Review by Phillip Roncoroni:

… foregoing the two reviews about shipping damage, I thought I’d try ordering this product for several reasons:

1) The hi-res dealer images of it from Sanyo.com made it look like one sexy fridge

2) The energy rating was good

3) I knew if the product did arrive damaged, Amazon would replace it, or refund my money anyway

4) I have Amazon Prime, so I figured paying .99 for overnight shipping would also make the delivery people think this was a special product, since it was going overnight, and not being sent across the country via Ground shipping, and abused in the process.

Well, the product arrived today, and initially, I thought, “This can’t be good.”

The box was extremely tattered… and the top was ripped open. I also heard rattling as the FedEx man helped me carry it up the stairs. Then he left, without even getting a signature. Oh, and at my front door the FedEx man just dropped the box on the ground in front of me.

I opened the box upstairs, and saw horrible, horrible packaging, as others have mentioned. The box was all beat up, and several of the inch or less thick padding was cracked and damaged.

Luckily, the fridge seemed to make it through intact… no dents, and it worked. The rattling as I carried it was the compressor… I still don’t know if this is normal though.

These fridges are indeed shipped on a pallet, you can see that from the shipping sticker from Sanyo to Amazon’s Nevada warehouse. Three fridges per pallet. All Amazon does is stick a FedEx/UPS sticker on these boxes, and ship them off. If I didn’t get this sent overnight, I can almost guarantee the fridge would’ve beat beat to hell going ground from Nevada to New York.

As for this part of the item description,

“To keep the refrigerator looking brand new, its stainless-steel door has a clear acrylic coating that eliminates fingerprints and is easy to keep clean.”

Well, it won’t be happening for me, as the clear acrylic coating came ripped halfway down the upper right corner of the fridge, so I really had no choice but to rip all the rest of it off.

The fridge works, and it DOES look amazingly sexy, but unless you have Prime, or want to pay for expedited shipping, this will almost certainly come damaged until Amazon decides to start packaging these adequately. And really, I don’t see why they don’t, because it’s just a hassle for the end customer, and an expensive dime on their end to pay for return shipping, and then shipping again for a replacement.

Review by Unmet expectations:

Just like the previous reviewer, the refrigerator was inadequately packed and arrived very damaged. The front stainless steel was dented, the bottom was bent, and the whole front corner was bent in. These corresponded to damage and rips in the cardboard box. The problem seems to be that they were originally crated by Sanyo for individual sale at Costco (special order production just for them) and probably shipped to them on a pallet. They were obviously never meant to be shipped individually as there is essentially no padding inside the flimsy box (a few slivers of styrofoam top and bottom). Amazon does not repack or strengthen the packaging, so damage is inevitable. STEER CLEAR. Also, the actual dimensions of the unit are not what are listed and claimed by Sanyo. It is slightly taller than stated, which might make it unacceptable for tight applications with no room to spare. The rear of the unit does not have any protective “feet” at all: it is bare metal which can scratch your floor.

Review by MMP:

This refrigerator is great – if you want to keep soda cold. The items in the door are barely chilled, not cold….the freezer either doesn’t freeze at all OR freezes so well that everything on the top shelf freezes too…all without touching the temperature dial. On the positive – it’s a nice size.

Review by Ottokrat:

I’m very happy with this fridge.

It is very quiet, just a faint humming noise that you have to get right up close and bend over it to hear. I have it in the pantry, but could easily put it in my office.

It certainly gets cold enough. I like my beer cold, and, I have the unit set around 2/3 and it is nice and chilly, with plenty of control left to go colder. Items in the bottom shelf and door are cold too.

(I don’t know what problem the other reviewer was having with items in the door not being cold enough. I do keep the fridge pretty full, so maybe that helps stabilize the temps, or, my unit is just not having that problem. So far, I haven’t tried the freezer, e.g. for ice or ice-cream, so I can’t comment on that).

Also, as far as I could tell, instructions didn’t say anything about leaving it stand for 24 hours before running the first time (or after moving it and especially tilting), but I’ve seen that on other fridges, and I thought it was a good practise to follow, so I did.

