Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We ordered 2 sets of these chairs along with the matching table based on all the glorious reviews I read on amazon. I now think that most of the reviewers wrote their reviews in their excitement upon just having taken them out of the box. But the question that needs to be asked is: does the furniture stand up to the test of time? We were just as excited as the other reviewers when we first started using the furniture, as brand new it looked like a nice step up from our previous set which had kind of gotten old. But after only a couple of months we already started to notice the wood cracking, even to the extent of giving splinters (which even if we didn't have little kids would still be far from ideal). Now after a mere six months or so, the table has increasingly started to show disturbingly ugly areas of what appears to be dark green mold. The website tells you that there is already a protective coating of hard wood oil on the pieces. Well, if that is so I must say that it must be so minimal that it can safely be said to be ineffective. The website also tells you that it is optional to apply hard wood oil, and if one does not it will not be detrimental to the furniture and will only cause it to change color over time and show slight cracking. Nowhere does it tell you about splinters, whole pieces of the outer wood layer coming off leaving sharp areas(in the case of one of the chairs, which along with the table I had thought were solid wood...?!) , nor is there mention of molding (all appearing within the first year of use). We live in San Diego where we get plenty of sun but not much rain (although the nights have humidity). I have come to understand that this furniture cannot handle either rain nor shine.....pretty sad for outdoor furniture if you ask me. We would never have bought these knowing what we know now. So if you decide to buy these pieces, my recommendation is; only do so if you have the time to add a substantial layer of protective coating on them as soon as you set them up. Or keep them covered whenever they are not in use. If this is all too much hassle for you, look elsewhere. Hope this helps.