Review on Espresso Computer Desk With Shelves For Home Office - SHW by Emilio Wallace

I recently moved cross-country and made the decision not to take up space on the truck to move my old, cheap, DIY desk that was falling apart and instead purchase a new one when I got to my new home. Unfortunately, I'm assuming both because it's the start of the school year and because of supply issues with COVID, many of the stores around me were completely out of desks, or only had ones that were ridiculously expensive leftover, so my options were limited. I took a chance ordering this one as it seemed sturdier than some of the other DIY ones sold at Target, Walmart, etc without being outrageously expensive.and overall I'm glad I did.Pros:• Very easy to assemble -- all necessary tools, parts, etc are included and labeled well, instructions are easy to follow, and you don't need to be a carpenter to put together.• Very sturdy -- better quality wood than the normal DIY "pressed wood" material you get from big box stores, plenty of screws (screws too, not just nails hammered in) to hold it together, extra "bracing" wood pieces included to help with structure, and slide in plastic bits included on main sections for added stability (see photos).• Color and grain is very nice -- I ordered the ashy tan color and it looks very nice and much more realistic than similar models.• Affordable -- much cheaper than comparable models at the big box stores, and more more sturdy for the price too.• Features -- I like the shelves on the side and appreciate that you can set it up so that they go on either side of the desk, depending on how/where you want it set up.• Shipping time -- when desks seem to be in short supply, I appreciated that I was able to get this in only a few days (and it arrived earlier than expected).Cons:• Wood was severely scratched (see photos) -- Literally every single piece, front and back, was basically gouged with small to medium sized scratches going down it. All pieces had multiple sections covering the surface. At first I thought it must have been something that occurred in shipping, but when pulling it out and finding it was every piece and on both sides (and particularly since it was packaged pretty well with Styrofoam too), it seems to be a manufacturing error. Unfortunate QA issue that should have been caught with how widespread it is, and I'd normally send back and ask for a replacement, but with the shortage of desks and the fact that I need it for work in a few days, it isn't worth it; I'll just make due and cover the top with a desk mat to make it less noticeable. Definitely frustrating, but still overall pleased with the desk as a whole.• Shiny particles covering surfaces after removing from box -- Not sure exactly what it is, but there were small "shards" of some sort of shiny material covering all of the surfaces when I pulled it from the box. It looks very similar to tiny strands of insulation. Not sure what it was, and it's not the end of the world, but it did end up getting all over everything as I was setting up the desk. (See photo for material on my hand.)Overall, definitely worth the money and I'm pleased with my purchase, especially for the price. Disappointed with all of the scratches, but that's really the only significant issue and it's on me that I don't have the time to send it back and reorder.