Salem Dining Chair

...that I'd review something on OStock and rate it less than 4+ stars. Let me qualify that. I've purchased many things on OStock, and have always been super-satisfied. I don't regret this purchase, but I wasn't super-duper-satisfied. They're not a HUGE bargain for their size and weight. A good bargain, just not a HUGE one. If you have an ampler 'derrier,' you may find that they're kind of petite in scale seat-wise. Here's my real issue: the top back of one came broken. The dowels were clearly broken, the wood had separated, and when I went to grab the chair by the back to lift it out of the box (they come fully assembled--bonus!), which wouldn't have caused the damage that I saw in and of itself, it broke further. The part that was broken was wrapped in cardboard, plastic wrap and plastic twine, looked like the original packaging from the factory, and the exterior of the box wasn't damaged at all. This forces me to conclude that some warehouse worker took an obviously damaged chair, carefully packed it up and shipped it to me anyway. I didn't open the boxes and go to use them until more than 2 weeks after I received them, bcuz I had to make arrangements to get rid of my old chairs first. So by the time I opened the boxes, threw the packaging away and realized I had damaged goods, I'd waited too long. Plus I couldn't be bothered to pay for and deal with re-packaging the chair and shipping it back. Gonna drill a hole from underdeath and screw the 2 pieces together, maybe use some wood glue, as well. Hopefully the damage (and fix-up job) won't be visible to the casual observer, and the chair will be problem-free after that. All of the others, I have to admit, seem to be well-constructed and solid, and don't seem like they'd break apart in your hands the way that one did. I really think it was some careless factory worker, not representative of the overall quality of the chairs themselves. The heavily distressed nature of the finish is cool--dings and holes and scratches, you name it. Don't buy these if you don't like that look. The color is a little warmer, and not quite as dark as the online photo makes it appear, but I prefer the true color. Overall I'm happy I bought them. Just a bit frustrated and disappointed that in addition to the fair amount of money I just spent, I have to deal with repairs on one of them right from the get-go, and can't use it until that's done. Wouldn't stop me from buying more of these chairs, or from continuing to shop on OStock, though.