Underground Cellar
reviews and complaints

Underground wine cellars is a complete scam. They sell wine at a *** up price to begin with and then claim you got upgraded. I bought a case and they claimed to have given me an upgrade for 90% of my wine - which turned out completely false. All my wines that paid for $30-40 range were claimed to be upgrades as the market value (which they call winery price) determined by them was $40-50. Its completely false! I looked up the current price and they were as much as 50% lower in retail than what I paid them to get a chance for a real upgrade.Please stay clear of this scam and build your collection from a trusted purveyor of fine wine.

I requested a 12 bottle shipment on 3/26 - it is now 5/5 and I have yet to receive. Initially I was told that they changed cellars and shipments were delayed - then I was told that 4 bottles of wine that they did not have was delaying my shipment and they replaced with four different bottles - now I am not getting any responses to my emails! I have spent thousands of dollars with this company and this was the first time I requested a shipment of wine. Seems funny that I still receive emails everyday to buy more wine but no one can seem to get back to me on what the hold up is on my one and only shipment request! Have I been shammed?

I am only giving this 1 Star, b/c I can't leave a ZERO! HUGE scam, terrible customer service! I purchased 6 bottles of wine (their choice) on April 26th and it is now June 8th and I still haven't received it. I have spent sooo much time emailing them and trying to resolve, but they will not give back my money. They charge a $16 SERVICE FEE AND $16.50 SHIPPING FEE! And b/c the bottle they "promised," still isn't available, (7 weeks later), they expect me to pay the shipping fee TWICE! They claim that they are sending you more expensive bottles, but that it is THEM who is giving the "Estimated Retail Price." I am now going through my credit card company to dispute the charge.

Very disappointed in my experience with Underground Cellar - what they advertise, say and do are two very different things. I purchased almost $4,000 (across 7 different transactions) and did not get a single bottle upgraded to the one advertised. Requested some of them to be shipped, they immediately print a label to show as shipped but in fact they donttook over 3 weeks any many many messages to customer support which also takes days to respond. I requested a correction to be made in my shipping address, received acknowledgment that it was corrected - well it wasnt. These are just some examples of my horrible experience with themsuper disappointed and I really had high hopes in becoming a longtime customer.

Their business model is a little sketchy. They sell you wine that they don't have, they hold it for you (maybe?!) in their cellar, and ship to you (for a fee) when you request your bottles. After my initial order of 3 bottles, 5 weeks had passed and only one was "ready to ship". Apparently this is normal as they are pre-selling the wine and then need to get it from the wineries to their cellar and then ship to you when you request. Luckily, they swapped my bottles for ones that they did have in stock and now they're on their way. In general though all of their marketing materials seem to be targeted towards people who want fancy wines at a discount and "bragging rights" about their wine collection that happens to be stored somewhere else and is essentially virtual in a sense.

Total Scam. We purchased several bottles of wine in order to potentially upgrade to a very expensive bottle. We won the bottle instantly but after no less than A YEAR of countless emails, involving our lawyer, and various other methods, we finally received our bottle. This bottle was purchased from another vendor and came with it's receipt. Clearly, they don't have the inventory and are running a ponzi scheme to bait consumers with amazing opportunities to buy wine, but make the almost impossible to receive the wine you purchased. I used to tell my friends and colleagues about UC and how amazing it was, but until I and my friends/colleagues realized actually getting wine that you pay for delivered was such an incredible hassle, we've all since abandoned using the app. I don't recommend this site to my worst enemy.

I placed my first order about four weeks ago and so far have purchased 60 bottles of wine from Underground Cellar. After placing my first few orders there we quite a few not available to ship, but by time my orders totaled 24 bottles there were plenty to ship and I selected my first case. it shipped within two day and I received it in less than a week. Since then most of my bottles have been available within two weeks. After placing my first orders I received an email from a community success manager *** and we set up a brief phone call. I asked a few questions and *** had answers to all of them. I did have a couple of issues with getting multiple bottles of specific wines but an email to Logan and he swapped them out for me within minutes. I find their customer service to be world class and am truly enjoying my experience with UC. I understand that in their start up phase there were a number of issues but they seem to have ironed out the kinks and I look forward to continuing my relationship with them.