I took the advice of other reviewers and ordered it with 1-day shipping, which seemed to have the desired effect as it came with no damage. for 1 day shipping of a fridge is quite a deal – you have to love Amazon Prime!

I thought the packaging was basically sufficient as long as treated ok by the shipper, though it doesn’t safeguard much against rough handling such as poking something into a side panel.

My wife said she could detect a faint smell at first, since it is in a small walk-in pantry where we usually keep the door closed, but I think that’s all gone now.

I bought this one because of the energy rating (low enough), the size (big enough), and, the door wasn’t dedicated to 12-oz cans like many of the others.

I’d buy this again!

Review by A. Yu:

For the most part, this refridgerator has done a good job keeping the drinks cold, and the size is reasonable: small on the outside, big on the inside, perfect for the dorm room. The interior is sound and the temperature is very cold, even on the minimum setting.

So why did it lose three stars? Because of one minor flaw, and one serious problem. The minor flaw is that while the fridge keeps the things inside cold, the top and sides get uncomfortably warm. Not enough to set anything on fire, but definitely not the thing you want to put your bare hand on for long. Good if you want to keep lunch warm though.

As for the serious problem– the pipe in the back gets really, really cold. After running this for three weeks, my mother noticed that the fridge was leaking water. Upon further inspection, I noticed that it wasn’t a leak…it was water dripping from MELTING ICE THAT HAD FORMED around one of the pipes in the back of the fridge, just outside of the insulation that had wrapped around the pipe. The chunk was about an inch and a half in diameter, and looked like a chunk of white foam wrapped around the pipe.

It took me 15 minutes to ease the ice off, then as I was inspecting the pipe under the insulating cover, another chunk of ice popped out. All told, it took about 20 minutes to get the mess handled, but I’m glad my mother noticed the water dripping when she did, otherwise, I fear that the fridge might have short circuited and cost us 0 in the process.

EDIT: In regards to the ice–the refridgerator’s parts seem to be watertight, so you don’t have to worry about the ice harming it. I do recommend that, should you buy this fridge, to either put some foam/insulation around the pipe to reinforce the one already present, or, more simply, just putting a tray under the ice to catch the drips.

Review by Terry:

I bought this for my office. I looks great, and works fine. It also was received very fast. I was amazed how quickly I received it. One issue though; it has one of the most lacking owner’s manuals, so be prepared for trial and error. I know a fridge is not the most complicated equipment, but I had to guess which way the cold adjustment knob was supposed to go to make the fridge colder. The knob is also down in the back, so if you have to adjust, it is a bit of a reach. Now that I figured things out, though, I really am pleased.

Review by Mickey:

It’s on sale this week at Target for 9, so I thought I’d write a review in case anyone wants to get one cheap without having to pay shipping.

Perfect size for one person–maybe even 2. I would have liked a bigger freezer compartment, but it’s bigger than it looks. At a medium setting the frozen foods stay frozen, and the refrigerated foods are plenty cold. The thermostat actually works.

This is a real fridge with a compressor, not some cheap piece of junk.

Review by Denis He:

To prolong the life on your fridge, you should read what must be done. This fridge has to be unplugged for 24 hours if it is EVER horizontal, probably with the liquids inside for the cooling system. Since the delivery men could have had it horizontal (assume that they did) or if they had it diagonal going up the stairs or whatnot, you should have it unplugged for 24 hours. After that, you have to have it on ’4′ setting for 24 hours.

Beware that the back can get pretty hot as its meant to take heat out of the fridge.

After that, the fridge seems to be working GREAT. Had it for about a month or so now and it is cold enough to make ice and freeze my ice pack on the ’5′ setting as well as keep my drinks cold. NOT a disappointment like the so called mini-fridges which are really mini coolers.

Review by A Customer:

My decision for a compact refrigerator was a double door design. Separate freezer and refrigerator.

