I bought this telescope as a gift for my girlfriend who has no prior knowledge of any sort of telescope. After doing some research on pricing, brands, quality, etc, I decided to go with this.
When the package arrived, I could tell that the telescope would be quality - the box weighed over 30 pounds. Almost everything is made of metal - the telescope body, clamps, mount, tripod, eyepieces and adjusters. There are few plastic pieces here and there, like the flexible adjuster extensions and some parts of the tripod, but otherwise, everything feels sturdy and well-made.
Overall this is a great telescope, but it might be a bit intimidating to use for some. Put the effort into though and it's well worth it.