I ordered two of these in black. Each one had a shelf that was flawed on the surface- very noticeable on a glossy black surface. One of them had an octagon that looked like it was painted before the final sanding, again, noticeable in glossy black. Both have spots with white base paint showing, so be prepared to buy some spray paint to hide flaws. 

There are stickers included to hide brass colored screws. I can't imagine using the stickers.

They weren't hard to assemble. I did two myself. However, before you attach the second side (to the assembled first side and shelves) you have to screw the silver locking pieces into the second side first. The silver locking pieces attach the side to each actual shelf and are about two inches long. That's not necessarily the order on the directions, but it's got to go in that order. You will do that twice per unit.