I bought two of these shelving units to use as bookcases in my small condo. These were some of the nicest looking three shelved units made of solid wood at the price. There is a similiar item that includes the storage baskets - I opted to buy the item that did not include these. The price difference is significant and you can buy similiar storage baskets far cheaper seperately, so if you were looking at the item that includes the baskets, I would recommend buying them seperately.The shelving unit came very nicely packed, in my opinion. There was a small nick on one of the shelves, but it was so small that you can't really tell that it is there. The units were fairly easy to put together - it took me about 25 minutes to put together two of them by myself. A hex key is included and is all that is needed for installation, but you might want to use a small rubber mallet to pound in the wooden plugs that cover the screw holes. I was too lazy to dig out my toolbox and used a screwdriver handle I had laying around with a cloth over it in order not to damage the finish. The most difficult part of putting this together was the top shelf. When getting to that part, I found it easier to put the top shelf on the ground, then place the unit on top of it upside down, and screw the screws in while it was laying upside down on the floor.As for the actual unit, it is solid wood, which is really nice for the price point. There was a slight flex in the wood which made the feet ever so slightly uneven in both units I put together. Before dinging the product for that too hard though, I understand this is a mass produced product so slight variances are understandable. The slight flex actually helped here though - I loaded up one of the units with books and it seemed to settle down and straighten out once there was weight on the lower shelf. One of the shelving units is completely packed full of heavy certification guides and hardcovers and doesn't show any sagging at all, which is a problem I've found with cheaper bookcases that use fiberboard/pressboard construction. The finish is a really nice, dark, rich color, but it definitely needs to air out a bit. After unpacking, the smell is pretty noticable. After a day, however, it doesn't seem to be there anymore.I really like it - for the price, you get a nice finish, solid wood, sturdy enough to pack full of books. I wish the item had a little better quality control in the pieces, but again, for a mass produced product that you put together yourself, I think the quality is really high. The smell of the finish might bother some people who are sensitive to smell, but the smell fades quickly. The slight wobble was fixed after putting some weight on the shelves and letting the unit sit for awhile. Could the wood be nicer? Sure, but it is hard to beat at this price. It seems like the negative reviews I read might have been when quality control went through a low point, but I did not encounter any glaring issues and I am very happy about my purchase. This definitely beats any of the cheap pressboard bookscase you will find in big box stores and looks like it will last a very long time.
Rating: [4 of 5 Stars!]