Just a nightmare to deal with or get ahold of someone competent. You can ask them detailed questions about your order and you will get someone on the other end cutting and pasting answers off the link on their website. They never read the question or just half way. It's as if I was talking Chinese. Shipping issues: Not in stock - have to tell them to substitute for something else. Stopped waiting for it to arrive in the cellar. Never showed after 2 years. - Changed shipping providers/locations multiple times. This put delays further on hold over last 6 years, or at least that's what I was told. - Then one minute they're using FedEx carrier and next minute it's UPS. This makes it hard to HOLD @LOCATION when shipping to another state. (Yes they don't ship to all states. Or they ship to yours and the next minute they don't.) FedEX doesn't deliver to UPS stores and vice versa. The shipping address information was previously stored on their site, but failed to get into the competent hands of their shipping provider who should have caught that. -Their promotional giveaways and games. Funny how I've been waiting for their Scrabble game prizes to arrive in my cloud seller. Socks, swag bags, wrist bands, even gift cards. Still waiting over 2 years.

Beware ... Little to no customer support, misleading emails about shipping. Example: I bought a Mystery Wine package. After a couple weeks without knowing what would be the Mystery Wines, I sent an email asking simply ... when will I know? No reply for a full 2 weeks. Finally get told what the 3 wines will be. Seems they could explain this process as part of the FAQ ... but certainly should not take 2 weeks to answer a simple email. So I started getting concerned about buying so much wine, slow support replies, and no phone number listed on website to contact them ... so I decided I better request a shipment to make sure this is a legit site. On 4/9 I picked 11 bottles and my wine opener gift ... which for some reason takes up the entire slot of a 12th bottle, but was the only option got getting it sent as part of free shipping. I got immediate email that it typically takes 24-48 hours to be sent to FedEx, at which time I would get tracking information. Nothing until 4/16 ( 1 week) which said "shipped." I check FedEx, it just says "label created." Maybe I have a different definition of shipped, but creating a label is not "shipped." Very misleading. Now it's been 10 days since I asked for shipment. So I sent yet another email asking when I can expect them to actually be shipped; awaiting their reply. But I am about ready to contact my credit card company and contest all the charges. Waiting weeks on end for email replies is unacceptable. Glad I finally found a phone number on here, since it is not listed on their site ... which alone should have been a red flag to me, and hopefully now for others

I have had only positive experiences with Underground Cellar and recently got a very rare *** as an upgrade. I have read a lot of reviews and let me make some things clear to folks regarding this process and value proposition. I have purchased approximately 10 cases so far. 1. Shipping wine during very cold or very hot times of the year is tricky. You should really only be shipping in spring and fall and if not, send it overnight. I have had flawless shipping experiences on both free ground and overnight shipping with UC. They ship wine in temperature controlled units when necessary which takes more time. Just speak with customer service, I've found them very responsive and helpful. 2. Value of wine is massively VARIABLE. When you start googling prices, you're seeing values from various sellers, many with very dubious and questionable pricing online that *** charge absurd shipping costs. UC's retail price listings are high, they *** reflect the winery's retail price but they are selling at probably 40-50% off MSRP, so you're capturing good value on wine that you simply cannot buy yourself at any store. The variety and value is what you're getting. 3. The best value on offers from UC are in their pricier offerings. This is simple math. There just isn't that much value to be captured on low cost wine. The old saying: "you get what you pay for", does apply here. I've been extremely satisfied with the offerings in the $45+ range and I've acquired a lot of bottles I'd never be able to afford, let alone find at my local retailers. In short, I couldn't recommend this company more for what they do. You get great variety as a wine explorer at a good price. Is every wine I've received a great deal? No, but most are. If I had to put a number on it--I'd say I'm saving 30+ percent and the buying and shipping experiences have been great.

