This item arrived very quickly and was packed well. It was shipped in several boxes. One for the base, one for the center-pole and hardware, one for the tabletop, and one for the chairs. Interestingly, the tabletop was both the lighter natural wood and darker walnut (each side was a different finish - see photos below) so I had the choice of which one to use although I paid for the less expensive walnut (keep that in mind when ordering).
There were no instructions in the box. The hardware consisted of 8 self-tapping phillips-head screws and a washer for the base. It was extremely easy to figure out how to assemble this table. There are no holes pre-drilled on the table top due to the fact that you need to pick which surface you want to use. An electric screw driver or drill with a phillips-head bit is sufficient for assembly but I feel that a manual screwdriver might be a little more work. The chairs were fully assembled and simply had to be unpacked and the protective plastic removed from them. Total assembly time was less than 10 minutes.