Side by Side Comparison of: Universal vs Expo

This is my new companion for a variety of volunteer and nonprofit board meetings. It's small enough to carry with me to use for brainstorming but big enough to fit on a decent amount of information. Paired with the EXPO Low-Odor Dry Erase Markers 15-piece set, this dry erase board lets us get creative and not lose our ideas.

OVERALL: Given the price, this is a sturdy, quality whiteboard, which exactly fits my requirements. It was delivered in perfect condition. I also appreciate that it arrived two days after I placed my order, which was a week ahead of the expected delivery date.It took more effort than expected for me to shop for and choose a whiteboard. I had concerns about quality as well as packaging, shipping and handling. I was also dissatisfied with another seller and so I sat down to write this review to help other buyers. See below. Pictures included.MY BIGGEST CONCERN WHEN ORDERING A WHITEBOARD FOR DELIVERY THROUGH AMAZON: There were many customer complaints regarding the poor condition in which whiteboards arrived, due to poor packaging, shipping and handling. This is a problem with various sellers not just this one. I had previously ordered a whiteboard, from another seller, and its packaging was so flimsy that the board arrived bent, with the frame torn away on one side. This was a waste of good product and it was inconvenient to repack and send it back. At least Amazon makes it relatively easy to submit returns and get refunds. In contrast, the whiteboard from this seller, arrived in perfect, undamaged condition, even if its cardboard packaging was slightly soiled, had a handful of punctures and tears and one of the edges had a small rip. This particular seller used four styrofoam strips near the corners of the frame, for extra support during shipping, and I think that helped a lot. Still, if shipping and handling had been just a bit rougher or if the package had been wet, I could easily have received a damaged whiteboard. If anyone from Amazon reads this, I hope they review the packaging and handling of whiteboards, in general, from all sellers.THE PRODUCT: UNV43723 36”x24” Universal non-magnetic, melamine, dry-erase whiteboard with aluminum frame and black plastic corners clipped over the frame's corners. The seller’s product description was pretty accurate. The only discrepancy was that the posted picture had rounded corners. Similar to other buyers, the board I received had square, 90-degree corners. This was a non-issue for me.The melamine surface was smooth, unblemished and completely flat with no bubbles, bends or curves. It is easy to write on (I use Expo dry erase fine tipped pens) and clean, using a dry cloth or dry paper towel. There was some ghosting or residue after repeated use. But the board was good as new after I wiped it down with a damp cloth. I also use Expo whiteboard cleaning fluid or soapy water on a damp cloth, both of which work just as well.The total board size is 36” x 24” x ½”. The beveled aluminum frame is 7/8” wide, which makes the writing surface 34¼” x 22¼”. The frame protects the board’s edges and has a notch running along it, to which the included tray can be attached. The tray is 20” long and 2½” wide in total or 1¾” usable area. Small screws hold the frame to the back of the board. The board also comes with two wall brackets (1½” x 5/8” with two holes each) for hanging the board, four drywall anchors (1¼”) and four phillips wall screws (1”). The wall brackets are meant to slip between the aluminum frame and the board’s matt-finished back.Without the aluminum frame, I estimate that the board alone is about ¼” thick. It feels solid and sturdy.USE: I purchased this whiteboard to mount on an aluminum easel, which measures 27½” x 3½” x 4½” folded, 76" fully extended and weighs 2.8 pounds. In my opinion, the UNV43723 36”x24” is just the right size and weight for a stable working set-up with this particular easel. In the past, I had a 44” x 32” board, which could be easily mounted on my easel, but did not seem as stable with heavy use, compared to this slightly smaller board. In my opinion, a bigger 48” x 36” whiteboard would be too unwieldy for use on this aluminum easel, even if strictly speaking it could still be mounted.I do not recommend that you wash the white board or allow moisture to seep into its edges or through its matt–finished back. After all, even if the melamine writing surface is water resistant, it is still laminate on compressed paper board. Just to emphasize, this is NOT flimsy cardboard. This whiteboard is light enough to mount on an easel, but solid enough for writing on continuously.Last but not least, I would be careful not to drop this board or any other whiteboard for that matter. From my experience, a drop tends to warp these boards.PICTURE: The seller and other reviewers have already included various pictures of this product, but not of its back. So I uploaded two pictures of its back, one of its corners and the easel mounting.