I highly recommend this product and this brand (Air Purifiers USA). After ordering the product, I contacted the manufacture (via the email confirmation details), and asked about the color options. White on white vs. Stainless on black. (I read them on the product description page, but was not able to make the selection during checkout). The gentlemen suggested putting the order on hold for 2 hours, he then contacted the warehouse, determined availability, and called me back and I selected Stainless on black. The order arrived in 3 days using regular shipping and the box was very well packaged. In fact, the original packing carton was inserted into a slightly larger carton (with good padding) and the entire packing was first rate.

The refrigerator is a thing of beauty. A full size look in a compact size unit. Stainless front with black box. The top has a convenient molded tray, designed to be used as a ‘spill proof’ counter top. The topside is large enough to hold coffee maker, cups, etc. and will never scratch.

Time will tell if this unit will perform as expected. My confidence is high and I am a very pleased customer.

Review by Victor Zlotnicki:

I bought a slightly different model 1 year ago. It has worked superbly all the time. So, why do I bother to write the review NOW ? Because of Customer Support. I needed to move the fridge to another location, and re-hung the doors from hinges-on-the-right (the way it came from the factory) to hinges-on-the-left. When I was done, the freezer door was slightly misaligned and did not close properly. I called their 800 number; it is busy much of the time (it is either busy, or a person answers, no waiting), but it was worth retrying. When I got through to a person, HE ACTUALLY WALKED ME THROUGH THE STEPS NEEDED TO FIX THE PROBLEM on the phone; no charge, no hassle (and he spoke flawless American English, as opposed to me). I am so impressed that I felt compelled to write this review. These guys can sell me any of their equipment any time.

Review by Kim Perkins:

I purchased this model LG Fridge in Jan of this year. Yesterday (6months later), I believe they finally got it fixed! THe freezer drawers were not air tight so they stayed frosted up and you couldn’t open them except by force and the panel readout went out shortly after installation. The Icemaker never did really work well, it hardly made ice and when it did you had to dip it from the maker. Also, the temp fluctuated so much that I could not keep items in it such as milk or things that spoil easily. Thank goodness we have an old fridge for back-up and I bought insurance that repairs my appliance from the dealer!! After replacing 2 main board computer panels, 2 fans, and all of the seals, I finally have a working product!!! Well, for now at least!! WAY TOO EXPENSIVE FOR A MAYBE! If you are going to purchase this fridge, BUY INSURANCE!!!!!!

Review by Yuriy:

The refrigerator works very well. As per the instructions make sure to wait 24 hours before turning it on. It arrived without damage and keeps the temperature just fine. Noise level is acceptable (nothing amazing, but its not bad either).

The packaging is in fact attrocious. There is literally no foam padding of any kind. Amazon packs its books better than Haier packs its fridge. Only order if you have Amazon Prime – upgrade it to overnight shipping (.99) and your order is unlikely to arrive with any damage. The less time in shipping, the less likely you are to see damage.

Other than that, this is a great mini-fridge especially given the price.

Review by D. Piergies:

Deal to good to be true. Free shipping offer. The refrigerator arrived in the box that you would see in the store. There was no protection from shipping damage and guess what. The refrigerator damaged/dented. I could have gotten past the dent but aftre being plugged in for 24 hours, the inside was hotter than before plugging it in. I had to repack the item doing a much better job than I received it in and drive it to a local UPS depot where they charged me more than what Amazon would have charged me if the shipping weren’t free. Amazon did refund the price of the refrigerator but only the shipping that they would have charged and NOT what I had to pay. I lost money on this deal and have no refrigerator.

Review by trevtnyc:

This fridge replaced the old one in my apartment because the old one died, and upon it being delivered I was a little worried that it wasn’t big enough since it was so much smaller than my old one. My worries were squelched after I started using it, this is a nice space saving refrigerator, perfect for small apartments or bar areas in homes. It has a very deep frost-free freezer with lots of space, one adjustable rack and space in the door as well. The fridge area has two adjustable glass shelves, plenty of space in the door and a nice crisper in the bottom. I love the fact that it has separate temperature controls for the fridge and freezer. This is all I need and more in a great stainless steel look. Definitely worth it if you need a fridge for small spaces or a second smaller one!

Review by Bianca I. Rodriguez:

It was niccer than what I expected. A lot more inexpensive than the stores.