I bought these as a discounted, returned product and was nervous as the reviews were so bad but I loved the chairs.. and the price. Once I started assembly I took a deep breath and dove in. It only took me an hour to finish both chairs. Of course there was some finagling- Some screws wouldn't line up, I had to bend the two back poles wider to fit the top wood slat (just used my hands and muscles) and I had some trouble with the back criss cross poles not fitting from top screw holt to bottom screw hole so I gained some space by putting the cross bar between the wood slat and back pole, instead of on the outside like the directions say. Those cross poles took the most time and I screwed and un screwed each hole a few times to see what fit best. Furniture takes a while to install, I'm surprised with all the bad reviews. Take a breath, learn some patience and give it a try. Worth it, these are cool looking, sturdy and worth the price!