A very, very nice piece of furniture... if you can get it delivered intact!
This review was hard to write... because while the item itself is one of the nicest "faux wood" shelving units I've ever seen, and while it looks really nice... getting one INTACT was a challenge, as the vendor BADLY mispackages it. Ultimately, I chose to base my review on the item itself, not on how it is packaged and delivered, but I'll discuss both here. For anyone wondering... yes, this is a particle-board-with-cosmetic-covering type item, not "real wood." If you want something like this in real, solid hardwood, you can get that, too, but it will run you many times more ($800-$1500, I'd say). Solid hardwood is always going to be more robust, and better looking, overall. But if you can't afford that, or don't need that, this is about as good as you're going to do. This is a VERY SOLID piece of furniture, once (properly) assembled. I've worked with "store brand" shelves before, and this is far superior to those. Most of those are rated at 25 lbs per shelf... some as low as 15 lbs per shelf. This one is rated at 45 lbs per shelf. Note that I've often put far more than 25 lbs onto shelves rated for only 25 lbs, and have never had a problem... but if you do that you'll see eventual "bowing" of the shelf, and POTENTIALLY see a crack occur at some point. These shelves can probably "really" hold eighty or more pounds on a continuous basis, in other words... but if you put that much on, and it bows, or cracks, at some point, Bush Furniture will put the blame on you, in other words. Suffice it to say, I doubt you'll overload this unless you're putting something besides books on the shelves (like granite blocks?). Assembly is pretty standard for this sort of furniture. Toggle "cam" devices, a few dowel pins, and a lot of nails to secure the (structurally-significant) back panel into place. But if assembled properly, it's very sturdy, and several of them side-by-side look almost like a continuous bookshelf. The "attachment to the wall" as provided is much nicer than other shelves I've worked with as well (but you MUST attach this sort of shelf to your wall, to avoid the risk of it falling over!) So... once you have it, intact, in your home or office... assembly is easy and painless, and the final product is attractive, professional-looking, and very sturdy. So... the problem isn't with the product itself, but with how it is shipped. A number of reviews here will tell you about how they got a broken bookcase delivered. My first unit came that way as well. And as the vendor packages this, it's almost INEVITABLE that a signfiicant numberr of the pieces will arrive this way. Look at the shelf's image, and realize that each "flat" section is a separate part. The total height is six feet, and the shelves are three feet wide. So, in the carton, these are all fairly densely packaged... from bottom to top, as follows: 1) The back panel (folded) 2) The left and right side panels 3) 3X shelf panels at one end of the box. 4) 3x shelf panels at the other end of the box. 5) The hardware bag, instructions, and small bottom panel support) Now... ALL of these parts are heavy... the full shipping package is about 80 lbs! And if this is dropped or mishandled during shipping and handling... the full load of the 6x HEAVY shelves is carried by the two side panels alone. And an 80 lbs package is VERY likely to get "dropped" at some point. In which case... the two side panels are going to get snapped in half! That's what happened to my first unit. And to those received by many others here (look for the bad reviews!) Realistically, Bush Furniture should ship these in TWO CARTONS... one with the shelves, and the other with the two uprights and the rear panel. Doing so would almost totally eliminate the "side panels snapped in half" issue which so many (myself included) have experienced. In my case, Amazon worked with me to get this resolved, and I am now fully satisfied. Bush Furniture replaced the two damaged side panels, and since I was working with Amazon, they got them to me FAST. The phone number for Bush Furniture's US headquarters is right on the outside of the shipping carton. (They manufacture in China, like pretty much EVERYONE ELSE these days, sadly.) So if you get a damaged part, contact them, and they should get you straightened out in no time. But... every time they have to do so, it costs them money. And with as many instances of damage as the reviews here seem to indicate... I think they'd be better off moving to a "two cartons" shipping method. Especially since OSHA ("Occupational Safety and Health Administration") rules say that a single-person job (as is the case with most Fedex and UPS delivery guys) should limit the lifting of any single package weight to about 45 lbs. In other words, to be compliant with OSHA, they need TWO GUYS on the delivery truck to deliver one of these to your home (which clearly they do not do). Read more
