South Shore Step One 5-Drawer Chest, Pure White

First off: when assembled properly, this thing is great for the price, and exceptionally attractive.That being said - I understand the bad reviews, meaning "I think I understand what went wrong".I hope this helps future buyers:I'm glad that I had a 4 year stint assembling cheap furniture for a retail store way back in my college years. I learned some tips and tricks then that really helped out here.This particular dresser relies (RELIES) on one particular post-and-cam hardware, and if you don't get that properly installed and tightened, this thing will fall apart, the drawers will fall apart - all the complaints you've read.It need not be. It's fine. Do this:This post has a tapered metal shaft inside that plastic sleeve. It's designed to pull TIGHT, wedging itself inside the plastic, pushing the plastic out, intentionally deforming the plastic to lock solidly into the pre-drilled holes. If you do that, it'll hold securely and firmly!-- Make sure the post is seated properly and fully. Tap with a light rubber mallet or your fist - if you understand what 'gentle' means.-- When you assemble, turn the cam a FULL180 degrees - you'll feel it click, and finally stop.-- Turn the cam with a medium FLAT HEAD screwdriver. Yes, it's shaped like a plus. That doesn't mean phillips - those are flat grooves, you will NOT get the leverage you need with a phillips screwdriver, you will NOT get the cams to pop, to fully lock. The only "pop" you'll feel is the screwdriver tip popping off the cam before it's tight!Also--- Add just a dab of glue to each dowel and make sure they are fully seated.-- Do the same to the other end of each dowel as you assemble the pieces together.This will safeguard your furniture - it'll stay together even if that post-and-cam hardware gets loose.Regardless of the reason - if you DON'T fully turn the cam, you in turn DON'T drive the metal post up, you in turn don't cause that squeeze-out on the plastic bit, and you don't lock the plastic into the pre-drilled holes. Since EVERY panel is held together with this system... Well, you can see the photos from the complainers of what you end up with.If you mitigate those risks as I described, you'll wind up with one sharp looking dresser.Only real criticism of the finished product that I have is that the laminate seems thin, likely somewhat easy to scratch - fortunately my cheap furniture experience has taught me to fix scratches as well - and they do include a pen to dab and smear should you scratch it.

WORST. BUY. EVER!!!!!! I don’t write negative reviews! Needed a cheap dresser and against the other poor reviews i read, i bought it. this is TERRIBLE. worst item ive ever bought and i cant believe amazon is selling it. the item came with a hole in it, didnt notice until 3 hours into building it (which was a TERRIBLE time.. and ive built a lot of furniture) and so it barely would stay together. the drawers all fall out and get loose. its so frusterating. my neck and back are in so much pain from the hours spent trying to build and fix this dresser over 3 days. and it still looks like crap and is aboit to fall apart. if i was given this item for FREE, i would not want it!!! it looks so bad and cheap! i dont want any other people spending their money on this piece of junk. ive never been so mad and frustrated over an item before. please save yourself and buy any other dresser. this needs to not be sold to people

I was skeptical of buying this dresser at first because I thought that it was too good to be true for its price. However, after It was assembled, I was over all satisfied with the quality and design. The individual pieces were labeled and the instructions were simple to follow. It did take a lengthy amount of time because of the many components, but don’t expect to waste any time trying to decipher the instructions. The wood at the bottom of the draws were not as strong as I expected though but they hold a decent amount of clothes.

Let me start off by saying you get what you pay for. It is pretty flimsy and I don't expect it to last for more than a year or two, but that is all I need.It's a handsome dresser that looks great in my apartment. Since I don't have much square footage, I like that it is taller than it is wide.Assembly took me 3 hours, though I am sure it would go more quickly if you work with someone else. **Make sure you use wood glue as you're going along!** As an experiment I used wood glue on 4 of the 5 drawers and found that the one without glue was much weaker than the others. The instructions are pretty easy to follow and I was happy that nothing was missing from the shipment so I could put it together right away.Overall, I am happy with my purchase. But don't buy this if you're looking for something durable.

I'm a fan of south shore furniture. the sets look so nice and function great and all for an excellent price. Even thought there are warning labels against putting condensating cups on the furniture I do it anyway and have never seen damage from it. The surface looks/feels smooth and is so easy to clean. The drawers pull out smoothly and I feel confident in the quality and stability of the furniture.THE ONLY DOWNSIDE:Assembly is a b*tch!!!!It took 3-4 hours just for this 5-drawer dresser and probably more for the larger one I got before.I am a female of moderate strength and some parts of construction were so difficult for me, the frustration was heavy.Otherwise the directions are easy to follow and tools required are limited.Either way, it's a one time thing and in the large scale, 4 hours of labor for 4+ years of enjoyment is nothing. I can easily see myself getting 10 years of use from these, and only being done with them from boredom not malfunction.

Simple to put together, though it does take a little while. Got it for my son's room, and he crams clothes in and tries to shut the drawers with clothes hanging out. It's been a few months, and all of the edges of the white covering are starting to look tattered and shabby. It still feels sturdy, but would probably better suit someone who is gentle with their furniture.

You want a solid cabinet that has a modern look and feel? That's what I've been looking for weeks.Took a chance on this and don't regret it.PROS:-solid frame-not noisey when opening drawers-High quality feel and lookCONS:-Heavy and not too easy to assemble (the heaviness can be seen as a PRO though. It is to me)-can attract dust, so use a wood shiner on it every 2 months

Item itself is more than presentable.. It's not super high quality but, it's not cheap garbage either. That being said mine arrived with a broken piece which was a pain to try and deal with. I ended up just fixing the piece as it was a hidden support anyways.I built it alone and it probably took 2 hours. I wouldn't suggest others do it alone though. Drawers slide well and it really presents well.Overall I'm still happy but, doubt it stands the test of time as its on my teenagers room. Ha ha

I ordered this when it was on sale. At sale price it was very worth the money. The regular price I find a bit too much but seems like most 5 drawer dressers run about the price or a bit more. Assembly was easy. You probably should have 2 people build it together although I did it myself with little issues. It’s very sturdy and great quality. I really like “south shore furniture”. Great for kids rooms and I have 3 kids. Never had an issue with any furniture I got from them. I would definately purchase more furniture from them again. 5 star

Would recommend buying their products! Very good quality for the price.

It’s nice when put together, but very flimsy! I hope this is able to hold up!