I am very leery when it comes to purchasing furniture online. Most of the products seem to be overpriced junk veneer. I am happy to say I was quite surprised when I received this bench. When the box was delivered, it had a sticker showing two people carrying the box...as if to warn you, this sucker is heavy! I was able to pick it up by myself, but yes, the box is heavy...a good sign! I had all the pieces laid out and was able to put it together in about 20 minutes. The bench looks great in our front entrance and we have received a few compliments already! It has a small storage area under the seat, I wouldn't recommend putting heavy stuff in there. It should hold a bunch of light stuff just fine. The design reminds me of an old street bench and sitting on it for a few minutes, doesn't hurt my butt. I say that because we were considering of putting some type of fabric pad on top...but again, we decided against it.