I waivered on purchasing this desk due to the negative reviews, but the price and small size of the desk (and lack of other cheap, small desks <32" wide) made this seem worth trying. After assembling and using the desk for a work week, I can say that I think the investment was worth it, in both money and time. Note that I bought this desk for less than $50, but it seems the price can fluctuate. I would not pay more than $50 for this. My first and most significant comment on whether or not one should buy this desk is this: have realistic expectations. This is a cheap desk and is built like a cheap desk. It's particle board. If you're expecting to get a desk to last you years and years, try spending a couple hundred dollars instead. I bought this specifically for working from home in my tiny bedroom. The desk is not hard to assemble, but the instructions are also not easy to follow because they're only pictures with few words. I highly suggest getting familiar with the instructions before assembling to avoid frustration. I personally built this by myself in about 45 minutes, but 2 people would make it go much faster. Here are my assembly recommendations for each step in the instructions, based on my experience: GENERAL Recommendations: * Get wood glue or other (I used E6000) to reinforce all the joints where you attach parts. Trust me, this will improve the stability immensely. I applied glue to each non-finished edge before attaching with hardware. * Count all hardware and identify each piece by its letter (they are labeled) before you start. Don't assemble if there are missing parts. * I suggest using an electric screwdriver or drill to assemble, if you have one available, and have a flashlight on hand to make sure holes line up where pieces are attached. This is key to assembling a stable unit. Step 1 - pay attention to the finished vs unfinished edges. It is not clear which end of the bracket should be facing the unfinished edge based on the picture, but it should be the hollow side of the bracket (the large holes should be facing the finished edge). Step 2 -pretty straightforward, make sure you're using screw #4 and that the unfinished edge is facing the correct direction. Step 3 - My piece E was not labeled, but I found it after process of elimination. Make sure the finished edge on K/J is up when you assemble this piece. Step 4 - This was not easy to do alone, but if you push the end of the legs against a wall to balance, it's not that hard. Use a flashlight to ensure the holes on the legs line up with the holes on the table top and heavily glue the joints. Step 5 - Definitely make sure you apply a lot of glue to these joints, and make sure the holes on the pieces line up when driving in hardware. Step 6 - This is very unclear the way it's drawn. Basically, attach the legs with screw #1 on the outside connections, and use screw #2 on the inside connection points. Screw #2 should face inward towards the unfinished edges. Again, apply a lot of glue to these joints. It was hard to line up the holes on the legs with the holes on the connection points, so a second person would come in handy here to hold the pieces together. Step 7 - same advice: glue and lining up the holes Step 8 - check to make sure the black square is straight compared to the edge of the table top. They move pretty easy with some force if minor adjustment is needed after attachment Step 9 - same advice: glue and lining up the holes Step 10 - I used all the tacks they provided and glued the entire panel to the back of the desk. Here's my Step 11 - stand the desk up and check the stability. If it wobbles at certain points, drive in extra wood screws at the joint, taking care not to puncture the particle board (I missed a couple times). I did this at the point where the front legs meet the table top, for extra side-to-side stability. I definitely could have added more. After assembly, the desk still unfortunately has a little side-to-side wobble in it, but only when you physically try to make it wobble. I think this is from the cheap particle board materials having some flex, because I heavily reinforced all the joints. In the end this is acceptable to me, because with regular use the desk is stable and does not move while typing, writing, etc unless you run into it. I find the top shelf and nooks underneath especially useful as I like to have everything in reach on my desk. I was able to fit a 23" monitor and a Surface on the top shelf without much of a problem, though the back of my monitor stand hangs off by about 2 inches, but it's up against a wall. So far I'm satisfied with the desk and it meets my functional needs.
