Ezekiel & Stearns

"I ordered a bench through Etsy specifically through Ezekial & Stearns because of the "free shipping" advertised. A few days after ordering, I received notification that the bench had shipped - earlier than expected. However, a few minutes later, I am hit with the option to either pay a shipping fee over $100 or cancel my order, with the explanation that the free shipping advertisement was an error on Etsy's website. How disappointing!"

"Received the Franklin dining table a little over a month ago. The shipping was fast and the table was easy to assemble. It looked beautiful at first. A couple of weeks ago the top glaze started flaking off and the wood has begun separating. Unfortunately after contacting the company, they blamed overuse of the table and suggested I keep the table indoors. The table has been in our dining room with normal family use."

"BEWARE!!! Horrible quality!! Terrible customer service!!!!! We purchased side tables when delivered and assembled the tables look like something made in shop class that failed. The edges of tables were not sanded. The legs cut unevenly and wobble. The finish has a very strong odor is sticky, gritty in spots and applied unevenly. When they shipped the tables the legs were mixed up and it took an hour and a half to figure out which one went where. NOTHING was labeled. We contacted the company/owner several times requesting to return them for a refund. In response he sent a buff pad not sure how that will fix the problems? He did not respond to our requests for a refund. We wasted over $400. We will be contacting the better business bureau."

"I recently ordered a "Light Walnut and Barn Red Storage Bench" in a custom size from Ezekiel & Stearns. It took about 2 1/2 weeks for the bench to be delivered. Shipping was free, although I thought the $75 (50%) surcharge to have the top of the bench sized a couple inches wider was a little steep. It was very well packaged and protected from damage during shipment, and arrived in good condition. Although I expected some assembly would be required, attaching the legs to the top surface of the bench was not straightforward or easy. A total of 12 screws with non-standard (Robertson) heads were provided to secure the legs, and these had to be driven into awkwardly-angled pocket holes using a cordless drill (which I didn't have) and a special bit (also provided). As another reviewer noted, angle brackets secured with standard slotted- or Phillips-head screws would have been a lot more user friendly."

"UPDATE: Eventually I was mailed screws and brackets from E&S to help firm up the benches. Unfortunately, the brackets provided were not enough and aesthetically unappealing black screws were given with silver brackets. I guess I could deal with black screws on chrome brackets since the brackets are nearly out of sight, but the brackets provided were not enough to firm up the benches. Thus I took matters into my own hands, went to the local home improvement store, and purchase $40 in brackets to make these benches sturdy. After spending a few hours drilling and fixing the damaged benches, the benches now appear to be sturdy. See picture below showing the brackets that were required to firm up the benches. I give one extra star up from the original one star review to credit E&S for at least trying to make it right, but unfortunately I cannot recommend Ezekiel & Stearns since there are many cheaper yet better quality solutions out there. ORIGINAL REVIEW: It appears the benches by E&S are made of regular construction grade Douglas Fir 2X4s, etc, but the stain finish makes them more classy than construction materials. Time from order to delivery was greater than a month. Assembly is unnecessarily difficult, utilizing diagonal screws with a nonstandard screw head that must be matched up perfectly to predrilled holes. These screws do not reverse out easily. While sturdy at first, the benches began to wobble and eventually broke within 3 months. Wood glue and various screw hole repair kits failed as well so now we’re stuck with one broken bench and another wobbly bench that will likely break soon. A simple fix may be metal brackets to secure the legs to the bench. When I asked E&S for something similar I was told such was not available; I was offered bigger screws instead. I’m no engineer or master craftsman, but my common sense tells me bigger screws will continue to strip out and these benches will continue to fail without an appropriate bracket holding the benches together. I love supporting the “small guy,” but unfortunately it has costed me $400+ and I am left figuring out how I will make these broken benches work. Overall, these benches look good, but lack the quality I expected. BE CAREFUL! NO WARRANTY or other satisfactory efforts offered to make right a deficient product."