I can attest to the quality of John's tree stands .. the detail is amazing!
Some well thought out selling points ...
All the drill holes are plugged with wood plugs so your birds don't try to get to the screw or chew around them.
He installs a lot of eye hooks to hang toys from, plus, an extremely heavy duty toy hook .. seriously .. you could hang a person from his hooks.
Very heavy feeder cups, bolted thru the wood .. they ain't goin' anywhere!!
The base is laminate, very easy to wipe clean with a damp cloth, and the whole base is on heavy casters, easy to move.
The manzanita isn't slippery at all, he sandblasts the heck outta it .. excellent gripping for birds.
However, the number #1, and most important reason I purchased my tree stand from John was for a design concept I've only seen on his stands <and I shopped at least a dozen different makers before making the investment>. Many of the these tree stand have much more "vertical" .. up and down, type branches. We all know that typically, a bird is just going to go to the highest perch and hang out there. John's stands are completely different, he designs them with a ton of "horizontal" play space. Meaning, your bird's not stuck on just one or perches at the top. They have a lot of area going across the tree, as well as up and down.
IMHO .. he makes the best stand in the market .. hands down. Not to mention, he's just a cool guy, and will bust a gut to make it perfect for you.