I have had this whiteboard for about a month now and it has hit every every mark I was looking for. Let me elaborate:I was looking for a pretty decent sized whiteboard that I could work out long math problems on, and just have a place to jot down notes without littering my desk with sticky notes. This whiteboard is sturdy and well built. The pen tray that it comes with is sturdy as well, although I do not use it so I can not go into more details about that. I have had stuff written on this whiteboard (in multiple different colors, including red) for over a week and when I went to erase it, it came right off without leaving a shadow or smearing. I would recommend this whiteboard to anyone who is looking for a larger, good quality whiteboard.Quick Breakdown:Pros: - Smooth surface so whiteboard ink doesn't get stuck in crevasses and then can't get erased - Well built/sturdy - Nice design - just a simple whiteboard with no extra flairCons: - None as of nowQuick Tip:I am using a microfiber cloth to clean this whiteboard off. In the past I've accidentally scratched whiteboards with erasers that come in kits with whiteboard markers. As of right now I haven't had to apply any liquid cleaning spray to help clean the board off, the nice smooth surface and the microfiber cloth seem to be doing the job. As a side note, cheaper whiteboard markers are more prone to leaving shadows in my experience.

This is an awesome dry erase board. I was skeptical getting it because of some bad reviews.. but all the bad reviews I've read appear to be incorrect or just flukes. This board is very sturdy and well-built. I have had zero problems getting any marker to erase from it.. I haven't even used the spray cleaner yet because it comes off so well. In fact, I usually find little tiny things about products that could be better.. but there really isn't anything about this product that appears cheap or low quality.However, I did have to re-order it due to it because damaged the first time shipping. Luckily it was recognized as damaged before getting to me, so I didn't have to spend the time sending it back in. I just had a quick chat with an amazon's customer service and quickly got one re-ordered.

I love being the good grandpa. This was a gift for an eight year old girl. She loves it! For a white board it's very nice. Good size and cleans up nice.

This is a solid built dry erase board. The frame is a little thicker than what the photo indicates. Thicker frame = a sturdier and well constructed product. The tray was easy to snap onto the bottom of the board. Using this board to get me through my math and science classes in college. Money well spent. Board was delievered in pristine condition and zero warpage. Want a sturdy and well constructed board? This is the one.UPDATE: This particular model does not have a cardboard backing. The backing has a matte finish and it appears to be a melamine type substrate. It is not flimsy. I tried to bend it and it is built solid.

Installation was easy and so far the surface wipes clean as it should without leaving shadows. It is a good size for a home office and helps me keep track of multiple projects with a quick glance. I would have given 5 stars but the marker holder is such a pain to keep on the board. I've had it attached several times and with the smallest bump or moving the marker the wrong way, it falls off. Kind of a bummer because I was hoping to have a good place for the markers other than my desktop pen holder.

It has a marker holder that is nice, but it'll fall off when my 2.5 year old puts weight on it with his hands while standing up. But it's easy to clip back on. Surface is good, like any classroom whiteboard surface. Looks great with dry erase markers and it comes off easily with a paper towel (no solution nor water needed to erase).When it was shipped, one of the black corner pieces was chipped though.

I love the quality of this dry erase board. It looks great on my wall that I use daily in my home office. The only issue I have with it is the lack of ways to mount it & on top of that the weight of it. It took me a while to figure out the best way to mount it to my wall.

The product is GOOD value for the price, but packaging is POOR!The board arrived in a corners-strength-plain box even without a plastic bag cover!There was a small scratch in the middle of box (seems like happened during cargo),but it was effective on board itself too since no additional protection, no other layer.I did not bother for a return process, since not worthy of time and effort.Result, I own it with a small damage right in the middle of board.I gave 4 stars. I would give a lower score but the product itself is just better than I expected!

Arrived in perfect condition without any trouble. The whiteboard itself feels well made although it is a bit difficult to get the tray installed. It doesn't seem to stain easily even though we use it heavily for homeschooling. I would definitely recommend this product to everyone who can use it. I especially recommend it for home schoolers or people who work from homeme that have limited wall space since you can install it vertically or horizontally. I wish the tray was a bit bigger though. As it is, it is only the size of a dry eraser and maybe one marker.

I'm a small business owner so bought this for daily notes and schedule... I love it!!! My only gripe would be that there is no way to hang it, that's why the 4 stars rather than 5. You have to come up with your own hangers or system... and I'm not sure what that tray is on the bottom of the picture here but mine doesn't have a tray to hold my dry eraser and pens, I have to store them on a shelf separately. Again, the missing tray is also why the 4 instead of 5 stars. Love it and use it daily, its made very well and will last me a good long time!

