I am so happy with these stools that I had to write a review. The quality for the price is beyond what I expected....excellent. I needed three for a new kitchen island and was able to get the color to match the island exactly. I light sanded the first with 220 grit, then put on three coats of Miniwax Golden Oak without having to sand in between those. Then I did four coats of the Miniwax Wipe-On Poly which was easy as well to use, doing a sanding with 320 grit in between each coat. Turned out great and will definitely be purchasing more unfinished furniture from this manufacture in the future b/c it's an easy project to do with this wood and can save some $ by the d.i.y. approach!  I attached a pic of the finished product 

Pros: Quality, fully assembled, takes stain easily
Cons: none