Five-tier Cappuccino Leaning Ladder Style Magazine Book shelf

I bought a similar unit from Penny's a couple of years back and it is great, thick 1-1/8" side braces, and is strong and sturdy. I wish this one was. It is very weak. Not only does it shake from side to side, but the braces or sides are only 3/4" thick, which might contribute to the flimsiness. Now the other problem. It all went together in about 1/2 hour, just me assembling it. No problem. This one however had a 4" long brace that attaches to the bottom of the bottom shelf, not what is on my other unit. Now I know why. The shelves tilt back when you put books on them. I noticed this when I was putting a large book on the bottom shelf with a 3/4" clearance, but it only went back about 3/4 of the way. Couldn't figure it out until I happen to tilt the next shelf up off the back side of the book. The shelf, although very sturdy when it was assembled, now is quite loose and has about a 1.5" tilt up and down. So I tested the next shelf, same thing. These shelves are very loose, despite the fact I glued in the dowel pins as instructed and screwed in the center screw nice and tight. So now I will either have to put up with it, or make some braces to go either under the shelves to steady them, or in the back of the shelves. I won't be getting this one again, and I wanted to get at least 2 or 3 more. I'll get another brand. Even if it costs more. Now I know why this one was the cheapest of all out there. You get what you pay for as the saying goes. I am being generous with the 3 star rating. Just hope it doesn't fall down.Another unsatisfied customer left a comment and I thought I would mention that I found a couple of "good" shelf units with the dadoes in the sides to hold the shelves at Lowes. Cannot remember their brand name. I bought the two units they had left, at the time, so this would be a good place to look if you want a sturdy unit. The one I bought here off Amazon is still in use, however, having to brace the bottom shelf is something that should not be required of the customer to figure out and fix on their own. It is a bad design.

We bought this given the reviews and were disappointed. First, it arrived four days after the last date for shipment. Second, once it arrived, pieces were missing. Then we got to go to Home Depot to try and find the pieces needed to put it together properly. Third, its not as sturdy as it looks from the pictures so be wary about buying this unit. We thought seriously about returning it. But after waiting so long to get it in the first instance, we decided to just suck it up as we really just needed the shelving. We would have been happier buying something else of slightly better quality and getting it faster.On the upside, the wood grain is nice. Also, when I wrote to the seller to say "hey, where is the shelf" on the last day when it should have been delivered, I did get back a prompt and polite email saying "It will be there in four days." Such is life.REVISION: Upon attempts at construction, we were even more displeased. The construction of the pieces was such that we couldn't even put the screws on. It turns out that pieces of the wood had to be taken apart and new holes drilled to complete assembly. I'm incredibly glad my husband could figure it out (he's an engineer), but honestly this has been FAR MUCH more hassle than we needed. I wish we had never purchased this shelf. There are better alternatives out there.UPDATE: One year on, we should also note that, when we moved, it was easily damaged. The movers tried to be very careful (as we told them it was weak construction) but it just keeps busting in all sorts of places. A year later, when we can hardly put anything on it, I still wish we had never bought this. I'm about ready to put it in the dump.

I expected more of a brown color when actually it is more of a cherry wood color. It has a reddish cast. The quality wasn't as good as I had wished and instead of placing it where I had planned I'm using it in the laundry room for storage of cleaning products, etc. I wasn't so disappointed that I would send it back but it didn't meet my expectations. Where the top and bottom of the piece go together it is not a smooth transition, you can see where the two pieces meet. Admittedly it wasn't very expensive, but it has the look of not being very expensive. I try to get things that are a great price but look expensive. I also had a little problem putting it together...my recommendation is to completely lay out all the pieces as to the direction they go... (my fault, no fault of the piece). Ultimately, if I had it to do over, I would search for a higher quality ladder shelf. I wouldn't trust it to place anything of value on it.

I was a bit disappointed with this ladder bookshelf. The packaging looked as though it had been opened and terribly taped together. There were several small scratches on it. I thought the cappuccino color would be more brown. I would say it is more of a rust brown. The stickers that label each piece are difficult to get off. Also, I would recommend having someone help you put it together. With all of that said, I do like it now that it is all together. You cannot see the small scratches. It seems to be pretty sturdy and looks nice in our living room.

Looks exactly like the photo. I purchase two of them for a wall. They look nice and are fairly sturdy. One of the two had a couple of cracked sides but it's not noticeable. I didn't bother calling to request a new one since it was minimal. The side support beams are not one long piece - but two. They have to connect and on both of mine there is a small gap where you can see they're joined that looks a little odd. Very happy with the purchase and we get compliments on it.