This has been one of the easiest experiences I have ever had with an online store. I am not sure why others have had such a hard time reading about the actual process and how everything works. It is truly simple if you read and follow the directions. If you cannot read and follow the directions it is not Underground Cellar's fault, it is yours. I have had the pleasure of free shipping and paying for shipping, both were of my choice. I tend to only order wines during the winter months due to it being cooler, seeing as I am a *** resident, it is important to know when to order and how to order, if it is ground or next day. I am, as should everyone, aware of the percent game, it is a lot like gambling. You take a chance on getting a wine that is more valuable. I have made several orders recently and none of them are below the price that I paid for them. Market Value does fluctuate for wines much like it does for metals and gemstone. Before you leave a review make sure you fully read what you are doing. I have had the pleasure of also speaking with customer service. They have been wonderful, I had a few questions about the process for oversized bottles, which I didn't know you could be upgraded to, and a few other questions dealing with regular shipment. There are never a ton of customer service representatives at any business, let alone a business that has such a specialized market. So patience is a must have, they will get back to you. Make sure if you are going to email them you give them as much detail in the email as possible, the more you give the easier it will be on them and they will not have to go digging for all your information, the order numbers, etc. The more work you give them the longer it takes for them to reply. It is the same concept with any business.I will say this again. READ EVERYTHING . It will make everyone's life so much easier, the business spells everything out for you if you take the time to read.

I would call Underground Cellar's practices somewhat deceptive at best, though I wouldn't outright say one shouldn't use the service. The Pros: 1) It's an interesting means of being exposed to new wines - While I personally prefer to go to a liquor store with a good selection and knowledgeable employees who can help me find a few new bottles, for someone with less time going through Underground Cellar would be a good and efficient way of doing this. 2) There is a real chance of some remarkable upgrades - While I can't personally speak to the remarkable wines one can be upgraded to, and the chances of a real upgrade are slim, this is quite the benefit. 3) Free storage and shipping - While this doesn't seem like a massive benefit, for those with a large collection who don't immediately want their wine, free storage is quite helpful. I can't speak to how quickly the wines become available for shipping, and perhaps that will change my opinion, but as someone who doesn't buy wine for immediate consumption, I find the storage helpful, and free nationwide shipping should be valued at around $30-40, which is quite a nice "gimme". The Cons: 1) Their Pricing system is deceptive - I can't quite tell where they get their stated retail prices from. Sometimes they are perfectly in line with the best wine-searcher prices available, sometimes they're as much as 3x (just looking at my own purchases). While one as a customer is always considered to have gotten "upgrades", the statement seems a dubious one. Summary: Functionally, your enjoyment of this service will be entirely predicated on your enjoyment of gambling. If you enjoy buying lootboxes of wine, then this is the service for you. If you're really worried about getting the costs at actual retail, you can cross reference the values yourself at other retailers. While I would call the valuations to be wrong, and the "everyone is a winner" angle deceptive, the truth of the matter is that the odds and potential outcomes are all presented before one orders. While I can't say I will be using the service again personally, I think it's overall a cool option for those who both like wine and like a bit of gambling, and I would recommend it to that sort of person. While I can understand why the customer review rating is so low (I too was quite irate when I did some of my own research on the value of these wines), I don't think it's entirely fair. One wouldn't rate a Casino 1/5 just because they lost at the roulette wheel, I don't think it it's fair to rate this place 1/5 just because they said the wine you paid $35 for is worth $45 when you could potentially get it for $25. I may update this further depending on how the rest of the process goes...

