I bought this model because it was recommended by a couple different sites and it sounded like no one should expect incredible things from a 20-30 bottle wine storage unit that costs around $300. Only just arrived (I'll update a few months from now), but here are my first impressions about some specific issues I was concerned about:
1. Noise. Our apartment is a loft style, so I was worried to hear some reviews discussing how noisy their unit was. To be honest, I dont understand what the concern is about. True, it's a compressor unit (like any wine fridge that will actually keep your wines at the desired temperature), but I've had many mini-fridges that were much louder, and it's easy to forget it's even on. You can't hear it from the other side of the room--about 20 feet away.
2. Space. I got the larger model because I saw several complaints on different Ivation models about not being able to fill the cooler to capacity. Maybe it is a new model or a manufacturing flaw, but I discovered not all the shelves have the same clearance. I assume this is so that fatter bottles can go in one shelf and thinner/longer bottles on another. I currently have 24 bottles in the fridge (and have left the last 4 spaces at the bottom unoccupied). That said, a) I did have to put one bottle backwards to make it fit. I'm sure a bit more rearranging and it would have stored properly, b) the top shelf is not as deep as the others, so not all bottles will fit there. In summary, yes, you have to be a bit strategic about how to fit everything, but unless you're hoping to store 28 bottles of Pinot Noir, you should be able to use all, or almost all the capacity with a bit of rearranging. And it's easy to spend more money on a smaller cooler.
3. Cooling. I'm not a big white wine fan, so I probably won't be putting this cooler down to its minimum temperature. However, I'd read that some people had trouble getting it down to 55 degrees, which had me a bit worried. It's been on for three hours now, it's pretty full, and we're already at 59 degrees despite the room being a bit warm. I did let it cool down empty before putting the bottles in, and this may have been a difference.
4. The smell. I know this disapates with time, but a lot of people complained about the smell out of the box. Indeed, it stinks. A lot. We have four very large windows, we opened all of them, and it still smelled a bit. However, the smell went away after about 2-3 hours. So just open it up on a day when you can leave the windows open, and you should be fine.
5. Size. Some people had complained that it was too large. Amazingly, I own a measuring tape and actually checked it would fit in the space I had in mind. Guess what? It did! That said, if you're expecting the dimensions of a mini fridge, you'll notice it seems a bit narrow and tall. I imagine this was to fit the maximum bottles in the smallest space possible. And since I paid $300 for it (and the measurements are listed online), I'm fine with the result.
In summary, it's not perfect, but the negative reviews on here are, in my opinion, a bit overblown. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a better option with this capacity around this price point.
UPDATE: four months in, the cooler is still working the same as the day it arrived. It seems the changing temperature occurs because it's designed to keep your wine within five degrees of the temperature you set on the cooler. For this reason, I keep the cooler set to 53 degrees, and it always reads a temperature between 53 and 58 (i.e. average of about 55, where it should be). I've talked to my supplier and other wine enthusiasts, and it sounds like this is a pretty common occurrence and nothing to worry about.
As to the noise, after living with it in a fairly quiet apartment, I can say you only really can hear the noise when all your appliances are off and the windows are closed. My desk for work is right next to it, and I haven't found this to be an issue at all.
In sum, it still gets 5 stars and I think it's a great deal for the price.
Tom
Laura Caswell