We've had countless artificial, pre-lit trees over the years, and this is one of the best, thus far. Even for a slim tree, the box was small, so much so that I was skeptical a 9 foot tree was in it in three pieces. We opened , assembled, and fluffed it within about 20 minutes. The branches were my biggest worry when buying the tree because it's hard to tell how they will actually look once fluffed at home when compared to a picture on Amazon. It is FULL. This tree does not have the connecters within the assembly of each piece, which I think will be a blessing because I believe that has done-in several trees we've had before. However, it does come with build in extension cords for each piece for easy connection down the tree and into an outlet. At first, I was skeptical of this, but once I connected everything, I actually like it, and the extension cords easily are hidden in the back of the tree and covered by the branches.The lights are perfect for us - not screaming bright LED lights that cause temporary blindness when looking anywhere near them. The are soft white and blend nicely into our other garland decor in the room so that it looks like they all were purchased together.This is a great tree for the price, and I am hopeful it will be with us for several years to come.