Totally worth the money! Added a lil cat nip and our 3 cats took to it quickly. I am delighted that all the mice are still attached since our boy cat is crazy destructive with toys and was playing with them before we even set it up. At the retail pet stores (petsmart, petco) You can get half the tree for upwards of 200 bucks plus tax. This was well worth the value. only a few minor issues- one of the panels of carpet started coming off (easily fixed with super glue) and the small round house no matter how much tightening is a little loose and while it doesn't pose a safety threat, the cats all avoid it. 

We feel that this model with the added ropes was worth the extra money since the cats regularly use it as a scratching pad and are less inclined to use our brand new chair (which was why we bought the tree in the first place) They don't scratch the carpet on the tree very much but the ropes get used all the time and are not coming apart or fraying.