When you're looking at buying used appliances of unknown origin, there is always an associated risk. The question is whether or not you want to roll the dice. In any case, manage your expectations appropriately.
They get their goods from mostly auction from what I hear, so really the history of every machine is dubious at best to begin with. A fridge could've been from a lab that stores chemicals, or from another place or two even worse and not worth mentioning here. All I know is that when they get their shipment, most of them look awful before they are cleaned.
A few tips to help you improve your odds:
1. Like other Yelpers say, always inspect the unit you are purchasing in person. Don't just take their word for it.
2. Appliances usually have stickers on them that say when they were manufactured. Don't pick a unit that was manufactured some years ago. Try to grab something that is relatively new. The one I picked was from 2008, which was considerably newer than a lot of other ones I saw. Just by common sense, newer units will be more energy efficient, be easier to maintain in the future, have fewer miles on them, and probably have less chance of things going wrong to begin with.
3. Be direct and get units that are working when they come in. If the appliance doesn't work when they receive it, then they have to fix it to sell it. This is already asking for problems as most of these will probably be repeat issues waiting to happen later. They have most of their uncleaned, fresh arrival stock in the alley behind the showroom, so don't be afraid to ask to go out there and inspect the newly conscripted units for yourself. Chances are if you pick one outside and have them try it on the spot, that means it didn't need any extra TLC to get it up and running, and has a better chance of being a keeper.
4. More features, more problems. Avoid getting anything too fancy here, the simpler it is, the less that can go wrong. That cool icemaker or crazy popup digital display might one day not work in the near future, then what do you do? Is it worth fixing then? Keeping the purchase footprint small will also help you in chucking these machines away in the future.
My personal experience was mixed. I was inquiring about a specific fridge at first, but then they got a phonecall and sold the same fridge that was in front of me. I ended up settling on another for the same price, and have been mostly happy with it.
The fridge that I got works fine, but the freezer compartment doesn't seal properly (possibly the gasket), so I get bugs that sneak into my freezer overnight. When I originally looked at the fridge, I pointed this out, and they said that the suction won't be there until the fridge gets cold. That didn't really make much sense to me, as I thought rubber would harden in cold temperatures, and therefore provide less suction, but took their word for it since there really wasn't anything I could do at the time. I ended up having to tape the freezer sides with masking tape, which works well, but again is a personal workaround.
The delivery experience was very good. We moved into our new place in Carson on a Friday night, and they delivered the fridge at the scheduled time of around 8:30 PM. They waived the delivery charge for us, even though we were out of the 25 mile radius. I personally wouldn't have wanted to deliver a fridge on a Friday night outside of my free delivery radius, so I am thankful that they accommodated me here.
There's a 12 month guarantee where they will allegedly send out a technician for repairs if any issues come up, but I am hoping I will never need to find out if I need this. read more