Customers screwed out of Unicorn scooter to get free Unagi electric scooter

Earlier this month we reported on the demise of Unicorn, an electric scooter company that went out of business before delivering any of its promised electric scooters to paying customers.

And when it shuttered operations, it took customers’ pre-order cash with it — or rather, had apparently already spent it on marketing.

But now those same Unicorn customers are getting a second chance that just so happens to fall on the eve of Christmas, the second day of Hanukah, and Festivus.

Now that’s what I call a holiday miracle!

Free Unagi scooter for Unicorn customers

Unagi, a competitor of Unicorn (and a company that has actually been delivering its electric scooters for over a year) will bail out Unicorn customers.

In a deal worked out between the two companies, Unicorn customers who didn’t receive a scooter after paying out to Unicorn will be entitled to either a free Unagi electric scooter (worth $990 and objectively a superior scooter) or can have their pre-order refunded in full. The Unicorn electric scooters originally sold for between $350 to $500.

Unagi’s CEO David Hyman explained some of the terms of the deal to Electrek:

We will be taking over control of the Unicorn domain name/website and will redirect to our web site. We are not taking over the company, but anyone who bought a Unicorn will either get their money back, or get a free Unagi. We will take a loss on this, but the Unicorn founder is making contributions to the total. He’s tapping into his personal savings to cover some of the cost. Essentially, we’re doing it because we felt bad for these folks, it’s Christmas/Hanukah time and it feels like the right kind of goodwill. Plus, more Unagi scooters on the road means more Unagi lovers, since everyone who owns one loves them!

While that last bit certainly sounds confident, I can confirm it — at least for me. I was one of the first people in the world to test out an Unagi electric scooter over a year ago and the experience was impressive. It’s far better than your standard $250 Amazon electric scooters, and there’s simply no comparison when it comes to appearance or style.

And from what I hear, the Unagi scooter is only getting better with new updates and upgrades.

Electrek’s Take

While I’d love to believe this is entirely altruistic, there’s of course a good bit of marketing here. If Unicorn pre-order holders that got screwed out of their electric scooters weren’t getting free upgrades to an Unagi, then I wouldn’t be writing about the company right now.

But even if there are ulterior motives, this is still an awesome move. Especially since I have to imagine that Unagi is going to be out of a huge chunk of change on this one. There were supposedly around 350 Unicorn pre-orders made before the company folded, which is going to be a pretty pricey order of Unagi scooters for the company to fill. Unicorn’s founder Nick Evans has apparently compensated Unagi to some extent, though I’m guessing if he had the money to pay for 350 Unagi scooters, he would have just fulfilled his much less expensive Unicorn scooters. So this is definitely a generous gesture from Unagi, marketing aside.

Lastly, can we all just take a moment to appreciate that this news came on the overlap of Christmas, Hanukah, and Festivus?!