Time will tell how these hold up. Definitely easier to put together with two people but can be done with one. Took about 90 mins but it was late. They look stunning and I think they are worth the money!I wanted something besides boring shelving. These are different. They were easy to build and are sturdy.This was perfect for my husband and I apartment living room area. His and Hers. It was easy to built, very sturdy, and good value for what you’re paying. Definitely recommend.Purchased for teen daughter building paperback collection; politely turned down an updated Kindle. Box arrived quickly but was at least 70lbs. Unpacked at porch and laid out all pieces in the room to display them. Only about (8) allen-type bolts plus included allen wrench and (2) different size black machine screws to deal with; but there are about (70 screws). Purchaser only needs (1) medium size Phillips Head Screwdriver to assemble; we used a power screwdriver which made things much faster. Took about 40 minutes for the 2 of us to unbox, layout and assemble. We chose to do both in unison which saves time. The use of modular steel frames is what we think made these a great buy. The frames will not warp with humidity and they stand very stable, each of the (4) shelves per stand holds 30 pounds or about 120 pounds per stand. The pieces were all labeled with simple stickers such as 'A' or 'G'.Once assembled used a clean cotton rag and some furnish polish for final wipe down. Once I stood back and viewed the stands with daughter's approval; I was very pleased. They are striking in final appearance; resembling library shelf ladders. There is great spacing between shelves for various items such as pictures or other diplayables. Would definitely make sure that the heavier items were bottom-most in any environment with young kids or playful pets. The assembly is overall very simple - you simply need to attach the front and rear lips of each shelf with (2) screws each; but there are 4 shelves each or eight shelves overall. Thus when you need to attach 2 'lips' to each of the (8) shelves - you start with about 24 pieces of MDF-Style Wood and 48 screws; so it takes some time. Using a power screwdriver and 2 people made it pretty fast work. Then you simply use 2 screws per side of each shelf to sandwich each of the 4 shelves per stand in between the molded steel support structure/sides. I definitely knew to wait until they were fully assembled for the final light tightening of the screws. If you use a power screwdriver - go easy or set the torque to not overtighten. Truly - they would not be out of place in other rooms in which I spent months or years acquiring strategic pieces... At the end of the day - they are stunning in the way the rear of the stands is parallel to the residing wall and the front of the stands is angled from the wall where they stand - slightly forward into the center of the room. It gives them a little flair, or what I call understated grace. The 45 minutes to unpack, assemble and wipe down the dusty components (from China) was well worth the spend. They are really great and once again the metal framework presents the buy with a solution that should last many years while standing straight and true. I had read a review from another buyer who said they were buying more..... However skeptical I was at the first read of that review; I am sold. The package arrived very quickly and everything was good condition - there are a lot of pieces when you lay them out but it's World's simpler as compared to assembling a grill or media center. The look, quality and durability as compared to reasonable price motivated me to spend time sharing our review. Definitely recommend!Update- now have 5 sets (total of 10). They are cheap, but well made for what they are. I only had to re-drill one hole out of all of them. All the pieces are marked, and the screws are separated out and labeled in packets by what step they are used in, cutting down on the time by saving you sorting through them trying to figure out which screw to use in which step.I love that the frames are metal and sturdy, yet light-weight. They are the perfect height for my upstairs "attic" man-cave with sloped ceilings- as these shelves are 60" and my ceiling on that side is just a bit higher, they fit great. I'm using them for books (quite a collection of sci-fi and fantasy).My only complaint, or idea for improvement is that the legs on the back which serve as the wall/bookend for the shelves are not very deep (the shelves themselves are plenty deep) and don't provide a secure wall for a book to lean against, so if you pack books in there they are squeezed, but if you leave a gap, they can shift and fall down between the shelves. Solution: squeeze books in, or use bookends. I may build a literal stop-gap (haha) to prevent books from falling. We'll see. Overall, given the price, construction, simplicity of assembly, and the fact they look so much better than some more expensive shelves of the same style, these are worthy of their 5 stars.I'm hoping they'll be in stock again soon at the $100 price for the pair.Update 4 June 2013-Now up to 8. Looking to make it a full set of 10 to completely fill the wall. They are now available for $99 online with free shipping from that big store that's everywhere. Amazon, drop $25 off and the next purchase goes to you instead!Update 6 June 2013- Wow, Amazon, thanks for listening and dropping the price within a day to compete! That's the kind of service that's kept me a loyal customer since I discovered you sometime around 1999-2000! Order placed today, and I'm looking forward to getting this to complete the set and have a full wall of bookshelves!Update 17 June 2013- Got the last set to fill the wall after a weird shipping delay (UPS pulled up and drove off- the site said it was out for delivery, I got it the day after that happened)... so I had to wait till another day when I had some spare time. Got it done the other day. Assembled and in place. The latest set had a shelf with 2 stripped screw holes for a down-facing lip. No big deal- just added some E-6000 adhesive to the screw and dripped it down into the hole before screwing it in and having it set.I noticed that some of the frames are not quite even, when the shelves are pushed up against the wall (either the metal frames, or the holes are not perfectly straight or aligned, causing one side to stick out a hair more than the other). It's a very subtle difference making some of the units slightly uneven with one another, but overall, not enough to remove a star, and I'm still happy with the product and the price.Used it for some of my books and small nick-knacks. I placed a shelf at each end of my tv stand.This review is for "Altra Furniture Metal Frame Bundle Bookcase Ladder, Black, Set of 2".Full disclosure, I am not affiliated or paid by the Amazon or the vendor. Review is based on personal install and use of six months before review.- It roughly takes 35 minutes to completely install. Medium effort. Solid construction. Style goes with modern decor of your room as well. I initially ordered one pack (containing two in a box). Once I assembled and put into my office, it looked great. So I ordered another pack.- This shelf has the most width and length of each shelf (compartment) compared to all others available on Amazon.- Bottom two shelves are wide enough to hold entire file case box as is.- Solid 5 star product for this price. Remember, its $199 for two shelves.These shelves surprised me --they look great and are nice and solid. i was a bit worried they'd look cheap but they don't at all. They were also pretty easy to build, but i would, without a doubt, recommend using an electric screw driver/drill. they arrived on schedule and were well packaged with no damage or missing piecesthis was a good purchase and i would buy them again in a heartbeatIt is hard to tell dimensions when shopping online. This piece was slightly larger than I thought it would be. One of the wooden pieces arrived broken. Otherwise, this is exactly what I wanted and I am happy with my purchase.nice sturdy units but not great to put together - some of the pre drilled holes don't line up for the screwsalso 2 of the shelves came with wood chipped off them but your not going to take it apart and send it backother than that they look goodNice style...sturdy...but frustrating to assemble. My husband cursed trying to screw the hardware on these bookshelves. Needless to say, our marriage is still intact!