Are cheap Amazon headboards actually solid wood?

Sometimes, but verify. Listings in this roundup like the ComfIQ Serene specifically call out kiln-dried solid poplar, while many sub-$100 'wood' headboards are MDF or particleboard with a veneer. Specialist subreddit threads we read repeatedly flag this gap between marketing language and actual construction, so look for explicit species names and avoid listings that only say 'wood' generically.