I ordered this item over a year ago and after receiving it learned I would be moving I decided to wait until I moved to assemble it. Fast forward 14 months and the house renovations are winding down and the space for this was finally not being used for storing cabinets, sinks and other items. It was quite the process to assemble, once I finally picked up the one forgotten box that had all the bolts in it. I put this together on my own so the hardest part was attaching the upright components because it needed to be level to ensure the bolts went in straight. Once that was complete it went pretty quickly from there. Very happy with it and look forward to finally getting to use it over a year after buying it.

I hesitated only a little before giving this equipment 5 stars. The slight hesitation was because of the limited range of motion for the butterfly and a slightly crooked bar for the quad raises, but in the end, I decided it wasn't enough to take a full star away.

I'll structure the review with the full order lifecycle:

Reviews: Reviews and questions/answers on Amazon are quite comprehensive and helpful. You need to read multiple reviews in order to set your expectations. In the end, I decided to take a chance. And I was glad I did.

Ordering: Uh, click "Add to Cart."

Delivery: 0 stars to Amazon for a disastrous delivery, despite this being touted as a Prime-eligible product (which mysteriously disappeared from the product page"¦ sometimes). From the day I placed the order to the day the item was delivered in its entirety was 11 days. The item comes in 3 boxes "“ 1 for the components and 2 for the weights. I got the components one day before the weights. I placed the order so that even in the worst case, I would be able to assemble it over the Memorial Day weekend. Instead, I had to wait for another weekend thereafter. To this day, I can't tell if the equipment is Prime eligible or not. This experience was stressful enough for me to discontinue my Prime membership.

Packaging: Sturdy packaging. No damage to anything in the boxes.

Equipment Quality: The quality is acceptable. The stacked weights are made of concrete with a vinyl coating. At this time, I don't have any reason to believe that they will somehow stop being heavy or will break down with use. So, I'll let this one pass. Suffice it to say that had I not read in other reviews and question/answers that the weights were vinyl, I would have been disappointed. You kind of expect weights to be made of cast iron. The framing members appear to be of acceptable quality. Fasteners, pulleys, and cables appear to be well-built. When everything is put together, the equipment is smooth and noiseless. The padded bar over which you do quad raises is crooked on one side.

Assembly: It took me a little over 4 hours to put this thing together. I had a brief period of about a half hour where I had some help. But I don't think it affected the overall time for assembly. I would rate myself as mechanically inclined, and I used power tools unabashedly, especially when it came to the fasteners. That speeded up the time of assembly. Instructions are adequate, albeit at times cryptic. There is not one word of written instructions "“ it is entirely schematic. The good thing is you don't need anything translated. You have to use your imagination at times, especially when it comes to putting together the suspended pulleys in the back of the seat. During the assembly, pay special attention to where it says to fully tighten the fasteners. If you overlook that, it will be hard to go back "“ you might have to take apart some of the assembly in order to go back and tighten. The number of fasteners provided is exactly what you need to put the equipment together. Kudos to the inventory folks at Impex for the tight control. On the flip side, if you lose one washer, you will be short by one washer. There are no extras. Not one. For me the toughest part of the assembly was sliding the padded butterfly sleeve all the way up the arm. Ironically the second toughest part was installing the weight stack cover, which in my opinion, is optional and purely an esthetic piece (some might say for safety, but I'd argue).

Exercising: I'm 5' 9" and in relatively OK condition. The operation is pretty much like any gym equipment I've used at various vacation resorts over the years. It is smooth and noiseless. I bought an additional straight bar for bicep curls, but I feel as if I could have done without it. I also bought a single D-handle cable attachment, which I have yet to use. Overall, the curl bar that comes with the equipment is adequate for everything. One irritating thing is that it's impossible to tell the plate number where you're inserting the weight selector pin, because of the parallax between the weight cover and the holes. You have to either sit down level with the hole, or you have to count the holes top to bottom before inserting the pin. Or you can do what I did, and paste the plate numbers directly on the plate (I had to print out the numbers and tape them to each plate). I also had to copy the plate-to-weight chart from the manual and paste it on the weight stack cover. Otherwise, it's not intuitive to remember the plate number and the resistance it offers for different exercises.

