What's up with Unity Performance?

[rhythim]

Placed an order for my DE4 with them on 6/4, got a receipt and automated response, and jack squat since then aside from another automated "Please don't send multiple emails because blahblahblah" when I enquired about my order status.

I get being a small business, and do my best to support those when I can, but they certainly didn't waste any time taking my money and then ghosted me. If they truly are so backed up that they can't answer an email in less than 7-10 business days, they need to hire more people. I'm going to give it a bit more time, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to pursue a charge back if I can't get a response.

Would happily listen to any constructive advice from anyone in the know.

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[bisquick]

I’ve been dealing with them for 2 months now to get an issue corrected as a result of a mistake on their side. I continue to receive excuse after excuse with no real resolution. Better yet, they tried to gaslight me recently saying they have their hands tied because I had no choice but to issue a chargeback.

I won’t be dealing with them any more after this. I know more than one person who has experienced similar issues.

 

[Unity Performance]

I’ve been dealing with them for 2 months now to get an issue corrected as a result of a mistake on their side. I continue to receive excuse after excuse with no real resolution. Better yet, they tried to gaslight me recently saying they have their hands tied because I had no choice but to issue a chargeback.

I won’t be dealing with them any more after this. I know more than one person who has experienced similar issues.

Brandon, the EBC pads you ordered were on backorder, and during our request to substitute part of the order, the distributor misunderstood the change and shipped two front pad sets instead of one front and one rear set.

We’ve been working to correct this by arranging the return of the extra front set and getting the rear pads shipped once they’re available. I’ve already sent over the return form and return label.

We’re still committed to resolving this properly, even with the chargeback open. Once the rear pads are shipped, we’d appreciate the chargeback being closed so the order can be finalized cleanly.

 

[Unity Performance]

Placed an order for my DE4 with them on 6/4, got a receipt and automated response, and jack squat since then aside from another automated "Please don't send multiple emails because blahblahblah" when I enquired about my order status.

I get being a small business, and do my best to support those when I can, but they certainly didn't waste any time taking my money and then ghosted me. If they truly are so backed up that they can't answer an email in less than 7-10 business days, they need to hire more people. I'm going to give it a bit more time, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to pursue a charge back if I can't get a response.

Would happily listen to any constructive advice from anyone in the know.

Hi there, I’m sorry for the delay and I understand your frustration.

I’m currently caught up on emails up to the past 3 days, so it’s possible your message was missed or pushed further back if there were multiple follow-ups in the same thread. We work through emails from oldest to newest, and each new reply will move the thread back to the top, which delays our response.

Please PM me your email address or order number and I’ll look into it directly so we can get you a proper update.

 

[manhole17]

I placed an order on 05/28 and it just arrived yesterday. No issues. They’re a distributor and sometimes are at the mercy of the manufacturer. It clearly states on their website that some orders ship from them, and others from the manufacturer. I wouldn’t sweat it unless it’s been a month or more. Also, they’re clearly active on here and I think that says something about their character and integrity.

 

[Unity Performance]

I placed an order on 05/28 and it just arrived yesterday. No issues. They’re a distributor and sometimes are at the mercy of the manufacturer. It clearly states on their website that some orders ship from them, and others from the manufacturer. I wouldn’t sweat it unless it’s been a month or more. Also, they’re clearly active on here and I think that says something about their character and integrity.

Appreciate your support and thanks for understanding.

We’re definitely at the mercy of manufacturers and their ability to keep up with demand. Many are still dealing with raw material shortages and longer lead times, which makes it difficult to keep products in stock.

A lot of people think supply chain issues ended with COVID, but they’re still very real. This has honestly been one of the toughest spring and summer seasons we’ve seen since then when it comes to securing inventory. Closing of the Strait of Hormuz isn’t in our face like Covid was, but it has had similar impact on production..

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Appreciate your support and thanks for understanding.

We’re definitely at the mercy of manufacturers and their ability to keep up with demand. Many are still dealing with raw material shortages and longer lead times, which makes it difficult to keep products in stock.

A lot of people think supply chain issues ended with COVID, but they’re still very real. This has honestly been one of the toughest spring and summer seasons we’ve seen since then when it comes to securing inventory. Closing of the Strait of Hormuz isn’t in our face like Covid was, but it has had similar impact on production..

