Espresso Transitional Composite Media Cabinet

This media stand has incredible storage capacity without hogging an entire wall of your room. It's a quality product, made of sturdy wood that I'm confident will have no issues supporting a media collection, books, or any other odds and ends you may choose to put on the shelves.It takes up about as much space as a 5-foot-tall person would if you put a box around them and is suprisingly easy to assemble: there are a total of 12 pieces, not including screws, and all you need is a philips screwdriver and a hammer (hammer use is minimal, and mindless). Once it's assembled, it's relatively easy to lift (the boxes it comes in are HEAVY - one is 70 lbs; the second is smaller, but awkward to lift). The pieces are nicely labeled as being part of Box A or Box B, and are so easy to identify that there's no risk that you'll mistake one component for another.As someone else mentioned, be ready to spend some time cleaning off the sawdust that coats the packaging - it took me more time to clean off the assembled unit and shelves than it did to put it together.Storage capacity (MAX):- 26 CDs per shelf; max of 10 shelves per side (so if you wanted to fill all 4 sides with CDs, you could fit 26 x 10 x 4 = 1,040 CDs)- 18 DVDs per shelf; max of 7 shelves per side (so if you wanted to fill all 4 sides with DVDs, you could fit 18 x 7 x 4 = 504 DVDs)- 22 Blu-rays per shelf; max of 8 shelves per side (so if you wanted to fill all 4 sides with Blu-rays, you could fit 22 x 8 x 4 = 704 Blu-rays)Note: The above numbers assume that you're using basic CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays (no box sets, etc.). Keep this in mind when figuring out whether or not this will be large enough to hold you current (and future) collection.Or, you can be like me and mix and match the above. I also have every intention of buying a second one of these to store my library of paper-back books :)*UPDATE*I did end up purchasing not just one, but two more of these units. They're fantastic at supporting books of all sizes, though the mass media paperbacks are definitely the most aesthetically pleasing fit: they end up inset about an inch from the edge of the shelves, so factor in the depth of the book when deciding whether or not you're comfortable with the "look" of books extending past the depth of the unit.For quantities (based on your typical 200-300 page mass-market paperpack):- ~10 Books per shelf; max of 7 shelves per side (so if you wanted to fill all 4 sides with mass-market paperback books, you could fit 10 x 7 x 4 = 280 Books)I'm personally alright with the "look" of the larger books on the shelves and can happily confirm that the shelves easily support my college text books (including the huge accounting and tax reference books I've accumulated).I will warn that when you're filling these units with whatever media/books/items you choose, be careful to distribute the weight evenly (e.g. fill opposite sides at the same time; make sure that you distribute the weight across the top and bottom of the shelves). The reason isn't that the unit won't support the weight, but when you go to turn it on the lazy susan, there's a risk that it can tip over if you only fill one side (or especially two adjacent sides) while leaving the rest of the unit empty.

The best piece of advice among the other reviews is to read the directions twice before you start. Also, inventory the parts and wipe everything down with a damp cloth.I'll try not to repeat what others have said - basically, I'm a single woman and I put the thing together in less than two hours.There are some tricky parts - while all the drilled holes seemed to be well placed, putting it together on carpet introduces some variations.And I concur with others - the packing is very good.1. Yes, it comes with a marker to brown out scratches/nicks - some were already there, some I put in during assembly2. It's fiberboard but it serves its purpose - it almost looks like real furniture and it stores a heck of a lot of dvds3. It's a little tricky in that while all the holes are drilled correctly (no small feat apparently, based on other experiences) it is important to get the holes lined up before you commit to tightening too many screws.4. Sides one and two are easy enough - but I tried to line up the screws with the holes on 3 and 4 before I tightened - they are well drilled but it's still difficult to see5. It did not self destruct when I accidently knocked the half constructed piece to the ground - so yay!6. I got ambitious and put in some shelf dowels while it was still upside down since it seemed easier: it was, but first, I miscounted (remember you'll want to use the "floor" so the bottom hole is not the bottom; and also some will likely fall out when you flip it.7. It's strong. I'm a little skeptical about how long the rotating mechanism will work, but so far it's great - and I've loaded it with all my dvds and basically filled it = and rotated it a lot to try and organize things a little. The "cycle" is a piece of plastic but so far so good.The Directions aren't great but they're not that bad -- note that although it isn't listed, you will need a flat bladed screw driver as well as a hammer and a Phillips head screw driver.Note - I didn't think I had 400 dvds but it is basically full. I do have a lot of sets and some old style sets that take up more room, but I thought I'd have extra space and I don't have much.So in my book, it has delivered what it promised.ETA - almost 3 years later the spinner is working with no problem. So FYI