Received this rack in a cardboard box and it had no type of protective wrap on it. Both hook type reinforcement bars were slightly bent. Most likely due to not having being secured in some manner to the rack and could flop about. Two thumbs up for providing extra feet and crossbar plugs. As far as the directions, my advice. Don't look at them right away. Take the rack look at it and try to set it up. It is very intuitive. I had it up in less than 5 minutes. The directions make it look much harder. I am 180 cm (5' 11"). The top bars is just under my shoulder height so a very nice height to hang things for most folks. I would not recommend this for outdoor use it would most likely fall over with a breeze. While it meets my needs and imo is a decent rack. I only gave it 3 stars as I believe it could go from good to excellent. If it also included two baskets that could either be clipped on the removable reinforcement bar or placed across the top crossbars. For smaller items and the side benefit would be even more stability.