I purchased the shoe rack to replace one I had purchased from another popular online store.  I was able to easily assemble the shoe rack. The rods are sturdy and the ends didn't crumple when I inserted them into the side pieces.  (This happened with my last one, causing me to lose an entire shelf.)    Once put together, it's fairly sturdy.  My only issue is that both the metal rods and the plastic connector pieces are a lot darker than is shown in the picture making it very unattractive.  It wouldn't be an issue if I could hide it in my closet, but that's not possible.    There's a fairly decent gap between the bars.  It's not an issue for me, but if one has high heels, I wouldn't recommend it.