My guess is the OP just got a bad unit. I'm sure this is not the norm for Panasonic, or any other popular brand. And it certainly has nothing to do with it's light weight, or construction.
You don't have to buy a new Oppo or Pioneer Elite to get good quality. I just bought a New Sony Blue Ray/DVD/CD ect 4K 3D player w/wi-fi, netflix, web browsing that is performing very well thank you. It too is very light, and no doubt looks much like yours. This unit loads in an instant and aside from being a tad clunky, it feels solid and quite while playing.
My biggest complaint is connectivity. With modern TV's and HT set-ups it's not an issue, but with my vintage stereo receiver, I need an analog input, which this Sony BDP does not have. Fortunately my TV has an analog audio output. But that means to play CD's I have to have the TV on, and use it's cheap DAC. It does sound pretty good though.
There is a big misconception that quality can be seen and felt. My denon 1500II CDP weighed over 20 lbs and inside looks 100x better than my $80 Apex DVD Player. In the end the Apex player outlasted the denon, and performed flawlessly thank you. The Denon, has always had issues with the drawer, and finally failed after a short time. All it takes is one tiny part, one bad connection or solder joint, no matter how big and heavy the unit is, or how much it cost, to bring it to it's knee's.