One of the more frustrating experiences with any vendor doing any drop shipping is the lack of communication around stock, availability, shipping time, etc. This isn't just Unity, but it's a much broader market pattern. Not on you at all.

Is there a way to flag on your site what's "your stock" vs third party stock? That might curb some of the concerns and questions.

The other thought is around shopify. The updates, details, tracking, etc via shopify are just poor. I'm continually surprised they're an industry leader, but given you can stand up an e-commerce site with them in an afternoon I get why. I've personally pressed them on one of my businesses, as well as a consultant for other businesses. They're not so willing to improve, but more pressure always helps to force change and I've gotten them to at least acknowledge they're not doing enough around tracking. You can't really control any of this without having to replatform, which can be time consuming and costly. Would it be worthwhile for you to add additional communication adhoc to shopify when the stock and delivery flow is not in your control? Are you in a position you could automate that communication as part of the work flow?

Honestly, none of this reads as malice or lack of care... It sounds like people just have some frustrations around communication. You're taking the time to listen, acknowledge, and respond. That's about 1000x better than most vendors I've dealt with, even at an enterprise level where I'm holding millions of dollars hostage until they deliver...

 

[Unity Performance]

One of the more frustrating experiences with any vendor doing any drop shipping is the lack of communication around stock, availability, shipping time, etc. This isn't just Unity, but it's a much broader market pattern. Not on you at all.

Is there a way to flag on your site what's "your stock" vs third party stock? That might curb some of the concerns and questions.

The other thought is around shopify. The updates, details, tracking, etc via shopify are just poor. I'm continually surprised they're an industry leader, but given you can stand up an e-commerce site with them in an afternoon I get why. I've personally pressed them on one of my businesses, as well as a consultant for other businesses. They're not so willing to improve, but more pressure always helps to force change and I've gotten them to at least acknowledge they're not doing enough around tracking. You can't really control any of this without having to replatform, which can be time consuming and costly. Would it be worthwhile for you to add additional communication adhoc to shopify when the stock and delivery flow is not in your control? Are you in a position you could automate that communication as part of the work flow?

Honestly, none of this reads as malice or lack of care... It sounds like people just have some frustrations around communication. You're taking the time to listen, acknowledge, and respond. That's about 1000x better than most vendors I've dealt with, even at an enterprise level where I'm holding millions of dollars hostage until they deliver...

I really appreciate this perspective, and honestly, I think you nailed the core issue better than most. I also appreciate you recognizing that communication can make a difficult situation much better.

As the owner of the business, I’m currently spending about 90–95% of my time handling customer communication. There are a lot of other things on the back burner right now, but I know this is the most important part of the customer experience, especially when orders, stock, or shipping timelines are not always straightforward.

We do have someone handling fulfillment and daily orders, and he also goes through backorders every day to ship out whatever can be fulfilled. But on the communication side, it’s still primarily me. I have a two friends who help with emails when they can, but the majority of customer replies are still handled directly by me.

Hiring more people sounds like the obvious solution, but it’s not as simple as just bringing in extra bodies. We need the right person — someone with product knowledge, good judgment, and the willingness to actually learn the details of this industry. A generic customer service hire would not be able to properly answer most of the questions we receive without creating even more confusion.

So yes, communication is absolutely something we are prioritizing. It’s just a very hands-on process right now, and we’re doing our best to improve it without sacrificing accuracy or quality in the replies customers receive.

We have a 3,000 sq. ft. warehouse with a significant amount of inventory on hand, but it’s simply not realistic for us, or really any vendor, to stock multiple units of every item, in every variant, at all times. Even if that were possible, it would be a poor financial decision because a business could easily end up sitting on millions of dollars in dead inventory.

Dropshipping has to be used when necessary. In the case of the COBB Rear Motor Mount that the OP ordered, that part has been backordered since February, with only a small number trickling in each month to fulfill pending dealer orders. In that kind of situation, dropshipping is actually important because it allows the first available unit to ship directly to the next customer in line, rather than adding another stop in the process.

We also have our own stocking order open for these, so we can have units on hand once COBB is able to fulfill them.

