We encountered the following problems with the fireplace set, but the manufacturer was very proactive in trying to resolve the issues. They are sending us a replacement tong that has been fully assembled, and applied a partial refund for our troubles. They have assured us the factory was made aware of the issues and taken steps to prevent recurrence.Because there are few reviews on this item and my experience differed from the positive responses in 8 of the nine reviews, I want to provide some additional perspective for consumers considering purchase. Having had the item for 1 day, this review is limited to the quality of the construction and instructions. Only time will tell of its durability.The product arrived as part of a multi-item package from Amazon. The outer box was intact. The box containing this item was missing a corner piece. I can only assume this occurred when initially assembled/packaged in China or somewhere in transit prior to being placed inside the shipment to us. The fault may belong to the manufacturer, the shipper to Amazon or Amazon’s handling in the warehouse. The good news is the impact here appears insignificant as none of the parts of the fireplace rack were damaged; no harm, no foul (though it creates the potential to explain an issue with the tong assembly -see below). No stars deducted for this issue. However, if the problem is not isolated to my shipment, it is possible such packaging/shipping issues could cause damage to the item.It is a bad sign when the shipping contents do not match the parts list. I received 2 washers and a pin that were not in the packing list,or assembly diagram. They were not in the same bag as the other bolts and nuts. I missed them when I was unpacking and they were only found when trying to assemble the tongs. The tongs, while listed in the packing list as a single item, was actually disassembled into two pieces. Being disassembled was.not a major concern as I knew some assembly was required when I purchased the item. If these were the only issues I might have given the product four stars.However, there were two other more important issues. The first has to do with the tolerances of the parts, making assembly frustrating and if the tolerances are slightly worse on other instances, impossible. When I tried to assemble the base, it became clear rather quickly that one of the holes to the base was incorrectly centered. I do not believe this was user error. I even tried, without success, reversing the base in case the tolerances were such that it would fit in the other direction. Rather than precisely located circular holes, they had made some of the drilled holes oblong to allow some play in the tolerances. That would have been perfectly acceptable if the oblongs were large enough to correct for the imprecision of the centering of the holes. While I did not measure it, the error was probably only 1/16th of an inch, but it prevented the bolt from passing perpendicular to the opening and allowing appropriate alignment. Ultimately, just before deciding to call Amazon to return the item, with brute force (using a hammer on a bolt) I was initially able to place the screw in the reverse direction and using more force, enlarged the hole enough to allow me to place the bolt correctly. It damaged the threads slightly, but I was able to get the nut over the bolt using a wrench. It also scraped the painted finish.The second defect is a safety issue. As mentioned, the tongs came as two pieces and there were also 2 non-listed washers and a pin. The pin/non-threaded bolt, appears intended to be the axis around which the two pieces of the tongs rotate. Ignoring the lack of instructions/caccuracy of the packing list, my concern is the pin does not securely anchor in place. It is held in the holes in the three rods of the tongs purely by friction. As a result when one uses the tongs there is a very real possibility that the pin could come loose and the center piece of the tong would not be held in place, with the potential to drop a hot log and potentially cause injury. Just in opening and closing the tongs, I could see the pin working itself out of place. Since the packing list is incomplete, I do not know if this is the way the tongs is designed and hence a risk to all owners or whether I was missing one piece (the shipping carton did have a hole in it) that would have secured it. I am concerned enough about this that I will be going to Lowes to get a bolt and nut to allow a secure assembly.For perspective, I consider 5 stars an exceptional product that meets or exceeds my expectations. Four stars is something that while there is room for improvement, I am content with and would reorder unless I knew for certain there was something better. Three stars is something that is average and I would look for alternatives prior to repurchasing. Two stars indicates that if I knew at the time of purchase what I knew after receipt/usage, I would not have purchased unless I could not find any viable alternative, and would consider returning if it was not too significant a hassle. Returning this product would have been a hassle as the shipping carton is not easily reusable and I do not know know at this price point if there is a better option, so I kept it.Ultimately, this product is designed to hold wood and allow one to safely manipulate logs and clean the fireplace. If assembly was needlessly difficult, but it functioned well, I would have probably either not written a review or given it 3-4 stars, if after using it for a while the construction and utensils appeared to be durable. However, I am concerned about the safety of the tongs. As for the durability of the holder and the other utensils, until it has been used for at least a season, that is hard to evaluate and therefore without the other issues, I would not have reviewed this item so close to the time of purchase.