Safco Literature Organizer, 12 Compartments, Office and Classroom Mailbox with Adjustable Shelves, Wood Paper and Mail Sorter, Gray

After seeing all the negative reviews I was afraid to purchase this shelf, and got another metal organizer instead. Having more stuff to organize, I eventually got this one too (the grey model), because I liked the fact that it had a flat top--to put more stuff of course! When I opened the package I was apprehensive, but none of my parts were broken, damaged, or missing, and everything was held tightly in place with Styrofoam. I put the thing together in under an hour while my husband got ready for work (and I'm a pretty slow worker on this sort of thing). The parts aren't labeled, but honestly it doesn't matter because there aren't very many parts and the pictures show where they go. No tools besides a tack hammer are necessary, and mine DID NOT crack or bubble during assembly (see below for construction tips). TIPS for those who are having trouble: Don't wet the dowels to activate the glue--they fit snug enough that this isn't necessary to hold the thing together, and allows you to take it apart if you screw up, if you need to pack up the thing to move to a new house...etc. For the top: Stick the dowels into the ends of the 3 boards that are sticking up (instead of pushing them into the top first--this might lead to the cracking others experienced). Another easy trick I did (just for the top, but I could have done it elsewhere) was to tap the dowels in before placing the top on. Tap them in until you hear that they touch the bottom of the drilled out space, or until they stick up less than the width of the top piece. The top pushes on nicely from there and..Ta Da...No bubbles! Make sure to look at the pieces to make sure you have all the finished edges facing the front....I got everything right except the bottom piece...Since I didn't use glue it was a simple fix, but I could have avoided that step if I'd paid more attention... Now, that being said, know what you are getting. This is a particle board organizer. It's plenty sturdy for that and works for the intended purpose of holding papers and some miscellaneous junk on top (a plant for instance) just fine, but it is not high quality material. Nothing compares to real wood, but--and take this from someone who owns a sawmill--real wood is expensive. Even for something as simple as this you have to measure, cut, plain and sand the boards, and then finish them. The product will turn out beautiful and much higher quality, but it will take a little time and more money, even if you do the work yourself. So if you are looking for a piece of furniture that will look fancy and be passed down for generations, spend more money and hire a carpenter or buy a more expensive model. If you want something cheap and quick that looks and works decent, then this is it. P.S. I got this in the grey, which is fine but kind of plain, so I let the kids stencil, paint, and bejewel the sides--it's for their papers anyway! Update: 5 years later and still going strong--daily use and no damage yet. It's actually a pretty sturdy little unit. I'm thinking of buying another to hold more paper options. I'm so glad I went with this instead of one of the cardboard models!

Although it comes with no directions on how to assemble it is quite simple to put together. Take your time and “dry fit” the pieces together and it will go rather easily. I think it is important to put the wooden pegs into the two SIDE and one MIDDLE pieces first. Tap lightly with a hammer until they are all the way down. Only about a quarter of an inch or so will be sticking out once these are tapped into place. Do this on all 4 pegs on each end of the 3 pieces. Then fit them into the bottom just enough to hold. Then put the top piece on, make sure all the pegs and holes line up. Again, lightly tap with a hammer to secure each piece in place. Likely turn it over or lay on the side to get everything snug. Remember, tap lightly with the hammer as you go, if it seems you need to hit hard, likely the holes and pegs are misaligned. The only thing I’d like to get are more shelfs for the unit. Over all a good product.

Super easy to put together. I didn't soak anything or use glue and it seems pretty well put together. You do have to be careful with the little nails for the back. I got a little close to the outer edge and there is a small bulge where the nail is. Can barely notice it though. It's very sturdy as well. I would have given 5 stars but they shorted me one black piece that lines the edge of the brown shelf and never responded to my product support request.

I teach high school and was looking for a paper turn-in spot where I could also keep absent students' work and other forms. This unit is a great solution. In response to many other reviews, there are two ways to put the dividers on the pegs. Just sliding them on will result in a loose fit that lets the divider easily fall out of place, but the correct way 'hooks" the shelf on the pegs. My husband upended the unit, tilted it, and carried it up to my second floor classroom; only one shelf needed to be readjusted. To solve the labeling problem, I bought binder clips. Clipping them to the shelves with the "arms" facing the back of the unit leaves me with a surface I can either affix labels to or (my solution) write on with wet erase markers. Of course, I needed to buy in a non-black color, but a few packages of colored binder clips were cheap. The back of this is cardboard, and the whole unit did have a couple dents, just because it's MDF, but it was a lot(!) easier than making a mailbox system myself, it looks attractive, and the cost was fairly reasonable.

