Retailer Check: JJ Buckley

There are 24 pages of comments about JJ Buckley, and, after browsing four or five, I’d like to ask if recent customers can say a few words about their experiences - not so much on the service side, but on the quality and storage of bottles received.

If I recall correctly, Buckley succeeded Wine Commune some years ago. WC’s reputation had been harmed because of evidence that they were re-selling bottles that previously returned to them after suffering heat damage (and maybe other things, but this is my main recollection).

Is the feeling among current buyers from Buckley that they are professionally conscientious about provenance, storage and shipping?

Thanks in advance for any input.

On the retail side they are a large operation with well stored and well shipped/imported bottles. I haven’t had any storage issues with them.

The bottles I’ve bought have looked pristine. I haven’t opened any yet, though. They’ve had perfect fills and capsules fwiw.

I’ve never had any problems with the bottles. They once send me the wrong bottles, but it was taken care of quickly.

Spent more there retail than I like to admit. Never a single issue.

Bought tons from them, zero problems or complaints on any front.

I have been buying from them for years with no issues. Great service and selection.

JF

I have purchased and store three hundred bottles with them a recent audit revealed they did not have one purchased they instantly sent me a credit and added $50 to the gift certificate. Overall a very positive experience.

Have purchased more than 1500 bottles from them over the past 12+ years, zero complaints (except when the Canadians f’d it all up, glad that’s far in the rear view!). Very high marks for these folks.

I have been buying for years, both new releases and older wines. I’m a happy customer.

I never had any problems with storage, but I did have problems with delivery of things I purchased. If that’s of interest to you, read on. If not, feel free to skip the rest of my post.

I stopped buying from them after they lost multiple pre-arrival bottles of Bordeaux that I had ordered many months prior. As the bottles arrived at JJB in dribs and drabs, they repeatedly tried to ship them to me despite my many messages to them to hold off on shipping until all the bottles arrived. At one point, they shipped the majority of a case against my wishes and then lost it when they attempted to recall it. At that point, they didn’t have extra bottles to fulfill the order.

Customer service around that was very poor, although, in the end, they did give me credit for the bottles they lost and an extra $100 credit to encourage me to continue being a customer. I gave them one more chance and that didn’t work out, either (I ordered multiple “in stock” bottles and only found out, after the shipment went out, that half of them weren’t available). I haven’t given them another chance and probably won’t. Too many other reliable places to shop.

Others have obviously had more positive experiences.

They are big supporters of Wine Berserkers. Been nothing but wildly responsive.

Been buying for years from them with nothing but good things to say about selection, price and provenance. Tracey’s my rep and she is super.

Seems like I am the only one who has had issues with them…unfortunately, I don’t buy from them anymore (perhaps I should reconsider?). Long story short, I had a full case of champagne that was cooked. Shipping was done in late fall with no temperature issues. They never did anything about it. So I never purchased there again.

JJ Buckely is a quality retailer. We’ve been buying from them for years. Chris Greene is who I work with at the moment.

I’ve had a lot of beer from Canada, and I’ve never had any problem getting hammered. I recommend it highly.

A+ for in stock orders.

Seems pre-arrival may be a different animal.

Many thanks for the many comments - good of all of you take a few minutes to chime in.

I’ve bought some older bottles from them that have been in great condition.

Very positive experience with them, especially Roland over many years. Had one small hiccup, some bad Brunello. They made me whole with a credi, no questions asked and didn’t even want the remaining bottles back.