I read so many reviews here and was extremely hesitant to try *** out. Let's just say I'm EXTREMELY glad I didn't listen to these folks. Most of the people who wrote these negative reviews fall into one or more of the following buckets:1) They've never purchased wine online 2) They didn't read what Underground Cellar is all about, how they operate, or what wines are included when they purchase 3) They didn't pay for the overnight shipping (which if you fall into bucket one, you don't understand how or why you should ALWAYS have wine shipped overnight)I am writing this review at 1:37 p.m. CST on August 4. I made my first purchase on Underground Cellar at 12:04 p.m. CST on August 3. I received my shipment of wine 10 minutes ago from the purchase I made YESTERDAY because I chose to pay the extra $90 to have it overnight. Now, a few things to note. If you buy wine online, especially if you live in a warm area (I live in ***), you should ALWAYS pay to have your wine shipped overnight. If you don't want to pay for overnight shipping, you are taking a major chance at having your wine spoil. If you don't think it's worth it based on the bottles you bought, then I would HIGHLY suggest you just stick to the wine you can get at your local wine/liquor stores or grocery stores. If you are a casual wine drinker, you probably shouldn't be using UC or any online site anyways. If you are buying bottles that are worth $50 or $75 and up, you should ALWAYS get the fastest shipping possible. Full stop, the end. If you opt for the free shipping, of course it's going to be slow. It's ground shipping. I've bought over $20,000 worth of wine online in the last 2 years and I can say without an ounce of hesitancy that this was the absolute FASTEST I've ever received wine I purchased. I was actually shocked. I mean it was truly overnight and from purchase to delivery took 25 hours. It may not happen every time but they sure did a great job with this first time customer.Second thing to note. There's really no point in using UC to buy wine under $50 or so, UNLESS you are buying in large quantities OR you just like the thrill of the *** on *** bought into the $100 Collector's Cab package and ended up paying $495 (I used a gift card as well so total was actually $600 - so I got the 6 bottle package) and I ended up getting over $900 worth of wine. I price checked them on Wine-Searcher.com (highly recommend you do the same if you are going to use UC) and almost every bottle actually EXCEEDED UC's Average Retail Price listed on their site. Needless to say, I was pleased. But back to my original point - If you are buying $20, $30, $40 bottles, then you do you. But don't be *** when you get something you don't know and DEFINITELY don't get *** when you don't win the "grand prize" bottle they advertise you have a chance at winning. You are better served to go down to your local wine shop and talk to the shop owner about some bottles in that price range that you are more prone to like. Lastly. Read things before you invest. I'd say 90% of the people complaining here didn't read ANYTHING about UC and their business model. You are going to get some bottles you may not have bought elsewhere. You are going to swing and miss a few times with some bottles you may not even want. That's part and parcel for what you are signing up for. If you don't like taking those chances, buy at your local wine shop. TL/DR - Know what you are signing up for. Unless you like the *** or you buy in bulk, don't use UC to buy bottles under $40 - You're better served going for the $50 and up. And finally, PAY FOR THE OVERNIGHT SHIPPING. It's 100% worth it and it's the wisest thing to do when buying wine online. Overall, this was one of the coolest and FASTEST experiences I've had buying wine online. Until they s*** it up, I will surely be coming back again.

I see you have responded here after you have closed down so I am trying to get an answer here. I see you have shut down you business on the 24th of April but I had made a request to ship a case of wine on April 20th. Of course, those wines I had requested are now back in my wine cellar and you have no response to the phone calls (that line is no longer operational after the 24th) and the dozen or so emails I have sent. There are 129 bottles of wine in my "virtual celllar" that I am pretty sure you will not be sending. Can you explain where my bottles are and how you plan on resolving the thousands of bottles you have promised to your customers that are outstanding?

I have purchased wine from this company and have been trying to get anything delivered for about a year. To this date I have not recieved a single bottle. They keep giving me excuse after excuse. I'm startig to think this is a scam.

This company is a scam. Their marketing techniques are deceptive and offer very little info about their selling concept when purchasing. They sell you bottles of wine they don't have in inventory and can't ship to you anytime in the near future. They expect you to make a "cloud cellar" ... I buy wine and expect it to be shipped. I purchased 18 bottles and they claim they can only ship 5 of them. I was told 6-8 weeks for the others but reading complaints here they can't ship what they say they have and it will more likely be a year or more for the others ... if at all. However, they take full payment up front ... that's the scam. Contacting them was a waste of time as the person was arrogant and wanted to point out how much I saved and told me I could go buy the wines at retail price. "I added up the amount of discounts you received and it comes to over $250. If you want to pay full price and receive your wine right away you're always welcome to go straight to the retailer. Since you've already placed this order we've now requested that wine from the winery. It's going to show up regardless at this point, hence the no cancellations policy." At some point is very broad and could mean never. BUYER BEWARE.