DEPENDS...(don't you love that!)
In a salty environment, Salt Lake is within two miles of me, a shop painted China-made, "American Hunter" 2-person steel stand with three part ladder and independent seat just doesn't hold up (I had four of them). Not much China-made stuff does.
The strap rot as mentioned is problematic. Be sure you use good Proof Chain to secure the seat to the tree or it might "grow legs and wander off" to someone else's property, which is also problematic.
The expanded metal seat and foot rest will corrode at the edges where they were welded. So too will the welds at the ladder rungs, which are the most insidious problems. They are hollow tubes, not painted on the inside, and tend to rot from inside out and on the underside where the dew and rain lingers longest. Rungs do not give much of a visual of the corrosion and then let go when weight is placed on them. Not good when you are 15 feet up.
I recommend an extension ladder of KNOWN stability be used when testing a metal tree stand that has been in residence in the woods for an extended period. That way you transfer load from the extension ladder to the rung of the tree stand slowly. Place the extension up against the stand ladder, climb the extension and slowly rock your feet over onto the tree stand transferring load one foot at a time. If a tree stand rung lets go, you are already standing on the extension ladder.
Stands that are made from "substantial" metal such as 2" x 2" x 3/16" thick angle steel (and up) will last and last, but like all metals, they too should be cautiously used and investigated before applying 100% of your load to any rung.
