The bookcase generally looks and seems sturdy enough, and was fairly easy to assemble but the so-called 'wax' finish leaves a lot to be desired and, given the very flimsy nature of the extremely thin side pieces - one of which nearly gave way as I was assembling the thing - I am not at all convinced by the quality of this bookcase - in fact rather the opposite, as there is far too much plywood - thin at that - to my mind for this to really be a 'solid wood' bookcase as it was advertised, and I do not consider it to be particularly good value for money, especially having seen it up close, so to speak; even the sale price I paid - less £30 or so - seems way over the odds to me. But, it does the job and I guess a year or two of regular polishing will bring it on a little, although for the price I paid I have to admit to being somewhat disappointed.