This is why I moved away from timber shelving. My last bookcase had a permanent bow in the middle shelf within a year. Metal simply doesn't do that.
It's tall and narrow by design so it needs to live somewhere sensible. Ours is in an alcove in the study where nobody walks past. Loaded evenly it feels stable and the steel is genuinely solid, but I wouldn't put it in a hallway with kids running through.
Set all the spacings to 12 inches and it holds vinyl upright beautifully. Being able to change the layout completely rather than being stuck with the maker's idea is the whole value here.
Which is exactly what I wanted in a small bedroom. From the doorway you notice the books and not the furniture, and it makes the room feel less full than a solid bookcase would. It arrived needing nothing done to it, I just stood it in the corner and started filling it. Six weeks in the shelves are still perfectly level and I've adjusted one of them since without any fuss.
I don't know how they manage it but it arrived as a finished piece. Unwrapped, stood it up, started loading books.



