I just got this today. The package box in which it was stored is shoddy, with lots of little tears in the cardboard, and quite worn on the corners of the box. Originally this box top was sealed with a thin strip of reinforced packing tape. It was not sealed when I got it. The instructions were at the bottom of the box, but that isn't enough to make me want to keep this. The insert states that this set is the ultimate in polycarbonate cookware. Polycarbonate has become a questionable material from what I have read. Had I known that before I ordered this, there would have been no order. I don't know how old this set is, but it had to have been shoved around in some storeroom for some time to make it look so shabby. This is classic garage sale stuff. I don't trust the safety factor, or the "old" look of this set, and will be returning it.