Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been using these for at least 6 months, and I've waited to write a review until now so that I can give a full picture on whether they are truly as great as some people say they are. Great idea? yes, great concept and execution? That's what I'm here to answer. I use these for the pictures that hang along my stairway. I decided to hang my children's artwork along the wall with almost no space in-between the frames, so I needed a LOT of frames and a perfect hanging technique. Since I don't have a ton of money or 6 hands to get that perfect picture hanging down, I decided to use cheap picture frames and these strips to hang them. First I got a lot of frames from the dollar store and then had the kids paint the frames all different colors, then I got the Medium Picture hanging strips from 3M. After reading the reviews I decided to follow the directions EXACTLY, with one minor alteration. Since, again, I don't have a ton of money - and these are pretty expensive, I cut the Medium Strips lengthwise and got double for my money. I prepared the back of the frames using a cotton swab with alcohol (LET IT DRY)- if the frame was really smooth I used a needle to scratch up the finish figuring it would help it to adhere. Then after it dried I attached the already cut strip to the middle of frame - instead of the top because it made more sense to me. Then I took this frame and held it up to where I wanted it to hang and prepped the wall with the alcohol. After it dried, I lightly attached the second strip to the strip already on the frame by only pressing the top and bottom edge and removed the backing. I held it up to the wall and used a shish-kabob skewer to keep the strip to the wall as I removed the frame. The instructions said to let it wait an hour before hanging the frame back up. I found that an hour wasn't always sufficient (because my prep wasn't great? because I used 1/2 a strip? I don't know) However, if I let it sit overnight - SUCCESS! I've now had them hanging for months with no problems. I will press on them every once in a while to assure they don't knock off. After all, this is on a stairway and people can brush by them if they are not careful. I honestly believe that if you don't clean the area with alcohol or give it enough time to adhere - you are going to have problems like the other people on these reviews. It probably helps using lightweight frames - and the dollar store 8X10 frames are pretty light, but I have used a whole strip instead of a 1/2 strip to the heavier frames and they've worked just fine too. One other note. It took me forever to do the entire staircase because I could only prep a few at a time each day to give it enough time to adhere so I could measure the next frame correctly. So it was a lengthy process. It was all worth it though because now I can just yank off a frame and put in their newest artwork quite easily and it's one of my favorite places to walk because it looks so good, the edges are so straight and nothing wobbles or leans to one side. Another great thing to use strips for are the frames that you've nailed to the wall. These can sometimes tilt so I'll use the poster strips for them to keep them in place and let the nail hold the weight of the frame. I also use the poster strips (2 per velcro strip) to re-use the velcro strips once I've taken them off the wall. Haven't had any problems with them either. Good luck - prep and prepare to wait for a FANTASTIC finish to your framed art and photos. Don't let these other reviews throw you off!