needs to be in alpha or beta.
Funding the alpha is what Kickstarter is for.