I was pleasantly surprised to note that the bench press weight rating is actually more conservative than I had expected. For example, pressing 135 lbs on this equipment feels a lot harder than pressing 135 lbs on a bar. Why? One, because maybe the resistance is more than 135. Or two, because you're starting the move by pushing the press arm up, as opposed to letting it come down on you, as with a standard bar. My 21-year old son could barely go up to 200 on this (he presses 225 on a bar). In other words, the 200 lb max appears to be plenty for me. If you're currently pressing 225, you'll be happy with what this equipment offers at the 200 lb "rating." For all other exercises, the top resistance is 150 lb.

The constant resistance of the stacked weight system is obvious in everything you do. I use the machine for bicep curls (mostly over the preacher station), tricep curls, lat pulldowns, butterfly, quad raises, hamstring raises, and the occasional bench press. The constant resistance is quite evident for quad/hammy raises as well as tricep curls. You can't cheat here "“ there are no free or partial-weight movements, as there are with free weights, especially for those moves. The initial resistance in bicep curls is another thing you can't easily achieve with dumbbells. The equipment is worth the expense, the assembly, and the extra space it occupies in my basement, just for these 4 exercises. As for the lat pulldowns, it has completely replaced the equivalent exercise I used to do with dumbbells, and it has saved me around 3 minutes in the morning (an eternity, considering that I need to leave home at 6 in the morning).

For the bench press, I still stick with dumbbell press. For the butterfly, the equipment gives what you can never achieve with dumbbells "“ resistance at the end of the fly move (when you're pulling your arms close together). However, the movement starts too late, i.e., your arms can't get back far enough. But I compensate for that by putting an additional seat back (from another piece of equipment) over the equipment's seat back, thereby pushing me further up and letting my arms start from further back. I wish that the seat back was adjustable, as I've seen in professional gym equipment, but it's wishful thinking at this price range. So, I still end up doing dumbbell flies because of that initial resistance.

The resistance with the pin in the first hole is too high for me for any kind of ligament warm-up. The weight selector pin dangles awkwardly, and potentially harmfully (to the equipment) when not engaged to at least some weight. So, I still have to use my light dumbbells and the Weider resistance-bar equipment for that. I wish I could have gotten rid of the resistance equipment.

I have no intention of using the equipment for squats, though one can, based on what I've seen on product videos. I might start using it for front deltoid raises after my shoulder heals. But other than that, I don't see myself using it for anything more than I currently use it for.

Conclusion: In summary, I'm very happy with the purchase. This is a great addition to the free weights and other equipment I already have. The product is priced pretty aggressively for everything it offers. In my opinion, if you're looking for a stacked weight system to supplement what you already have, you simply can't go wrong with Marcy's MWM 988. For making it your only weight equipment, you need to make sure that you'll be comfortable doing squats and calf raises on this, as well as lateral deltoid raises, none of which this equipment natively supports.

As the title implies. this is a review of the "putting together" process and my assessment of the construction materials.
UPDATED to include some use comments

If not for two things I would have given the MWM 988 a 5 star rating.

UPDATE - The company did send the bracket they promised and it was machined correctly, so I added a star changing the rating from a 3 to a 4 because they did follow through on what they promised, so ignore the next paragraph

The first and most serious is that the holes were misaligned in one of the crucial parts, threatening the whole project. The double bracket (see photos) has spots for two pullies which link the cables together and which lead to the weights. Without this part, the gym is pretty much an expensive paperweight.
The holes in the upper and bottom bracket were positioned incorrectly and the pulleys along which the cables run would not fit. Fortunately for me, I have a neighbor with a drill press and he was able to ream out the holes so i cold get the pulleys positioned correctly, although they still rub on the bracket housing.

I don't know if this was simply an error on my part or if there were lots of these brackets manufactured incorrectly. On the plus side, customer service answered the phone when I called and promised a replacement part. Once it arrives, if it fits i will modify my rating. This cost 1 1/2 points off of 5.

