I ordered this bed because I needed a bed that did not require a box spring. It arrived today in three separate boxes, which ranged in weight from 23 lbs to 37 lbs, total 100 lbs. The boxes were very easily handled and manageable maneuvering through narrow hallways.
I was a little nervous about the quality because it was so light and because there is some confusion as to how the boxes should be stored. The boxes were strangely labeled on top, "Do Not Lay Flat" and yet the side of the box had another label "This Side Up" which indicated that the boxes should in fact be laid flat. Huh? Made in China.... Oh okay, that makes sense.
I was also a little nervous about what condition the bed would be in given the confusing box labels and because the box with the headboard had two huge boot prints on top. Fortunately, everything was intact.
I carefully unpacked each of the boxes as I inventoried the contents because I read a review of the same bed with a different headboard that pieces were missing. Everything was there with a couple of spare parts in case.
The instructions were pretty clear, although a couple of the parts were slightly mislabeled. For example, there were different washer sizes for the two different thicknesses of bolts. However, the instruction sheet just labeled all the washers as the same size. Luckily, I observed the difference in the size of the washers prior to mismatching any as I built the bed.
Also, the instructions itemized parts separately although they came pre-assembled with other parts. This led to some minor confusion as I was taking inventory.
One crazy thing about the headboard.... when I unpacked it, I initially could not find the posts to attach it. I then looked at the back of the headboard, which is not finished with the faux leather like the rest of the bed but with the stringy kind of fabric that you usually find on the underside of a couch. To one side of the back of the headboard, there is a zipper which when opened reveals all the parts that you need to attach the headboard. The posts were tied down in a slipknot with some floral fabric totally unrelated to the actual product, while I had to fish out the instructions and hardware which were floating elsewhere within the headboard. WTF? It's not like your going to use this smuggler's hold again for anything else. This is probably the cheesiest feature of the bed, which probably saved the manufacturer from having to use a box that might be 8" longer or 4" thicker.
The bed only took about 2 hours to assemble and felt pretty solid afterward. However, the plastic pieces that hold the slats in place snap easily!! I noticed two ways that this could happen in two ways. Some of the pre-drilled holes on the siderail support for these plastic pieces did not allow the slat holder to snap in place easily. If you pressed on it too hard, the piece could break. To overcome this, I placed a slat into the holder first before trying to press it into place.
The other type of slat holder that attaches to the center rail would occasionally snap after both slats were placed in either end and then pressed down to attach to the rail. To repair one of the pieces that snapped, I used the clear, flexible hockey tape (that players use to wrap around shin guards and socks). After that, I proactively placed tape on each of the center slat holders to prevent them from snapping. FYI, the package I received had one extra piece of each type of slat holder.
After the bed was completely assembled, I placed my 8.5" thick Tempur-Pedic mattress on the slats alone. It felt well supported despite the floppiness of this kind of mattress. However, when I sat on the end of the bed, the end sagged through the space between the footboard and the nearest slat. Also, I could see a slight gap between the top of the mattress and the bottom of the headboard. If your mattress is thicker than 8.5" as most are nowadays, this would not be an issue.
Fortunately, I already had plywood boards cut to fit a queen bed. I placed these on top of the slats, and then placed the mattress on top of the plywood, which fixed both the gap underneath the headboard and the sag when I sat at the foot of the bed.
Overall, I am very impressed with the bed. It's modern, yet inviting look has instantly increased the appeal of my room. Despite my initial fears, it feels solid once it is completely assembled. Not entirely sure though that you can put a substantial amount of weight against the headboard if you prop yourself up to read, unless the headboard is resting solidly against a wall.
It's hard to beat the quality at this price. Happy shopping!