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sorry don't have an alternative that works with the tvs, seen a lot of ones like the regular expedit though.

however, they're not that hard to put together, all you need is a hammer for the wooden pegs, the tools they provide (or a power gun like i use on them).

plus most people love the expedit and the quality is actually pretty good. As I am looking at one right now and have built 2. Plus a lot cheaper then 1000...

The Expedit is great. It's not hardwoods crafted by old-world cabinet makers, but it's by far the best design for this sort of storage. It's easy to assemble and take apart, and it's sturdy.

But there's lots of higher priced media units at all the various places.

I have had an expedit for about 10 years and its really good quailty for the money. I would just buy that one (and i wish I could buy that one because there is room for a tv!!

And putting it together? Very easy.

You could get a local carpenter to make you something.

Do you need the TV storage? If you're willing to go as high as $1k, I'd suggest Crate and Barrel's Lancaster bookcase.

They used to sell a 3 column version you might be able to find in store still. Good luck!

Jenae here! Thanks for the comments. The problem is my bf and I already bought the unit, unpacked it, spent three hours trying to put it together, almost started WWIII/ended our relationship, then decided it was not worth the time, hassle, or the (relatively small) amount of money. We will probably try to sell it on CL. I don't know what the problem was-maybe it was our crazy uneven floors-but as soon as we got one side assembled, I would try to hold it together while he assembled the other side, yet everything would inevitably fall apart when we hammered in the dowels or moved it at all. I've also thought of buying it already assembled, but I unfortunately have no way of transporting it.

Oh, if that was the problem, I would recommend asking the customer service desk at IKEA. The one here in Stoughton, MA hands out business cards for local businesses that will assemble IKEA furniture for you. I believe they come to your home and do it, so it's worth a shot and maybe the cheapest alternative.

Thanks kabirh-I'll call them and ask about that. Depending on how much extra it would cost, it might be the best solution.

You could probably hire someone on Craig's List, too. I've seen a lot of "handyman" jobs in exchange for other things (like someone to cook, for example) in the barter section.

Why don't you hire a handyman to put it together? Those things are *not* that complicated to do, and a true handyman could put it together and even add in extra quality and support with the use of wood glue and L brackets. Not using what you've already bought and going to buy something else instead is just wasteful of your money.

Something similar at http://www.smartfurniture.com/shelves.html

Buy the Expedit or buy something completely different. Here's why. I bought the Rolly shelving unit from Conran's because, at the time, the Expedit did not come in brown black. I spent around $900. The two pieces are virtually identical.

Everyone who sees my bookshelf instantly thinks it's the Expedit. I feel rather stupid explaining why it's a little nicer and a LOT more expensive. So I don't. I just let people think it's the Expedit. The problem is, I am ready to sell it and move on to something else but it is virtually worthless. Because everyone who sees it thinks its the same as the Expedit, no one is going to pay me any more than they would pay for a USED Expedit. Well cared for used furniture usually fetches about half of the current retail price. So I should be able to get about $550 ($1100 is the current price at Conrans) for the shelf now, but realistically will only get about $100-$150, if that. My investment became instantly worthless the minute Ikea came out with a much cheaper version of the same thing.

So if you are going to get something for $1100, make it unique. Don't get a nicer version of something that Ikea makes for cheap.