Customer Reviews

South Shore Furniture Vintage Collection, Open Library, Classic Cherry Bookcase

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The case is solid and easy to assemble, but the two pieces which "frame" the left and right of the front are not long enough to touch both the top and bottom of the case. You are left either leaving about half an inch on both ends (tough to eyeball that), or about an inch on either the top or bottom. To add to the frustration, there are no predrilled notches on those pieces, and you really have to crank in the screws when assembling.

This bookcase is SOLID! Every piece is heavy-duty and well engineered, and the finish is impressive, especially for something so reasonably priced. I would rate the difficulty of assembly at about upper medium, especially if you're an arthritic, gray-haired, old lady like me, and would advise having a power drill and power screwdriver on hand. Nevertheless, despite my age and infirmity, I managed to complete the assembly without power tools and without any assistance, so it can't be overly difficult. Like the other reviewer, I also noticed that the side moldings that frame the bookcase are slightly shorter than the space they are intended to fill, but I decided to split the difference and center them - interestingly enough, by doing this, the top and bottom gaps aren't noticeable. Have no idea what the reasoning behind that design decision could have been (expansion/contraction, or someone didn't get the spec-change notice?), but it does not detract from the finished product. There is a trough scored on the back side of the moldings which helps you line things up from top to bottom, but it is not sufficient to aid in getting the screws in by hand - would definitely be better to pre-drill some small starter holes yourself, and use a power screwdriver to insert the screws. All the hardware required for assembling the piece are included (nuts, bolts, washers, screws, shelf supports, backing board, nails, plastic nubs to fill recessed screw/bolt holes with self-stick stickers matching the finish to cover the nubs, etc.), as well as little self-stick squares to place under the base for leveling, and the instructions are clear and easy to follow. The packing was excellent, and everything arrived ahead of schedule and in perfect condition (a little surprising considering the large size of some of the pieces and the total weight). All in all, since the finished product is so sturdy, functional, and looks so much more expensive than what I paid, I have to give this product and vendor a 5-star rating for quality, value, and service.

My husband and I have quite a few pieces of assemble-it-yourself furniture, and this is the most disappointing yet. The moldings (decorative pieces) that were supposed to go on the sides were too short, and you would have needed a power drill to get them attached at all, so we just left them off. The top molding piece we did get on, but it appeared that the screw holes were not pre-drilled. Also, this did not come with a safety piece to attach it to the wall (most other tall furniture does -- a necessity with a toddler around the house). By the time we had assembled the piece, it already had a couple palces where the paper "finish" didn't look right.

With that said, it's sturdy enough and we braced it to the wall with a bracket bought from the local hardware store. It's easier to keep than return at this point, so we're keeping it. Just wish we'd bought a bookshelf from our local discount or hardware store for less.

One more thing, the color is a little darker than I expect for "cherry" -- maybe it should be labeled antique cherry.

The bookcase was far better than expected for what I paid. The other reviews I read did say it was of good quality for the money. The other reviews hit the proverbial nail on the head with their pros and cons. The front sides don't match up, but I just put it in the middle and it was not noticeable. The biggest complaint is that there were no starter holes for the screws for the front sides and I must say that was difficult to get the sides lined up straight and screws in without the starter holes. The back is just heavy cardboard. With all that said, overall quality and price is good. However, if you are looking for a quality furniture bookcase, I do not recommend purchasing it online, since returning it is more difficult than it's worth.

This library is very similar to the Sauder and Busch libraries on the market. The wood pattern lamination is paper thin so they must be used gently. The shelves are thick (7/8") although not actually 1" as advertised. When assembled the unit is a bit wobbly so if you are going to load it up with books or display objects you may want to add metal corner stiffners and substitute a piece of 1/8" finished plywood for the cardboard back. This will really stiffen the unit. The decorative molding is MDF (medium density fiber board). Plastic shelf pins hold the shelves in place but the adjustment holes are too few and too widely spaced.

My 2 units arrived damaged due to less than adequate packaging and probably being roughly handled by the shipper. When packed they are very heavy and hard to handle. Unfortunately, it took South Shore a month to get me replacement pieces, but at least they did follow through with their guarantee.

Without the shipping damage I would give them a B+ rating. But since they skimped on the packaging it only made for a long wait and a pile of pieces in my den for a month so they get a B- rating.

This piece is the right height and width for a decent bookshelf but... I paid nearly the same in shipping to get it. The fit of all the pieces is good but the directions are agravating as all! I discovered after the purchase that the local Target has half a dozen choices that are comparable without the shipping of course.

This bookcase looks very nice once assembled and is able to hold A LOT of books. However, it is true that the pieces that frame the front of the bookcase are about a 1/4 inch too short, so there is a small gap (that I chose to place at the bottom of the bookcase so it's really not noticable). The other MAJOR problem with assembly is that those same pieces DID not have pre-drilled holes to guide you in placing them, so do not order this unless you have a drill and some experience with assembling furniture or it will make you crazy. It does look like an expensive shelf once assembled (except the back is kind of flimsy looking, but if you have lots of "stuff" on the shelves it covers it up), and does hold lots of books.

We ordered two of these bookcases. When they arrived, one had a broken "c" board. We called Amazon and they had another bookcase sent to us. We put together the complete case and waited. Well, the replacement bookcase came and it also had a broken "C" board. We ended up keeping a broken one because we needed two and had already put the first good one together. We will do some "lower Alabama" reinforcing of the "C" board side and will hide it against the wall. Amazon was great in their service and because of that we will continue to order through Amazon. But still, it certainly is disappointing that we couldn't get two complete bookcases.

Poor design - poorly marked parts - terrible assembly instructions - poorly equipped customer service agents who cannot make themselves understood in English. I had to drill holes to attach the facing around the edges. I want my money back but am not holding my breath til I see the check. Rating is 0 out of 10......

This is a sturdy Bookcase. I read previous reviews and was a bit sceptic. The main discrepency I found was people complaining about not enough predrilled holes. If you follow the instructions (I had to reposition some of the solid parts beacuse i assembled them the wrong way)there is no need for them. The face molding has a routed seem to guide where you should screw in the screws. The only disapointing part was the cardboard backer.