****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Bamboo is my new found obsession, love the natural finish, the affordability and the quality it offers.All the aboveWas difficult to actually assemble at first, was beautiful while functional but randomly collapsed upon itself in the middle of the night after a month :(BrokenShore shoe rack broke after putting 10 pairs of shoes on it.Our son was diagnosed with cancer at 17 months of age and battled it for 7.5 years. Since his battle began he has had Chemo induced immune-deficiency and our family stopped wearing shoes in the house in order to keep germs outside. Enter shoe racks at every doorway. The rack in our garage had been used the entire 7.5 years and really needed replacing. When I saw this one on Amazon, I thought it would be the perfect replacement. Unfortunately, it left a little to be desired. I still used it as a replacement since our other one was falling apart and it’s fine, but not perfect. First, when it arrived some of the finish he chipped off in shipping. It came from the factory directly in a box with no protective wrapping. They need to add something to protect it. I am adding pics of the damage for reference. Next, was the setting up part. I would consider myself handy, so o was surprised, but it took a little bit of brain power and a lot of coordination to get all of the shelves aligned while pulling the rack up to get it set up. It took a a few minutes, but I got it. The last issue, and the one that bugs me most it that it doesn’t have a way to keep shoes from falling off. Most show racks have some kind of lip to keep shoes from slipping, but this one doesn’t. On a final and positive note, and the reason why I kept it, it is very attractive looking once it is set up and in use.My first thought on taking this out of the box was that it's definitely gonna get full marks for "Easy to assemble." It comes fully assembled, you just have to tug on one end to stand it up, and then swivel the racks into position to hold it that way.My second thought was that you know there's issues when my wife is nitpicking something that's intended to let her get more shoes. She pointed out a number of quality shortfalls as she was putting shoes on it. For starters, some of the bars that hold the racks in place are loose enough that they try to swivel while you're manipulating the racks into place, and if you don't catch them in the act, it'll make the whole thing collapse again as soon as you let go. It also felt like there was little or no attempt made to sand edges (splintery fibers at the end of bars) or to cover nail holes.That said, once it's set up and covered with shoes, those things hardly matter. It's an attractive shoe rack; the stain is consistent throughout in a nice, neutral color. It's a little bit wobbly, such that I'm contemplating adding an "earthquake strap" to the back just so it stays still when I'm putting things on it. That said, it's not so wobbly that it feels like it'll fall over or collapse, just enough that it wiggles a bit, so that the light weight of the whole unit is apparent.Honestly, I feel like it's a bit overpriced for what you get, but I'm also not disappointed with what I got, so your mileage may vary.I am really happy with this shoe rack. It is much nicer than the thin tubular ones you have to put together. This one looks like real wood (because it is real bamboo wood) and looks much higher quality (because it is). It comes already assembled. You have to open it carefully, make sure the shelves are flipped up over the rack it will rest on and then rest the shelves on the corresponding cross bar.It is strong, holds a bunch of shoes. I actually have another one identical to this, and I've stacked them, although that means I've lost a shelf.Looks great in our bedroom and keeps the room looking airy and clean.
