ZINUS Box Spring with Wood Slats, Queen

TL;DR: Failed parts, replacements were different batch, returned and replaced. Overall, the product seems sturdy and so far hasn't creaked on us. Feels refreshingly different to our old box foundation. Only time will tell how long this will last. Longer version: Our ordeal with this began 3-4 weeks ago when we placed our first order. The foundation/base arrived fine, a little tattered in shipping but fine. When I started assembling, I pulled out everything, put them in the "arrangement" and went at it. Halfway through the process, I hit my first roadblock. Theoretically, the pass-through holes and the threaded-holes are supposed to align. Theoretically. Practically, they won't be. Some of them were aligned with some nudging, some of them with more extensive maneuvering (vertical to horizontal to sideways) and one just didn't. When we tried screwing in the supplied nuts at this one problem junction, it just wouldn't go in. WARNING: Do NOT force your way in, because it will definitely cross-thread and rip-out any threading inside the welded part. Anyway, after much trying with the 2 to 2 alignment on side, I went to the other ones and found one more such dud. Had to pack it all up and move to another room while we waited on support. First had a chat on their site, which they promised would be escalated for a replacement part. Few days later, we had to call in to see what was going on as the package that was supposed to arrive didn't even get picked up. After few more escalations, we finally got the replacement parts, two of Part As. Pulled back all the parts and got to work again, only to realize that part As they sent me were both from a different batch as the #6s and #5s would align at all. Another chat/call with Zinus (and this was into week 3) they offered yet another replacement. Given that we were within the Amazon return window, we instead opted for a complete return (packing was a pain, so make sure you document the way things are packed when opening the box the first time around). 2nd time around, these are the things I'd recommend doing before setting up: 1. Take one of the provided screws and run them through all the threaded-holes. They should be either easy to screw it in or some mild pressure (all by hand at this time). 2. Once you've verified all threads are in good condition, time to open them up further. Arrange the pieces per the layout, and start attaching them in without the screws. Once they all fit, go hunting with the screws. As mentioned before, there might be some major amount of wriggling needed to get the screws through both holes. Only hand tighten the screws at this stage. 3. Once the screws are all in, use the supplied tool, or a hex key and get to tightening them all. Step #1 will save a lot of time. Step #2 onwards, you're on your own. If you're lucky, they will all go in just fine. Just to be sure, get karma on your side before embarking on this. While some of the description of our experience may be a little too colorful, the fact that we had to wait well into our 3rd week to actually get a functional foundation is both a nuisance and credit to Amazon. The product itself functions fairly well. The wooden slats are a little suspicious looking but are perfectly capable of holding the mattress (we have an avocado green). There is no creaking sounds anymore, and the velcro strips have held up into week 1. If only Zinus could get their QC and their pandemic-impacted Customer service in shape, this wouldn't have been this long a review.