Hooker 7 years ago made the case pieces with presswood in the case and solid wood in the doors only.

They are ways of telling if it's real wood. on way is to look at the back where the sides of the cases end. Typically you can see either the presswood (chip core) or cherry graining.

My own opinion is that it is not solid wood.

Mactruck, thank you! That is really helpful and just the kind of feedback I needed. I didn't think this could be a solid wood piece. I will use your tip to see the back.

No way the person got 3 solid cherry cabinets new for that price, 7 years ago. Do what Mac said: look at the hidden edges of the back side. I'll bet you see presswood. If you see plywood, the cabinets are higher quality and may be a good buy, but they're still not solid cherry.

I would be cautious of someone saying solid wood for Hooker. Either the person doesn't know or is pulling a fast one. I have not seen Hooker from seven years ago, but I have seen their more recent wall units. I can't see a company's quality and reputation changing from solid wood to what I see now in seven years.

We have a Hooker TV armoire we bought new sixteen years ago. I would bet a bunch of money that the substrate under the cherry veneer is particleboard. Having said that, it is like brand new. The doors still work perfectly as do the two large drawers. And we keep the drawers loaded with stuff which collectively is heavy. It receives daily use.

Thanks everyone for your comments, they were all very helpful. We went to see the wall unit last weekend. While it looked nice from the front -- doors worked well, everything lined up -- the back had a flexible material that was bowing out in a lot of places. My husband said it looked like homosote. We couldn't check the ends of the case sides as it was too close to a wall and we couldn't move it. In any case, it wasn't what we were looking for.

in any solid cheery,oak,ash,pine,ect the grain in the wood should go all the way through that pc of wood if you follow the grain of the wood you see on the top or sides it should continue to the edge and you can see it line up and continue straight threw the wood on the edge.. sorry if i didnt make that clear if you dont understand let me know and ill try and explain it better if that doesnt work ill give you my number and ill explain on the phone.. good luck