Bush Furniture Universal Tall 5 Shelf Bookcase in Vogue Cherry, Vertical Storage and Display Bookshelf for Home Office or Living Room Organization

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).

This is wonderful for large heavy books and "seforim". The shelves are significantly thicker than most of this type of self assembly units. I have one for several years with no sagging. The assembly was very straightforward and easy - the pieces were perfectly aligned and everything slid into place. The finish is attractive and has not chipped. It comes with a wall anchor, for safety. It is really very useful and lovely, and very simple. This is possibly one of the best finds I have ever made on Amazon.

Heavy duty bookcase. I own 5 of them in different colors & have never had a problem. Fairly easy to put together & I highly recommend. I like the adjustable shelves. Plenty of room.

Decent value for money. If I need another shelf like this, I'd buy again. Assembly fairly easy but you'll likely need a second set of hands (instructions suggest it). Only beef with assembly is with the backing that is nailed onto back. I'm grateful for the little marks so I knew how to space the nails but indication of which end was top not clear enough. It made no difference when nailing the top, sides and bottom but it was not lined up with the middle shelf (unmovable for stability sake). For mine, the company label should have been the top but I thought it was informative only. On drawing, label is at top had I paid closer attention but should have been more clear. Minor annoyance only. Not completely flat on bottom, has 3 sides that are on floor. I've seen this design in other such things. It is stable and does not wobble even with some pressure. A bracket to attach to wall is provided but shouldn't be need unless small children are around to climb on it.

I would definitely purchase this again if I needed another bookcase. All pieces arrived intact and I was able to assemble it and put it in place myself. Assemble slowly with patience and care! Moving too fast can cause considerable damage to what is really compressed particle board. I suggest using a screwdriver only as a companion to hand-tightening and, as noted in the instructions, do NOT use power tools. I found a rubber mallet useful in getting the side panels, top, bottom, and middle shelf fully connected with each other. The instructions were pretty easy to follow. The final product looks nice and seems quite sturdy and durable. The only negative I could note: The cardboard backing panel was not cut true. That is, even though the assembled bookcase had all 90 degree angles, the backing board did not line up with the back of the bookcase. It covers completely but if you look at it from the back you can see that the panel is a bit more of a trapezoid than a rectangle.