| Overall: |
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2
out of 5
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| Appearance: |
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4
out of 5
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| Workmanship: |
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2
out of 5
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| Value: |
|
2
out of 5
|
| Very Difficult |
| Easy |
|
 |
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Disappointment
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Date: October 13, 2009
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"I bought two of the 5-shelf bookcases because I loved the design. Then, they arrived. Unfortunately, the way that the shelves look in my apartment is much different than the way they appear on the website. The wood is a really beautiful color true to advertising. But assembly was such a major challenge that one of my bookshelves is lopsided and the other one is in pieces on the floor, awaiting the help of a professional contractor. The huge problem is the screws. The instructions tell you to build this thing with an included Allen wrench and to make them finger-tight. During assembly, 65 percent of the screws stripped. The shelves couldn't be properly secured to the supporting components, and the result was a lopsided final product that shifts around while bearing a load and also while empty.
I built the first one myself and was very disappointed with the results. So I recruited my brother to help with the second one, thinking that a Y chromosome and another pair of hands would help. Well, the same thing happened. After a few hours of effort we didn't finish the job because the final product was clearly going to be another disaster. Customer service was courteous and refunded a portion of the shelves' cost, but that money is going straight to a professional who can fix the train wreck in my living room. Why didn't I just return them for a full refund? Too much hassle. Waiting for them to arrive and then dealing with getting the massive packages up to my apartment was trouble enough. And I do like the design enough to try to fix the shelves now that they're here. However, I would not make a repeat transaction, or recommend these to anyone else."
|
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| Overall: |
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2
out of 5
|
| Appearance: |
|
2
out of 5
|
| Workmanship: |
|
1
out of 5
|
| Value: |
|
2
out of 5
|
| Very Difficult |
| Easy |
|
|
|
OK but not great
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Date: September 20, 2009
|
"This was very hard to put together. The screws needed to be put in by an allen wrench and it was very hard. We bought other screws to use. Then some of the other hardware provided did not work and we had to buy other things. Then when all was said and done, the bookcase seemed wobbly, so we bought more hardware to try to stabilize it."
|
|
| Overall: |
|
2
out of 5
|
| Appearance: |
|
4
out of 5
|
| Workmanship: |
|
1
out of 5
|
| Value: |
|
2
out of 5
|
| Very Difficult |
| Easy |
|
|
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Nice Bookshelf, Serious Design Flaw
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Date: September 14, 2009
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"This is the largest unit of an attractive line, and should be perfect for a large room. I purchased two. In fact it would be perfect, except for one glaring flaw that, if not corrected, would make it hard for me to recommend to anyone.
The unit assembles basically as two halves, and the linkage is the problem. It's accomplished through six clasps on the shelves of one side that are intended to catch six posts that protrude from the shelves of the other side. The clasps are small, and unless both clasps and posts are positioned just right, will fail to catch. The directions are of no help with this: I learned by doing on the first unit, did better on the second. The clasps are a soft metal, aluminum I think, and so softer than the tools used with them, and too easily subject to damage. And there is no clear "click" or any other signal that they're locked in place.
Except for the clasp-and-post arrangement and the mantle top, there is no further bracing for the unit, another bad mistake. My units are up and look good, but I dread ever trying to move them. I can see them all too easily coming to pieces in the movers' hands.
As with the other units of this series, the wrench provided consists of the same brass material as the screws it is intended to tighten. With great care, it can be made to last for the entire assembly, but if it were steel, there would be no risk.
One more point: Home Decorators needs to do a much better job to lower shipping charges."
|
|
| Overall: |
|
3
out of 5
|
| Appearance: |
|
5
out of 5
|
| Workmanship: |
|
1
out of 5
|
| Value: |
|
3
out of 5
|
| Very Difficult |
| Easy |
|
|
|
Looks good.....
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Date: September 9, 2009
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"This book shelf looks really nice now that it is together. However, I can say that I have never had an "out-of-the-box" project with so many problems. I had to redrill almost every hole because the screws were much too big for the holes, then, the head so EIGHT of the screws stripped as I was putting them in, even after having the bigger holes so there was not too much tension. I had to replace them."
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