It's light (6 lbs'ish), it's pre-assembled- literally pull it out from the box and flip it over onto its feet, and it's ready to go (there's a small nail in one corner to anchor the bottom shelf, tap it in with a hammer). Could be varnished/polished but it would be really easy to stain it yourself. I got it for $40'ish after S&H as of 1/31/2015. Despite the snowstorm this week in NYC, UPS got it safely to my door.