XMARK TEXAS STAR Olympic Weight Plates Set - 45LB 35LB 25LB 10LB 5LB Cast Iron Home Gym Equipment for Barbell Weightlifting & Strength Training | Perfect for CrossFit, Powerlifting & Home Workouts

I am building a basic home gym in my backyard and looking for weight plates for months. During the pandemic, lots of people on FaceBook marketplace buying weight plates in bulk and selling them back with a hefty price. I was lucky to find these XMark guys on Amazon.With only $469 I got a set of 165 lbs weight plates: 2x2.5lbs, 4x5lbs (YES, 4 of them), 2x10lbs, 2x25lbs, 2x35lbs. This is the best price that I simply cannot find anywhere else at this time. With $469 you may be able to buy only 2x35lbs on FaceBook marketplace LOL. People are taking advantage of the pandemic.I feel the need to support these type of quality business. That is why I decided to write this review:. Item as described => CHECKED. Delivery Time => CHECKED__ I placed the order on Sep 9th, the estimated delivery time was Sep 22nd - Sep 25th.__ I received the order on Sep 20th => Great!. Well packages => CHECKED__ The plates are packed in pair and double boxed. There is another layer of carton to separate the two plates.__ They boxed it so well that I felt like I deserved to skip my workout today after unboxing these gorgeous.__ If you received damaged products, it definitely the delivery guy LOL.. Customer service => CHECKED__ I sent them a message through Amazon and asked them that I concerned about the possibility of receiving "refurbished" product like some of the other reviews said.__ They responded to me the next day"Hello. We do not sell refurbished products as new. A local store purchases all of our returns. I know of one buyer whose package came open in transit and he complained they looked used because they had shipping damage, but they did not leave our warehouse in that condition. Although we package the products well in heavy boxes with plastic straps, shipping damage does occur at times. All of our boxes are packed at the factory and received at our warehouse ready to ship. Thanks for your message!". The rubber smell => CHECKED__ The smell is not as bad as some people claim it to be. I opened the package and mentally prepared to handle the smell but I couldn't smell anything (Unless I put my face to the plate and take a truly deep breath) ==> The smell on these plates is what rubber should smell like.__ I hand washed these plates with mind soap and dry them with a towel, then store them in an open space. If you are one of those who love to have your garage gym, may be you should store these plates in your backyard until the smell is gone. It may be inconvenient at first that you have to go get the plates for every workout, but it is only temporary and you just add a quick warm up "Farmer Walk" set to your workout that day.. Durability => NOT checked YET__ I just received them today.__ The look and feel is pretty decent to me.__ I think that the durability and longevity of things depend 50% on the maker and 50% on the user. If you care for you stuff it will last a lot longer than you LOL. I am not one of those who love to drop you weight on the floor after each set.__ I will be using them for a long time and will update this review if something noticeably bad happen. Otherwise, you should safely assume that this is a decent look, decent price and decent quality product.Hope this lengthy review help you making your decision on whether you should go for this product!*Note:. Not a partner of XMark (or anything like that => you know what I mean). Simply just a guy who try to build his minimal home gym. Simply just want to support good business.. Simply just so happy that I didn't go broke when trying to buy some weight plates.. Simply just want to reassure those who sit in front of their computer and debating whether they should go for this set of weights.