The directions were very difficult to follow. The part numbers were on unfinished rough edges of the wood in black marker. The numbers smudged easily and were lost once connected to other parts. This made it almost impossible to follow directions and have continuity. Also, the parts all have the same numbers based on whether they were outer shelves, parts of a cubical assembly or interior shelf walls. All of these design flaws made assembling the furniture a horrible customer experience. I have bought similar products from other vendors and never had this degree of unpleasantness with the assembly process.