When I received the shipment, the box containing the headboard and footboard is was noticeably damaged (blame it on UPS), but everything inside was intact. The bed came into two boxes, one for the bed frame and another one for the headboard and footboard + hardware. Everything you need to assemble is included.
Before I purchased this bed, I was contemplating on the Bonaire bed by Hillsdale. After seeing this bed on Great Offer Stock (it appears to have been added recently), I immediately fell in love with it. For half the price of the Hillsdale piece, it's a no brainer. After purchasing the bed, I got it in 3 business days. Assembly took about 2 hours by myself. The instructions are pretty clear, but be careful. The diagram showing the allen bolts is kind of confusing and because of that, I had to partially disassemble the frame more than once because I installed the wrong size bolts.
The quality of the craftsmanship is great, but you can tell it's not a Hillsdale product (it's made by Home Elegance, BTW). The decorative terminals ontop of each post is actually screwed on, not casted onto the post as a single solid piece. I also like how the bed frame has three slats going across to distribute the weight of the mattress set evenly.
The bed, when finished, raised my mattress set a little over 2.5 feet off the floor! Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. When we get a king bed, we'll get the Bonaire by Hillsdale. But for now, this bed will suffice.