Sauder Miscellaneous Storage 5-Shelf Bookcase/ Book shelf, Select Cherry finish

I love this bookshelf! It looks really nice. If Amazon had a half star option, I'd be giving it 4.5 stars. The reasons I'm docking off half a star are: 1) There was a scratch on one of the top front pieces. However, it's not very large or super noticable, and I'm sure I could cover it with a similar colored Sharpie or something, so I didn't bother trying to get a replacement because that would just be a hassle. But the packaging the shelf came in wasn't damaged at all, so I'm guessing it happened when the pieces were being put in the box. But things happen, I'm not upset about is as it's an easy enough fix. 2) I read a lot of reviews saying this was easy to put together, but I wouldn't necessarily say it was easy. I'm fairly handy with tools, having put together a lot of furniture and doing minor home repairs on my own. I put this bookshelf together by myself. It took a couple hours and some steps required a lot of arm/hand strength to get the screws in, and I ended up stripping a lot of the screws just trying to get them screwed all the way in. I'm thinking using a drill would have made things a lot easier, but the instructions say not to and I'm usually one to do things by the book, so I didn't. However, if I had to put together another one of these, I think I'd probably go ahead and just use a drill for some of the steps to save time and avoid getting frustrated. 3) Some reviews say that the shelf doesn't seem sturdy on the sides, like it'll topple over onto itself, but I disagree. It seems very sturdy once put together and I'm not at all worried about it falling apart. BUT, I'm not so sure that it wouldn't fall forward if pulled on or hit. I have 2 dogs (50 and 60 lbs) that sometimes play rough, so I absolutely used the safety strap to attach it to the wall because I'm not confident that the shelf wouldn't fall forward if they were playing and rolled into it or something. I do have it on a carpeted floor, so maybe on a hardwood floor it would feel more stable. I don't like that the safety strap pokes through a big hole in the backboard of the bookshelf. I feel like the hole doesn't need to be so big. I ended up cutting the circle that comes off the backboard, leaving enough of a space for the safety strap to poke through, and then taping the rest of the circle back in place from the back so it's not as visible. Overall, I think this is a well made, beautiful piece of furniture. I'm glad this is the one I chose to purchase, and I have no regrets in buying it. I think it will hold up for quite a while. Also, props to the Amazon driver who delivered it! It was a little heavy, and I was home by myself and worried I wouldn't be able to get it inside on my own without opening it and carrying it in piece by piece. It was raining though, and that wouldn't be ideal, so he carried it inside and set it down in my living room for me. He was very nice and I appreciate him taking that extra step to make my life a little easier!

After reading some reviews of this Sauder unit I was a little leary but then I read reviews of other shelves that were comparible in price. I came right back to this one. I decided to order it and It arrived earlier than I was expecting. The box looked a little worn and I was worried about what the boards looked like. But surprisingly, the way they packaged it was pretty safe. None of the wood was scratched or ruined in any way. Some reviews said that you will need a large space to put it together so I put it together in my family room, even though the shelving unit was to go into a bedroom. I found after putting it all together, that I could have put it together in the bedroom it was intended for. I followed the instructions to a "t" and it was pretty simple. The one thing that I followed from a different review was to put some of the stirofoam (sorry I don't know how to spell that) under shelf "G" after unit has been turned over. This shelf will not touch the floor because the moulding on the top juts out farther than the rest. So, putting some of the foam under shelf "G" helps to keep the unit from splitting in half when gently hammering nails, connecting the backboard to the back of the shelving unit. The one thing that I may have done a little differently than the instructions is when you are fitting the two lower sides and the bottom of the unit together. I probably would have attached the two lower sides marked "D" and "C" and not put the bottom ("F). There is a "skirt" that is not marked but is considered "O" that attaches to shelf "G". Because I had put the bottom on already, as per the instructions, I had to almost blindly put the angled brackets and screws in to hold that skirt onto shelf "G". But it worked out anyway. Obviously, it can be done either way. Whether you put the bottom on first as it tells you to do or you work on the skirt "O" before putting the base of the unit on. If you choose to put the skirt on first, you just have to make sure that the 2 sides are straight so that you know where to center the skirt "O". You'll see what I'm saying when you read the instructions. Some people had issues with it splitting in half when turning it over. I did not have that problem. You just have to be careful as the back is not on and keeping it sturdier. Anyway, I put it together as per the instructions. No parts or screws or brackets were missing. This was easy to assemble and it is standing in the bedroom without being secured to the wall and is standing strong and holding everything that I put on each shelf. It's a bit deeper of a cherry wood color than the picture shows but I love it! It's gorgeous! For the cheaper price, I think it is a wonder set of shelves. Obviously, something more expensive with thicker backing would be sturdier. But this is sturdy enough for me and the use that it has been intended for, and not overly heavy. It's plenty tall and wider than the others I looked at, which is what attracted me to this unit in the first place and is better for me in the long run. I do recommend this bookcase to anybody. I really like it. Good job Sauder company! Thank you Amazon for another good buy!

