The bench arrived quickly and was packed well.  Even with the packing however, some pieces had nicks and gouges in the surface.  Realizing this was going in a mudroom where it was going to get a lot of use and would soon have its own new nicks and scratches, I decided just to touch up the injured spots.  The bench went together easily and is pretty sturdy.  The touch up done to the surface with some furniture touch markers from the hardware store made the bench look ok - like it had been in use for a while.  Overall I am pleased with the piece.