Best basic cooler for the size and price

I had a modest wine collection (50 bottles) sitting in a too-warm garage so I purchased this (on 8/10/08) from Howard's Appliance & TV in Santa Ana, CA, which is only a few miles from my home. I mention this because previous comments focused mainly on shipping damage and not the unit itself. I paid $369 (+ tax) and had the store open my unit for inspection before taking it home. I am extremely happy with unit which does indeed store 47 bottles all in the "cork out" orientation providing all are of Bordeaux shape. I have a few Rhone style bottles relegated to the bottom shelf, so my currently capacity is 45 easy-to-access bottles. It is a good basic cooler that totally meets my needs. It could use an on-board thermometer, but that is easy to supply yourself. For the price and capacity, this is a great deal so I give it 5 stars.

[Tuesday, August 12, 2008]

Poor packaging and damaged during shipping!

Terribly weak packaging for such an item. When the first one arrived with every corner dented and the glass door slipped, I asked Amazon for a replacement. Big mistake. The second was equally as damaged as the first. I've received shoes shipped with stronger boxes and better padding.

To top it off, because it's a heavy item, Amazon said they'd schedule the pick-up with a shipper and they dropped the ball too. I had to call Amazon 3 times to get them to arrange the pick-up.

If this had been my first Amazon purchase, it would have been my last. Only because I've been so impressed with Amazon's previous services am I willing to write this fiasco off as a learning lesson.

Read the other reviews. This item has a documented history of shipping damage. I made the mistake of thinking it was a couple of exceptions. Trust me . . . it was only exceptionally BAD!

Aside from the damage, which was bad enough, the build quality is very poor. The cooling pump looks like the engineers, realizing it might be an important component (???), added it at the last second. The door is mearly bent aluminum trim pressed against the glass.

Save yourself the headache and hassles. Find another cooler. I ended up buying an excellent KitchenAid cooler from ABT Electronics. Granted, it's 3 times the price . . . but it's 10 times the quality. At least I don't feel like I wasted my money.

If you decide to try this Sanyo for yourself . . . don't say we didn't TRY to warn you . . .

[Wednesday, December 12, 2007]

Important design omitted

Very poor shipping packaging considering its weight and delicate panel finish. Received two units, the second having worse damage than the first. I imagine it's a formidable cooler for the price, but that's as far as I can go. Returned both units.

[Monday, August 21, 2006]