Railroad Tie Bookcases

Comments about Railroad Tie Bookcases:

As I wrote in my subsequent review of the RR tie nesting tables, my entire furniture order (with the exception of the Birch Mirror -- still waiting to see if that develops borer damage) from Vivaterra was infested with some type of wood borer. The cracking that I noted on these shelves initially was nothing compared to the gouging and borer holes that suddenly appeared, along with piles of sawdust, on the back of the shelves. This damage is from a wood borer which was in the teak log side tables that I purchased from Vivaterra in the same order. I do not know if the infestation spread to the bookcase, or whether Vivaterra's entire warehouse is infested, or what. All that I know is that I now, after a nightmarish time trying to get ANY response from the company (please see more details in my reviews of the teak log tables, and my previous review of this product), they are finally picking up everything that I purchased from them and refunding all of my money. Whether the insect infestation spread to other parts of my home remains to be seen; they did infest a new wood lamp that I had gotten from another retailer. I am having an exterminator inspect my house today, as well as ID the borer before Vivaterra has someone take it away tomorrow.

Comments about Railroad Tie Bookcases:

(Please see my review for the teak log side tables for details about Vivaterra's handling of this issue). If I could change my previous assessment of this product from three stars to no stars, I would.

The wood borer infestation that was present in the teak logs that I purchased in the same order also was present in the shelves of this bookcase. This likely was the cause of the cracking of which I complained in my previous review. Oh, and Vivaterra never sent me the replacement hardware or shelf, which doesn't surprise me, and I ultimately glad they did not, since I found out the product is infested.

Comments about Railroad Tie Bookcases:

One shelf was cracked all the way through, so that you could see light through it. Since I live in Southern California, where it is very dry, I can only imagine that this will get worse. I think this crack is beyond what is normal for the reclaimed wood products, as the RR side tables that I purchased are not like this.

I was told by customer service to take photos and email them, and then they'd look into it. I will do that, but I really have to wonder why they wouldn't send an exchange/replacement outright, especially after the massive delay on this product's delivery. I made large furniture purchases from three other, similar furniture retailers, and Viva Terra is the ONLY one that makes its customers go to such lengths to correct issues that were created by the retailer. I see that I can't mention "pricing" in the reviews, but suffice it to say I spent multiple thousands of dollars on ONE order with Viva Terra, and I really was hoping to be happy with all of the products and the service.

Service and delivery comments:

Delivery on this was terrible. It took well over three weeks to be delivered; it actually took almost two months!!! I kid you not. Then, it finally arrives and the hardware is missing. When I contacted customer service and asked them if they might expedite the shipment of the hardware, since the delivery had already taken far longer than three weeks, they said they'd "look into it," but suggested that I could get the hardware myself locally and they would discount the product. OK, I don't have time to search for hardware that would match the unusual, raw steel finish of this product, and why should I have to make an extra effort to fix the third delivery problem that I've had (same order, multiple products, multiple delivery issues -- see my other reviews) that have been caused by them?

I love the appearance -- and in most cases, the quality -- of this company's products, but their delivery is TERRIBLE, and makes me doubt that I'll buy from them again.