Unfortunately, there is no practical way to link our inventory and the inventory systems of 50+ different suppliers directly into our Shopify backend. Most of them use completely different systems, and many do not offer reliable live inventory feeds.

Because of that, we display a clear banner at the top of every page, along with a rotating banner, stating that our inventory is not live.

Many customers do reach out to us for a quick stock check before placing an order, and we’re always happy to check. As I’m typing this, I actually paused to reply to a website chat asking about Project Mu Club Racer pads. Those are another item we may dropship when needed, but thankfully we’ve also paid to hold some inventory at the distributor because we know they are popular and tend to sell out quickly.

So yes, I completely understand the frustration around communication and stock visibility. We are not trying to hide anything or be misleading. The challenge is that the automotive aftermarket supply chain is fragmented, inconsistent, and still heavily dependent on distributors and manufacturers who all operate differently. That said, I do agree that improving communication around these situations is important, and it’s something we are actively working on.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

I really appreciate this perspective, and honestly, I think you nailed the core issue better than most. I also appreciate you recognizing that communication can make a difficult situation much better.

As the owner of the business, I’m currently spending about 90–95% of my time handling customer communication. There are a lot of other things on the back burner right now, but I know this is the most important part of the customer experience, especially when orders, stock, or shipping timelines are not always straightforward.

We do have someone handling fulfillment and daily orders, and he also goes through backorders every day to ship out whatever can be fulfilled. But on the communication side, it’s still primarily me. I have a two friends who help with emails when they can, but the majority of customer replies are still handled directly by me.

Hiring more people sounds like the obvious solution, but it’s not as simple as just bringing in extra bodies. We need the right person — someone with product knowledge, good judgment, and the willingness to actually learn the details of this industry. A generic customer service hire would not be able to properly answer most of the questions we receive without creating even more confusion.

So yes, communication is absolutely something we are prioritizing. It’s just a very hands-on process right now, and we’re doing our best to improve it without sacrificing accuracy or quality in the replies customers receive.

We have a 3,000 sq. ft. warehouse with a significant amount of inventory on hand, but it’s simply not realistic for us, or really any vendor, to stock multiple units of every item, in every variant, at all times. Even if that were possible, it would be a poor financial decision because a business could easily end up sitting on millions of dollars in dead inventory.

Dropshipping has to be used when necessary. In the case of the COBB Rear Motor Mount that the OP ordered, that part has been backordered since February, with only a small number trickling in each month to fulfill pending dealer orders. In that kind of situation, dropshipping is actually important because it allows the first available unit to ship directly to the next customer in line, rather than adding another stop in the process.

We also have our own stocking order open for these, so we can have units on hand once COBB is able to fulfill them.

Unfortunately, there is no practical way to link our inventory and the inventory systems of 50+ different suppliers directly into our Shopify backend. Most of them use completely different systems, and many do not offer reliable live inventory feeds.

Because of that, we display a clear banner at the top of every page, along with a rotating banner, stating that our inventory is not live.

Many customers do reach out to us for a quick stock check before placing an order, and we’re always happy to check. As I’m typing this, I actually paused to reply to a website chat asking about Project Mu Club Racer pads. Those are another item we may dropship when needed, but thankfully we’ve also paid to hold some inventory at the distributor because we know they are popular and tend to sell out quickly.

So yes, I completely understand the frustration around communication and stock visibility. We are not trying to hide anything or be misleading. The challenge is that the automotive aftermarket supply chain is fragmented, inconsistent, and still heavily dependent on distributors and manufacturers who all operate differently. That said, I do agree that improving communication around these situations is important, and it’s something we are actively working on.

I appreciate this kind of candid response.

You're talking through your pain points openly, and that's something that builds real success. You're doing great!

I love that you called out hiring as difficult. It's often overlooked, but it's definitely one of the hardest and most important jobs of any leader. You can't be successful unless you can delegate effectively.

The supply logistics today I find to be weirder than the covid era, even. Things we didn't expect to be short, like vinyl materials (petroleum based and mostly produced by India), are affecting a lot downstream. I have over 100k in tech hardware I'm waiting on delivery to an India office, and no one can tell me how much longer it will be.

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