I honestly wasn't expecting a lot for this price but was very pleasantly surprised! This item is made in Canada although it is similar to something you would get from Ikea. It uses the familiar dowels, pegs and cams and only requires a screwdriver to assemble. The directions were well organized and easy to follow. Once assembled, the bookcase actually looks great with some nice extra touches like the arched front piece on the bottom and crown moulding on the top. It seems very sturdy and well made. Easily handles all four shelves full of books.
I paid $92 for this set of shelves and it arrived right on time. After taking all of the pieces and hardware out of the extensive packaging I settled in for what I *expected* to be a typical for me frustrating furniture assembly experience.
This project was *way better* than I expected in the frustration dept. The directions are clearly marked and pictured if not clearly worded and all of the pieces in the box were accurately and clearly marked, correct in number, and only very minimally damaged.(3 tiny scratches)The hardware was identified by picture and number and was also complete +. I had several extra hardware pieces even after a triple count check for accuracy.
All in all and after only one error on my part this unit went very carefully together in 45 minutes from scissors thru plastic wrap to the completion of the project. The tiny scratches were easily fixed by using the provided marking pen that matched the darker finish of the top, bottom, and frame. There was no color match pen for the interior shelves but those arrived 100% intact in the package I received.
This unit looks great and feels more expensive that it is.
I only gave 4 stars because the packaging was very excessive but was expected and like I said the unit did arrive with 3 tiny scratches .. I guess with less packaging it might have been more. My grade? | A
Buy Black and Spice Four Shelf Bookcase Now
|I spent a bit of time looking into bookcases, storage bins, shelves etc. I bought this bookcase because it matches the other furniture in my room (black and brown). My husband put it together in about 1.5 hours, while complaining about the poor directions, but it looks decent and is solid/sturdy. Like other reviewers, I think that the cardboard "beadboard" back is chintzy. I would gladly have paid an extra few bucks for an upgrade to pressboard. Anyway, I knew about it before buying it, so I was not too dissapointed. I was dissapointed that the shelf measure 29.5" wide and 11.75" deep, I was counting on the 32" as I have 10" baskets and wanted to put 3 per shelf. There were also several small dings in the "finish" which is paperlike. The bottom line, if you want to buy a piece of non-wood furniture, this is better than many I have seen.
Read Best Reviews of Black and Spice Four Shelf Bookcase Here
This is a very nice piece of furniture, especially for the money. I bought it for the den, but it is in the living room and looks great. My husband said it was very easy to put together and he seemed to do it very quickly. I am pretty fussy, but this purchase surpassed my expectations. Our UPS man asked if we had ordered this brand before and we said no. He then said he hears nothing but good things so he also bought the bookcase and told us we would be pleased with our purchase. He was right. We are delighted. I am going to order the desk.
Want Black and Spice Four Shelf Bookcase Discount?
This bookcase came with easy-to-follow directions and assembly was simple,
not at all frustrating. All the parts were included and nothing was missing. It's a
beautiful piece of furniture, looks like it cost a good deal more than we paid.
Save 9% Off
After buying a real oak glass-enclosed bookcase for $1100 a long time ago, I decided later that there are better ways to spend this kind of money than on something that simply holds my books in place. I bought two of these, one for DVD's/VHS' and one for books and they are great. The best thing about them is that it's very easy to assemble; hard to mess up, and even if you do, you can easily take everything apart again. This is in contrast to certain other non-assembled items that have permanent screws which don't come out once you put them in. Unless you are making six figures and have a great house with top of the line furniture, don't bother with any other bookcase.