Next, there was a dent in the shield which covers the weights and there was no corresponding damage on the box which tells me this happened at the plant, not during shipping. Also, some of the black paint was already chipping off even before I unpacked the gym. This cost 1/2 point

On the positive side, the major parts were all easily identified and bolts nuts and screws were clearly labeled. Marcy includes 2 different Allen wrenches. They caution that a wrench is also needed in order to put the machine together. I would recommend a second wrench or a pair of pliers for the several spots where instead of a bolt and nut arrangement, there were 2 nuts. I needed the pliers to hold one nut in place while I tightened the second one.
UPDATE - I think it is possible to tighten the bolts too much which can inhibit the free movement of the pully. I have loosened the bolts for the butterfly arms as they seemed to rub and things moved more easily

The gym came in 3 boxes. Boxes 2 and 3 each contained about 70 pounds of weights while box 1 was everything else.. I'm 76 and could not carry the boxes, so used a small wagon to move them into position.

Total time spent to put the gym together (except for the time spent with my neighbor reaming out the bracket holes) was about 6 hours. The directions were pretty clear and easy to follow.

Ease of Use UPDATE - Pretty easy to use. Because this is a pully and weight type of bench, even if the handle is through just two 10 pound weights, the true weight you are working with is more than 20 pounds. They have included a chart which gives the approximate weight for each setting as well as whether it is through the bottom or top pulleys. If you are fanatical about knowing the exact weight you are working with, I don't think any weight and pully machine will do that, but most of us are content with an approximate figure.

In conclusion I believe that I got my monies worth. It is possible to do an easy workout using just 20 pounds of resistance to a full work out using almost two hundred pounds of resistance. The pulleys and hinges will need some periodic lubrication and the cable should be inspected for wear from time to time. Routine for any machine of this nature.

Product arrived very quickly in three boxes, shipped by FedEx ground. Didn't need to schedule delivery, which was nice.

Put together the gym in about 4-6 hours. Husband had not problems getting it together, but he is very mechanically minded as that is his job. It probably would have taken me a lot longer.

I will say that this machine is a good size for me as a 5'5" woman. My husband is 5'9" and he is satisfied with the fit, but I could see the machine being a bit small for a larger person. The benches and arms are not adjustable for multiple sizes, so someone larger may find it a bit cramped. Works great for us tho.

Machine is quite solid and well built. I understand that this machine used to be cheaper pre pandemic, but I don't feel it is a bad value for what you get. It appears sturdy and will last us a long time. I also like that the exercises and their positions are on the weight stack cover so I don't forget one in my circuit.

Only con I encountered was that the pull down bar on top is supposed to double as the seated bicep curl bar. This seemed bulky and awkward, so I just ordered a smaller t shaped bar and it was an easy fix. Overall very happy with this purchase. Would have loved to get the gym at the lower price, but c'est la vie.

Ordered it on Jan 9, 2019. Received it on Jan. 14, 2019 and started using it on Jan. 15, 2019. So far, it has been better than expected!! I say that because I didn't see one in person before I bought it. I did see the Weider home gym at my local Sears store and it looked really cheap, like it would fall apart easily. This gym was very easy to put together. As long as you can read an assembly schematic, you should have no problem. There are no verbal instructions, just pictures with numbers. All the nuts and bolts are all numbered properly. The only thing you need that it didn't come with is a socket wrench. They say to use a crescent wrench, but you'd be there all day with that.
Other reviews have stated that there were missing parts, damaged parts or the machine wasn't solid enough. I can say from my experience that everything came in perfect shape. The only thing was the weight cover had a couple small dents in it. But that was no reason for me to send it back. It will not affect the machine what so ever. Other than that, I got all the parts in perfect shape. It took me about 6 hours to put together. I took my time to make sure it was put together correctly. If I was to put another one together, I'm sure I can do it in about 3 hours. I've been shopping around for one of these gyms for about 2 years now. I'm glad I got this one. This gym is solid, everything fit perfect and works great!!! Every store or web site has this exact machine from $400 to $500. I got it on Amazon for $249. Thank you Amazon!!!