Archetype Racing - My Experience

[Gray Area GT350]

Let me start saying I am not here to bash or flame Archetype Racing. I just want what I ordered and it has been a very, very long time.
Here is my experience to date:
Placed my order for a Track Brawler Podium II splitter in very early January 2024 while taking advantage of their sale which I greatly appreciate.
It has been 31+ weeks and no splitter. The website claims 3-6 weeks so I thought that would be great. I would receive it while winter was hanging around and I would have it installed by springtime. Nope.
In addition to not receiving my product, they have my money and the customer service has been absolutely dismal. That really means not a single response that wasn't generated by an auto-reply. I even asked in an email for the owner to please contact me and explain the situation. Nothing. At. All.
It appears they have great products and the quality is top shelf but if you can't get the product how can a customer be satisfied.
I have read various customer reviews and other forums and I see I am not the only one in this situation.

Mr. Archetype - Please send me my product so I can experience a high quality product.

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[CharlesC]

Let me start saying I am not here to bash or flame Archetype Racing. I just want what I ordered and it has been a very, very long time.

Took 6 months to get my Birds from them after telling me it wouldn't be 6 months. Try hitting them up on FB and IG as well - had gotten a response from them on those at one point after no responses to emails.

Product is top notch, but definitely sucks waiting.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Yep, I’m still waiting on product from them as well. It took a few tries to get any useful response. They said procuct was some weeks out (which is fine), some weeks later still … no product. Clearly, they are selling preorders on product that doesnt exist yet, certaily they’re taking money on product they dont yet possess and probably haven’t paid for yet.

At this point I’d say dont give them any money. I havent cancelled yet because my other components of my build were delayed too, but of all the many vendors I’ve used, Archetype is dead last on all accounts.

TL;DR they dont actually have much of any actual product ready to ship. They will glady take your money and maybe you’ll get some product weeks or months (?years?) later but you wont get any useful communication and so far seems like a complete waste of time.

0/10 would not do business ever again. I’m not saying their entirely a scam, but they’re clearly struggling or are incompetent or some conbination of the two.

 

[wingnutt]

…and if you don’t get the reference, talk to @Tomster

 

[The Chairman]

Guess I’ve been lucky. Both items I ordered in Nov 2023 were noted as delayed. But in fact shipped out in a week. The packaging and quality was top notch.
After ordering and receiving the wickers, I realized that stick-on mounting wouldn’t be the best option. So I reached out asking for the mounting hardware. They responded immediately and shipped the same day.
Maybe I was just lucky. Hope y’all’s situation get sorted quickly.

 

[Biggsy]

I ordered the oil lines. The parts that sucks is that they don't make them. They outsource from DYME PSI. I wanted to go directly to DYME but figured there is something stating that they can't sell AR's "design" directly to a customer.

 

[honeybadger]

One of the best parts about AJ hartman is he answers the phone and is happy help you out. Choose your vendors carefully

 

[2morrow]

I’m glad we’re talking about this. I bought a simple part on Aug 27, 2023 (Almost a year ago lol) and before I placed the order I reached out on IG and the owner, Curtis, confirmed that 2 were in stock and ready to ship. I placed my order then and there.

I waited for 3 weeks and no product showed up so I emailed about the status of tracking. Turns out that they had no stock and were waiting for material.

(Insert I knew I f#cked up meme here )

Emails went back and forth, with long pauses, until April 26th, 2024 and I just got annoyed and called my bank. However it was after the 90 day period and they wouldn't do anything about it.

Long story short is that I'm out $192 however I've gained the knowledge to never do business again with Curtis or Archetype Racing.

When I upgrade my aero I will go to AJ Hartmann.

Sidenote: I have a friend that is unhappy with his experience as well. I wasn't going to say anything but this thread validates our experiences. People on the Bronco Forum and on Reddit are equally unhappy.

I hope you all have better experiences.

 

[mech94]

still waiting on my carbon fenders I ordered last year

 

[Biggsy]

It’s sad because when they first came on the scene, AR was producing quality(or what seemed quality) parts. I was envious of 350 owners getting all the good stuff. The splitters held up to track work. I dont know if the demand is too much for them especially venturing off into another platform (bronco) but I guess that’s how it goes with business. Started my piggy bank for a AJ Fulcrum 14 wing and splitter

 

[smokinscooters]

Bought Track Canards for my 350 in March and you guessed it....still waiting. Have emailed several times with no response. I won't ever be purchasing anything from Archetype ever again. I did actually receive my BiRDS system from them 3 months after ordering and the quality is awesome. They're manufacturing parts after they're ordered. That's a horrible way to do business...and they've lost mine because of it.

 

[NPTR]

Agree with the above - it’s luck of the draw on when you place their order and when they hit a sufficient demand number to move to production. If you’re gonna approach small batch high quality products like that, fine, but then be honest about it with your customers in advance of the order.

My recent shipment was significantly delayed, like 4-5x longer than they’re estimate. They never proactively checked in with me, but did end up responding when I hit them with some vague / ambiguous answers. I must admit, the product quality is super high, but the experience was definitely lackluster.

Luckily I wasn’t in a rush…but if there is a reputable competitor selling an on-par product that you also like, the poor customer experience would def tip the scales for me.

 

[Angrey]

I bought BIRDS and Canards from AT a couple of years ago. Canards took a bit, but nothing like the durations you guys are quoting.

It's apparent AT doesn't fabricate much of their products in house. That's not exactly abnormal, but if the true source is struggling, then you're left waiting (with no clear update) and having shelled out the money.

What always makes me nervous about these situations is whether the company is struggling and playing that classic ponzi scheme where revenue from current orders is going toward other things.

I ordered a CJ intake from a vendor and after it didn't ship, I contacted them and they told me it was back ordered. I called whipple and they told me it was NOT backordered, there were plenty of them sitting on shelf waiting and it took calling them out on social media before they refunded my money (instead of just making the purchase with whipple and sending me the product). Makes me wonder if they weren't struggling with the books and using customer money to make up for cash flow issues.

 

[Biggsy]

Makes me wonder if they weren't struggling with the books and using customer money to make up for cash flow issues.

So this is my line of thinking in regards to the oil crossover lines. Contacted DYME and tried to order through them but they redirected me to AR. They said that AR orders it from them so I feel as though if they had an inventory issue, they would’ve said something to the effect of “You have to order it through Archetype but we are currently out of inventory right now”.

 

[galaxy]

Not to get too far off topic, but those oil lines could not be less special. Get some measurements, remove the plug from the head and get your thread size, and get some custom -6 AN hoses made from any number of quality shops out there. Improved racing has the heat sleeve and everything.

I have the lines and the Birds. Both ordered and shipped right away with zero waiting. This was Mar of ‘22. Communication via text was immediate as we were chatting about any mil discounts, which he gave me. Ordered in March and delivered in March. Wonder what changed?

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