It's not horrible...it is what you'd expect if you paid $18.99 at a department store. I purposefully bought this one because I thought it would be a step up from the bottom shelf stuff. Despite it's weight, the boards are fragile. The pegs expand the wood too much when hammered in (and I mean lightly hammered...TAPPED, even...because there is no way in hell you're shoving these pegs in with your hands.) So you get these ugly "bubbles" on each side (see the last photo) because of the expansion. And if you go just a tiny bit too far, you'll go right through it!! There is nothing stopping them because the holes were drilled way too far in. I'd have more photos to show, but I had already hammered a lot of the holes back in with the particle board that broke off, so that I can cover them with some tape. Thankfully the holes are only on the underside, though the bubbles are clearly visible. I gave it 3 stars instead of 2 or 1 because I'm sure this thing will stand up straight and house the items I plan on putting in it without much of a problem. There are a lot of pegs, so despite the cracked and bubbled wood, it feels fairly sturdy and secured. But I gotta say, don't be fooled by the price. It is not an indication of quality.

With a busy family life, this is a wonderful organizational Tool. Kids are involved in sports year round, scouting, and school/summer activities. Keeping the various info in folders was not working for me or the kids. My husband never thought we would fill up all 32 slots. We did and could probably have gone bigger but this works for the moment. I keep it against the wall on my home office desk. Used a label to identify which slots were for which activities. We have a couple small rocks with red ribbons attached that the kids use to identify items in need if my or Dad's immediate attention (i.e. permission slips, etc.). This unit has helped me keep my desk and my family organized. Things are no longer buried on the kitchen counter. (retraining the kids is another story) Up side: * The two drawers are very handy! They are nice/wide and hold some of the smaller drawer organizers I found at the local office supply chain. We use them for our backup of general office supplies like pencils, highlighters, tape, scissors, calculators, compasses, glue sticks, etc. * Shelves/slots hold most books well. The papers from school fit perfectly. Slots are fairly stable/sturdy for the price of the unit. * Drawers are not shakey and ride independantly on the bottom base of the unit. * Most of the dowels come pre-treated with water-activated glue... so all you need to do is dip them in water and install. * External surface is veneer over particle board. Was stable during construction and as well as the move into place on my desk. Now it doesn't get much challenge to structural integrity as it sits undisturbed on my desk. Down side: * it probably took me an hour to put it together... yes and there were some extra parts. * the slot shelves are fairly stable with bars in the front plus a small bar to keep the slots from sliding and in back for the shelf to rest on. This is stable enough but removing the items in each shelf requires a bit more control. *slots are jut a schosch too small for the manilla folders. * Glue that comes with the unit for non pre-glued units In answer to the final question. Yes I would definately buy this again.

Generally, I really like Safco products that I've purchased in the past. This one says "Wood Adjustable..." and the picture is not at all clear about the shelves, but, that's where the trouble begins. Unlike my other Safco sorters, these shelves are and look like, cheap thick cardboard that is ill-sized. They do NOT sit permanently or even safely on their metal pegs the way they have in the past. If your hand simply brushes up against one of the shelves, the whole thing loses its hold on the back pegs and falls down. Also, one of the things that I recall is that in the past the shelves were sturdier and had a paper covered surface that looked like the grain of the rest of the organizer. Secondly, this is not wood, but wood composite, and hitting the dowels into their holes made them chip out through the bottom of the cabinet, leaving a bunch of pieces of wood chips on the floor. This is not as good as the Safco products were formerly made. I haven't put it into place yet, but I'm frankly worried about it carrying the weight of the things I shall place on the organizer - the same things I put on the previous one, but fewer of them. Maybe it will perform well, but I'm just not as happy with this Safco product as I have been with past products from the same company. Disappointed. I wouldn't say to not buy this, but do be aware that you're NOT getting a wood cabinet, but a wood particle product. ;-( Well, now I have had this piece of junk in place for months, and all I can think of doing is getting rid of it, which I AM going to do. I've already purchased a replacement from another company whose products I know better, and I can't wait until I throw this pile of &*() out. Everything I've ever put into it ends up on the shelf below it or on the floor because of the incredible instability of the shelf "system". Do NOT buy this. It isn't worth the money, and you can't glue cardboard shelves to metal pegs unless you want to have sticky epoxy glue dripping down - even the 5-minute epoxy glue. This is a horrible product.

Very nice product. It suited our purpose. The wood finish is sturdy. The Backing is flimsy but it will work as long as you do not push on it or force paper back on it. It is accurately shown and photographed. You can remove shelves and store books. We used it in a busy law office where we have several forms and colored paper to separate and collate. I could see how this would work in a classroom setting. Once it is placed in one spot I do not recommend it be moved over and over as it will come apart. Use wood glue to make sure all parts stick together and stay together. The black shelves are easy to label. It comes with labels but we used our own lables (Brother) to code and list each shelf.

One of the best choices I made

Excellent

Es recomendable para la ordenación de muchos documentos

It's perfect for what we needed, just be careful you insert the top wooden rods all the way, or they may puncture the top when you try to set the top... Other than that, perfect!

It was ideal size and had sufficient spaces for my needs. I used wood glue for the dowels and a soft mallet for setting the dowels and putting the frame together. It is quite sturdy.