Great for the money...we didn't have any problems with the finish on any of the pieces, and the overall finished job looks great.  But if you're going for a more uniform look, these won't do it, unless you buy twice as much as you need and weed out the worst specimens. There are many pieces that were warped, cupped and if you plan to glue these, they will show that effect and won't lay flat no matter how flat the surface your gluing them to is. We are going to pattern nail some small finishing nails to see if we can pull in a few of the worst bowed pieces. It is rustic, just keep that in mind!
We used standard gray stain to finish the cut ends. A little on a sponge and a paper towel to wipe it off and you can't tell it from the finished product. I'd purchase these again, taking into consideration my suggestions above.