OfficeMax - Espresso Desk with Hutch $64.99 FS

I build the displays for Office Max and a few other stores. Even with all the experience I have building these types of things, I can confirm this desk is a pain in the ass to build. You will spend 65 and probably wish you spent another 65 for someone else to do it. I hate when the stores sells off the display of this Illustra and want another one assembled. The reason they usually sell the display is because a customer brought it back either in pieces or its brought back assembled wrong, with boards facing the wrong way or drawers not closing, or worse. I get paid to build another display, but its not worth it. Part of it is no matter how good of a job you do at building it or how good it may look when it's done, it seems to deteriorate in a hurry. The paper laminate on these is thin and it gets scratched up pretty easily. I only see this in a store so it probably gets worn at a faster pace than in a home. On the dimly lit side, it's a functional desk when it's finally put together. Just expect it to look like a desk you paid 65 bucks for and be happy with it...if it survives assembly.

For best results, make sure you check the instructions carefully to make sure the unfinished boards are all facing the back and don't over tighten the cam bolts into the plastic rings. This causes the cam locks to not turn because the bolts aren't at the right depth. The cam locks are cheap so if you try to force them to turn the metal ends up bending or breaking apart. I have better luck using my fingers to tighen the cam bolts til they sit flush with the plastic ring that holds them. If you use a drill, you might want to loosen the cam bolts so they aren't sunk into the plastic. Try not to use a drill for the screws that hold the handles. They holes in the handle strip. Try to build it in the place you want it, especially if you have carpet. If you have to move it, try using some furniture sliders. Most of these desks don't survive too many moves. Other than that, bring you patience, a large vocabulary of swear words and keep the box until its built.

I have this. Nice desk for someone who's not looking to spend alot. DH put it together fairly quickly, read instructions, had no issues. Desk has been in my second office for a year and still looks/works great.. I work at home and am self employed so it gets alot of use.

Quote from limejello : I bought this for my son's room the last time it was on sale. It is particle board. The worst thing about it was putting it together. It's a serious pain in the ass. If I didn't have good mechanical aptitude, I probably never would have got the thing together. Instead, I would've burned it in effigy, then burned it for real, then buried it and waited for it to come back as a zombie desk and burned it again. But other than that, it's a decent desk for the price.

really? It couldn't have been that bad....

really? lol

it was funny!

Anyone else being charged freight shipping?

Quote from makeitslickER : really? It couldn't have been that bad.... really? lol it was funny!

No. It's that bad.

I bought this thing last summer when it was on sale, first box I had was missing one of the larger side panels. Luckily, I didn't start building yet, but did have the chore of packing it all back up and taking it back to the store.

Second one I came home with had all the pieces, but I didn't realize that it didn't have the holes for the cam-locks on one of the sides. This time I had it built about halfway. I packed up what I had left and took it back to the store. Beyond frustrated at this point I refused to disassemble the hutch portion and just kept it, hoping Officemax wouldn't notice that the box was about thirty pounds lighter.

Third one was a charm. Thankfully the staff at the store was extremely understanding.

The only positive thing I can say about this desk is that the keyboard drawer gets stuck everytime I pull it out and the filing cabinet holds about three pounds before the cardboard bottom begins to bend.

Have this desk! Assembly is a total headache and not the best quality but cannot beat the price and it does what it needs to do just fine

Quote from tkairys : No. It's that bad. I bought this thing last summer when it was on sale, first box I had was missing one of the larger side panels. Luckily, I didn't start building yet, but did have the chore of packing it all back up and taking it back to the store. Second one I came home with had all the pieces, but I didn't realize that it didn't have the holes for the cam-locks on one of the sides. This time I had it built about halfway. I packed up what I had left and took it back to the store. Beyond frustrated at this point I refused to disassemble the hutch portion and just kept it, hoping Officemax wouldn't notice that the box was about thirty pounds lighter. Third one was a charm. Thankfully the staff at the store was extremely understanding. The only positive thing I can say about this desk is that the keyboard drawer gets stuck everytime I pull it out and the filing cabinet holds about three pounds before the cardboard bottom begins to bend.

yeah, sounds like a nightmare. I probably would be tempted to break all the boards in half and throw em away if something went awry during the process.

Quote from limejello : I bought this for my son's room the last time it was on sale. It is particle board. The worst thing about it was putting it together. It's a serious pain in the ass. If I didn't have good mechanical aptitude, I probably never would have got the thing together. Instead, I would've burned it in effigy, then burned it for real, then buried it and waited for it to come back as a zombie desk and burned it again. But other than that, it's a decent desk for the price.

awesome, this made me buy this desk just because of your hilarious post!

how's assembly if I don't want the hutch or the keyboard drawer? also how tall is it w/o the hutch?

too many bad reviews. I pass. My old 10 year old officedepot desk is still better than this maybe

Thanks!! Just got one.

Is there a coupon or price to get that price? Shows up as 99.99 for me....

I am seeing $99.99 also

No coupon code needed. I think the deal expired and it went up in price. Earlier, the price actually showed $64.99.