Review of **Sauder Miscellaneous Storage 5-Shelf Bookcase** In this review, I’ll tell you the many GOOD things about this bookcase, the biggest DANGER you need to avoid, and read this whole review to see how I destroyed my bookcase, and how I FIXED it. First, I’ve been a customer of Sauder products for quite literally decades. This bookcase is an EXCELLENT product, in line with their typical products, and exhibiting how they have refined their products over the decades. This bookcase, like every other Sauder product I have purchased, is at the top of the offerings for AFFORDABLE furniture. Yeah, “affordable” is another word for “cheap,” but Sauder makes the very best cheap you-assembe-it-yourself furniture. *****THE GOOD***** The package arrived in the time expected, and it was VERY well packed. Not a single one of the parts was damaged, and all the parts were present. The instructions were one of the most refined and best parts. They were very clear, with excellent diagrams, great part labelling, both in the instruction booklet and on each part or plastic bag of loose parts. Even with my AMD-failing eyesight, I was able to easily determine which things went where. The instruction booklet was of a very good size, at least 8.5x11” and maybe a bit larger – we have all seen products who have their instruction manual printed in micro-print on a 2”x3” booklet in 27 languages on each page. Not here. They have other language manuals available, but I only had to deal with English in the manual I used. This is very much appreciated. Next, the manual did only ONE STEP at a time, usually one step per page. The pictures and the description of what to do in each step were crystal clear, well organized, and easy to follow. The next good thing was all the parts were perfectly sized, situated, drilled, and pre-measured. Everything fit exactly where it was supposed to fit, with very little jiggling to align, and zero mismatched pre-drilled holes. The craftsmanship of the product was outstanding. I was most of the way through assembling the bookcase and was thinking I had to do a really good writeup about this product. But right near the end … disaster. *****THE BAD ***** First, all the “wood” parts are made out of fine-grain PARTICLE BOARD. This allows Sauder to have excellent control over the quality (smoothness, sizing, etc.) of their parts, and allows them to also keep the price down on this unit. (And all their offerings?) If you do everything right, this is fine, and the product will last a long time, as long as you don’t abuse it. Second, the design of the bookcase produces a fatal flaw when combined with a serious lack of warnings in the instructions. The main design flaw is that the side panels of the bookcase, instead of being one long (69”) piece of “wood” as it should be, is instead TWO PIECES, held together by concealed (cam bolt) fasteners. This is a huge vulnerability to damage, that they DO NOT warn you about. Keep reading to see why this resulted in my disaster. ***** DISASTER! ***** What they DON’T TELL YOU in the assembly instructions is this: In the last step, when you put the bookcase on its face on the floor so you can nail the wood-printed cardboard backing onto the back of the case, (PAY ATTENTIONHERE) the bookcase is supported ONLY at the top and the bottom by moldings, and everything in between the top molding and the bottom molding is suspended about an inch off the floor. WARNING! Because of this, you MUST NOT put any weight at all on the center of the bookcase, or you will rip out the side piece fasteners! When I got down onto the floor to nail in the backing, when I finished one side, I just naturally put my hand on the bookcase to help myself get up (hey, I’m old. I need this help). Because they FAILED TO WARN ME not to do this, I did it, and totally destroyed my boockcase. The joint between the top and bottom parts of the side panel ripped out the fasteners, including destroying the particle board where the fasteners were embedded. ***** TO AVOID SUFFERING THIS DISASTER ***** If you are reading this and want to buy this bookcase (and have not yet assembled it), then BE SURE to put a solid brace under the joint between the upper and lower side panels, so if you inadvertently put some weight there, you won’t rip out your fasteners, like I did. ***** THE FIX ***** At first, I just wanted to throw up my hands and send the whole thing back. After all, Amazon has a magnificent return policy. … BUT … I did NOT want to spend another 2 hours disassembling everything I had already put together, and NO WAY would I be able to fit all the parts and pieces back into the box it came in (much of it got destroyed on opening), and I did NOT want to haul the >83-pound unit to my Amazon return center. The item specs say it has a “5-year limited warranty,” but I’m sure any warranty claim would be a huge hassle, and I did not want to have to deal with that, simply because they failed to include an appropriate warning in their instructions. … SO … I decided to glue it back together with wood glue. My bottle of wood glue was old and only had less than ½” of sludgy glue in the bottom, so I went to my local mega-mart shopping for wood glue, but I found … construction adheasive! I bought that (the brand named after a giant ape). I applied that adhesive and put the two (now separated) halves (top and bottom) back together, let it cure for a day, and it’s now serving very well. ***** IF YOU HAVE A SIMILAR DISASTER ***** If you do the same “duh” thing I did, and wind up with a fully-assembled and broken bookcase, then get another person to help, apply construction adhesive to the top of the bottom section, then hold up the top section while your helper carefully re-aligns and helps you seat the top section properly on the bottom section. (I missed toing this and my finished product is solidly slightly mis-aligned.) ***** THE BOTTOM LINE ***** I am actually VERY happy with this bookcase. It is very well made for the price, the instructions are OUTSTANDING, except for the egregious omission of the “DON’T LEAN OR PUT WEIGHT HERE” warning. It is serving well for exactly the purpose for which I bought it. Yes, I’m UNHAPPY that Sauder failed to warn me that I could destroy my bookcase by leaning on it while it was face down. But I (kinda) fixed that. BONUS: I bought (on Amazon) a 6-pacck of rechargeable motion sensor under-shelf lights, and am very happy with those. They light up the shelves ever time I approach the bookcase, and stay on for only 20 seconds after I leave. I hope this review helps future potential buyers, and give Sauder the motivation to add the “DON’T LEAN HERE” warning to their assembly instructions soon. Good luck, and take care, everyone.

