My cats love this tree! It's very well made, and very heavy. I received a little lighter shade of beige than shown. I think the packaging was very good for a makeshift box. It arrived with 1 box for the bottom half and taped at the middle to the top box, than the whole thing was shrink wrapped. It actually made it very easy to get it out of the box, and was in excellent shape. My cats immediately played on it, and I think it helps that it's treated with catnip! Even the toy tassel hanging from it is of high quality. Very much worth the price, great piece of furniture that my cats love and looks great!