Was damaged during shipping but it does what it should do. It's white and you can write and erase on it. Is a good size to practice coding on.

Shelf falls off, corner plastic cover missing. Not bad, and not super spendy, but the design of the shelf seems like a major fail. A minor breeze would knock it off.

Works like it's supposed to, 3 star reason is because the low price really shows. Just super cheap construction. I would still buy again just because of the price

What I received was great and works but it's nothing like the picture. It does not have the bottom flap to hold markers and has big black corner pieces not the round tiny black ones in the picture. I got the correct size but different frame. Please update the picture on Amazon so others don't make the same mistake.

This is a nicely sized whiteboard with a solid frame making for sturdy construction. However, I did not get the same model as the photo in the listing. The most notable difference is the square corners whereas the photograph depicted round corners.Also, the board I received had what appears to be bubbles on the whiteboard itself. They're not full of air; on the contrary, they seem very solid - some sort of imperfection in the board itself. There are three in total, not very large and for the most part ignorable (I'm not returning it because of these or anything). I'm including a photo that shows 2 of them above and below the reflection of the ceiling light.

I ordered this as a replacement for one I bought a little over a year ago (same item, from the same seller). The new one is not the same as pictured. The original board, and the one in the picture, have mounting holes drilled nicely into the corners of the board, for very solid mounting. The new one comes only with brackets and no corner options (the silver framing goes all the way around the board with no plastic corners). While the brackets may offer an acceptable mounting solution, the main reason I reordered this particular board was to replace an existing one, expecting to be able to reuse the same (sizable) holes.The board itself (the old one) is fantastic. The mounting was effortless and very sturdy. The board erases easily and looks great when mounted.

I bought this white board on June 1St and noticed there was a dark spot right in the middle of the board after I erased it a couple of times. I don't know if the board had some defects in it. But all it took was for me to write on it a few times and erase when I was finished and that is what happened. Now, A month and a half later I went to check and see if I could send it back and there is no indications I can do that. I'm not recommending this board because of that but it is a hit and miss thing I guess. Good Luck!!

It came with a little scratch on the board but i will still keep it. It is not big deal for me. Just FYI.

Arrived with large cracks. I'd give it one star but other than the damage it seems like an ok white board for the price. In retrospect, probably worth spending a bit more and getting a better quality board next time.

The size is great. I should've done more research on the item to make sure it was magnetized before my purchase.The item came in, and the board was damaged on the back.I did not hang the pen tray either.It's a cheap design, but I needed something in a pinch.I would recommend a higher marked product for your dry erase needs.Maybe something from EXPO.They're usually a little more expensive, but you get what you pay for.Thanks,Bucky Wilsonwww.facebook.com/bucky5676

I just ordered it for the third and for sure last time. The board itself looks awesome. So far non of the boards made it thru shipping safely. The two boards I received I had to send back because of cracks either in the front or in the back.I hope the last on makes it without any damage to my place. Otherwise I highly recommend going to the store and get a white board.

I selected this product over a cheaper option because it was advertised with a marker tray. However, it arrived without the tray. Additionally, the product arrived bent and had to be unbent before it could be used. More robust packaging is needed.

This was my third purchase, and the frame is already falling apart. I can no longer hang it up as the top portion of the frame detaches from the sides. This was my 3rd purchase and am disappointed as the first two are still working great.

Came broken in the package

Junk. Fell apart in less than 6 months. Don't bother with this.

Complete garbage...the board itself was mediocre, probably could have passed, but the marker tray is useless, there is no way to attach it properly to the board...thing just keeps falling off. Thankful for the free returns, so I can keep sending back the garbage they pump out...why is it so difficult to find dry erase board that works...its really not rocket science.

There's fake advertisement here, because the board I received has squared (pointy) corners, the photo for the selling product has round corners.Also, the board have small cracks on it!

The product came bent and in terrible packaging. After hanging it up and writing on it the first thing you realize is that the board moves. I used 2 adhesive strips (the ones used for ez pass) on the bottom corners to keep the board in place. The second thing is the marker doesn't erase, I use Expo markers and they have never left "ghost marks" on other boards. I actually have to wash the whiteboard and use a whiteboard cleaner after every few hours because the marks end up making it hard to read and write. I was very actually very disappointed in this product, after a few weeks of use it seems like I'll have to throw it out because it's just terrible. Save your money and go with a better product.