My husband bought me this awhile back and it’s been a few years now and it’s still very sturdy. It came with all the hardware so no missing parts and it was so easy to put together. It’s not faded and it fits perfectly where I want it.

BY FAR THE WORST ITEM I EVER RECEIVED FRoM AMAZON. Wood shelving dented and stove in. Lousy assembly instructions, worse than lousy, they are written seemingly to ensure that you can't assemble the product. All of the wood, all of it, had damage. Hardware was missing. The wood shelving was covered in dust, how long has this thing been in storage? And the packing, the styrofoam had broken down and there are electromagnetic styfoem parts everywhere, you have to wipe them up with a wet cloth and they still scatter. The whole product looked repacked, but it was supposedly new. This thing is awful in aspect you want to mention; there is no good or redeeming feature about it. Holes aren't aligned, the wood is cheap stuff,, it seemingly stand up when empty or even if y9u put books in the bottom shelf for weight. The instructions are just pictures. You are on your own, and one mistake and you've ru9ed the whole thing. It's a horrible, lousy product made made a care-for-less foreign manufacturer. Don't buy it, you'd be netter off stacking you books on the door. Really, don't buy it; it's awful; or if you insist on buying it, send it to your worst enemy/acquittance. ITS GARBAGE!!!! garbage, garbage, garbage. Its shoddy and does not last, finished assembly last hight and two shelves had collapsed (given way) and dumped what few booksI had on them on the floor. ITS GARBAGE!!!! garbage, garbage, garbage. Its a zero, not a one star.

We bought two of these shelves. They are really good quality and easy to assemble. Very sturdy and would definitely recommend. Customer Service is excellent also.

Was easy to put together, looks beautiful, doesn’t hold dust as much as my older bookshelf. Very easy to clean. I polish it every once and a while. I love how deep the shelving goes and the fact that you can adjust the height of them. Holds alot of books. Everyone who visits says how beautiful it is.

I selected this piece for size and how well it looked. Putting it together was a challenge as not all of the pieces are marked , the instructions are hard to follow in places, and I had to constantly double-check the instruction sheet to make sure I had the correct pieces at each step. While combining the two halves, the cam locks seemed unable to support the other half and kept pulling apart, even with support underneath. I ended up having to install braces at the top and where the lower halves joined and having to turn the unit on end to insure a smooth joining of both halves. This was extremely frustrating - I really think the number of cam locks (4 in total) are not sufficient to adequately support the weight of this bookcase. It seemed so simple, but while I was trying to resolve the issue of the two halves separating, I ended up leaving off a piece to the front that disguises the shelf. Also, no extra cam locks, screws, brads, etc and I think the backing could have used some more brads. It took me 4 hours by myself to put this beast together. I don't think having another person to help would have improved the situation. I have to say I was disappointed because I own several Sauder products and this is the first time I have encountered any issues. Sauder, do you follow your own instructions when putting these together?

Great, sturdy, beautiful. I'm planning on replacing the other 2 old Ikea bookshelves with this model (I know, I know, but Krevbäck bookshelves where the most amazing bookshelves Ikea ever made, they even lasted 8 moving sessions. Of course they discontinued them!). If you are hesitating buying those, here's what's up with them: Yeah, they might have minor scratches, it happens, mine had none I easily noticed. Read the .... manual. It says not to tighten the screws too much for the upper part, because if you do, you will go through the wood and it doesn't look great (It's still not that noticeable, I got lucky). It's very heavy. Unless you're strong (you can always move it sideways and wiggle it like I did), get someone to help put in into position once you're done assembling it. It offers way more space than I originally thought it would. My Krevbäck a pretty wide, these aren't much wider, yet I could fit way more books per shelves. Amazing! It's better quality than most you'll see in stores and cheaper.

組立大変だった。二人以上で。 出来上がりは、素晴らしい特に木肌の色が何ともいえない。

Perfect colour for my needs and easy for one person to assemble

Excellent product looks very good. Assembly was easy and quick. Very happy with this purchase.

Pésimo empacado! Producto de mediana calidad.