Artisans Of India Christmas Thanksgiving Gifts Hand Crafted Rosewood Expandable Folding Book or Cd Stand Rack Holder Shelf Stand

I ordered this to sit on top of a bookshelf and add a little more space. (I'm a grad student, so I *always* need more bookshelf space!) It arrived and looks just as expected (and I notice no strong or unpleasant odor from the wood). I was slightly concerned about the tiny hinges being able to handle a large load of books, but they're doing fine, and in fact, the ends stand at ninety degrees to the base, not wider like they kinda look in the photo. The one thing not obvious in the photo is that because of the way the expansion slider works, the end of the holder that pulls out (the end towards us in the photo) does not rest on the surface below it when extended. This doesn't seem to be a problem at the moment (I don't have it extended quite all the way) but we'll see how it holds up over time with weight on that end. Overall I'm really pleased.

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my daughter-in-law for her myriad of cookbooks. It came packaged so well that it took me 10 minutes to unwrap, but of course I had to make sure it looked as good as the picture and wasn't damaged. So, after pulling it out of the box, unwrapping layer one, heavy cardboard, layer two, softer cardboard, and layer three, bubble wrap, I was delighted. It's beautiful. Looks just like the picture. I carefully rewrapped all the layers, put it back in the box, and will wrap that for Christmas, along with more cookbooks. Hopefully, she will love it as much as I do.

What a wonderful solution to have all of my recipe books on the kitchen counter, tucked back out of the way. I had the recipe books in a cabinet, and they constantly fell on me as I pulled them out. Now I can easily see which book to pull out. The expandable base allowed me to store all on the books in one spot. Very attractive and can't beat the price!

Product works as advertised. Bottom is a little thick though and as such the base should be a quarter inch or so wider. Looks nice in the bedroom.

This really is a unique and beautifully worked piece. I have used mine for some DVDs, and have it on top of my video cabinet. It's not expanded all the way, so there's room for more. It was a little difficult for me to load, as the ends would not stay up by themselves. Also, it's too bad the beautiful design work isn't along the bottom front and back, like the ends, instead of inside the holder where it is covered up.

BUYER BEWARE the finish on this product stained the light colored shelf it was on. Worse, one of the two bookends I bought was infested with Powderpost Beetles. 10 months after purchase I discovered a fine sawdust colored powder behind the bookend. It is consistent with the time (about a year) and method (exit holes that leave a powder with a flour-like consistency) for adult beetles to emerge from infested wood. Now who knows where they’ve gone in my home.

This is a beautiful little shelf that now sits on my small antique desk - I needed something to hold a bunch of books I use on a daily basis for my work. I worried that it might not be sturdy given the price, but I was pleasantly surprised! I also didn't realize that it was adjustable, which was a HUGE bonus. The carving detail is really lovely.

Given its cost, this expanding book shelf more than delivers. No splinters or rough edges, decent finishing, sits flat, and holds a reasonable amount of books/weight for what it is. Likely to order again if I need another small shelf with this level of finish.