I got this tree on sale after Christmas last year because it was a great price, marked down considerably. I wanted a bigger tree, one that had some quality and, if possible, a touch of reality to it. Got both! I've read reviews of people buying artifical trees, putting them together, then complaining how skimpy they look. First spoiler: they don't come out of the box looking like they do in the picture! If you buy one, commit to the idea that it's going to look okay, or alright, or even great, depending on how patient you are and how much time you want to take for the intitial setup. There are NO instructions in the box, just a picture that's very deceiving, and a hilarious claim that it's a "fifteen minute setup" for one person. No, for one person, especially if you want "great", we're talking minimum of at LEAST three hours, probably more; I was at it off and on for two days. Once you start understanding the way the branches are all bound together, each section on its own hinged swing-down rod, it gets easier. There are multi tiers of branch sections, which looked daunting. But I got a giant rubber band--like 14" unstretched, I found a pack on Amazon. Starting with the bottom section, and the biggest, I folded all of the tiers, except the very bottom, all back up and the rubber band held them up and out of the way. Then, branch by branch, around the whole bottom circle, I just started separating each one and was amazed at how many branches there were once they were opened out. They're very strudy, yet bendable, so you can use your imagination to create the natural look of an irregular realy tree--which is the route I took--or you can keep them all at the same density, for that "perfect" looking tree. I like the natural way, just because you can open up more spaces for hanging ornaments, and twist a branch a bit this way or that way to keep the real look going. The bottom section is the most important because here's where you determine how wide, or full, you want the tree. It can be quite wide, which is good if that's what you want and you have the space;; I don't have the space, so I just began bending the main branches in an upward direction at the ends. Once you get the idea, it goes pretty well, just takes time, as I mentioned. Then one by one, I released each section from the rubber band to work on that part of the "circle". KInd of like when you get a haircut and they "layer" it, section by section; if you never paid attention to your haircuts, let that be a lesson to you! Once the entire bottom section is spread out and fixed the way you like, just put the middle section on top of that. It slides easily into bottom support hole. Band up the branches except for the lowest section, and do the same thing, adjusting and bending as you like. The top section is the smallest, but probably the hardest of all, because there are no hinges on these branches, so you just have to wing it, bending them upward, or downward, whichever you like best. It's a great looking tree once its all set up. Then you can do a last minute fix-up for any gaps you don't like, or maybe gaps you want to add if you have a lot of big ornaments. The color is a deep green, and the underside of each branch is a bit lighter, for a natural look. It looks amazingly like the real thing, and when I sent a pic to a friend, she said "Why did you get a real one this year? They're so expensive"! It actually made me nostalgic for the sap in the hair, all over the hands with ornaments sticking to you. Or super-sapped to the steering wheel on the way home from cutting down a real tree when I lived in Connecticut. City life has its drawbacks because now you have to get rid of your own dead tree after the holidays, as they don't do those special Christmas tree pickups anymore. Highly recommended. The two biggest plusses: the flexibility to make it "your own", the way you shape it, and the color is very nice. Oh, and the branches have brownish looking areas like on reall trees. I put it on a six inch stand, and it looks really good! And really real!