SimplyShred FHC512D 12 Sheet Cross Cut Paper Shredder - Shreds CD/DVD, Staples, Credit Cards - Quiet Motor (5 Gallon) - Security Level 3

Finally a truly quiet shredder. Shipping box claims equal to/less than 58 dBA. I believe it! I should have purchased this item a long time ago. It may cost $100 but to me the quiet operation is MORE than worth it! Shredder head has fixed handle for easy lifting and placing. This is a nice improvement over my current shredder.Instructions say "Do not shred continuously for more than 5 minutes.""Compact" size. Basket capacity 5.0 Gal / 19.0 L. Instructions claim "will shred credit cards and CDs but not paper clips." Safety warning icons on device advise against letting long hair get into the shredder(!). Good to know!UPDATE: Reduced rating to 3 stars. Surprised and disappointed with credit card shredding! Regardless of the insertion orientation into the shredder, the device only makes three or less length-wise cuts. It would be VERY easy to piece a "shredded" card together and recover the credit card number and user's name. If this is Security Level 3, I think we're in trouble.Also, shredder head unit is rather heavy (which facilitates the quiet operation) so be careful when lifting it by the handle while seated--back injury could result. Best to STAND UP to lift the shredder head.I'm still glad I bought it. Since I'm not helping Oliver North with his shredding, it works fine for my home use.

It's a decent shredder for up to 6 sheets of regular paper. Beyond that it struggles big time. I wanted a shredder that could handle just about any envelope that came in the mail, whether it be junk mail or official bank statements. It did handle fairly thick envelopes that were up to 6 sheets thick, which included 95% of our mail. Unfortunately, I am not as patient as this shredder needs you to be. If you are like me, you might get inpatient and load the next envelope while the first one is still being pulled down the chute. That's like 8 to 12 sheets at the double stack. Even though it states that it can handle 12 sheets at once. Don't believe it! I suppose if you try to shred 12 very thin mils of paper, then you would be successful. So my shredder got stuck and I'm looking for a better replacement. I will say that it does have a pretty good cross-cut feature that makes about 1/8" by 1/2" jagged pieces.

I have had the shredder for about 8 months and it is a paper eating machine for sure! The on thing I did not like was the CD and Credit card shredder part does not fine shred them up. Use paper shredder slot for cards and cd's.

My only complaint with this product is the credit card shredder. The pieces are left far too big and would easily be pieced back together, if found in the trash. You can't really put them through multiple times because the blades are spaced too far apart to grab and process smaller pieces. On the upside the paper shredder works just fine and it is relatively quiet.

I was shocked when I tried this shredder. It is VERY quiet.... so quiet you can still hold a conversation with someone. It ate everything I threw into it. Old checks from a closed account, credit card junk mail and old files. I put about 10 pages into it and it labored, but not to the point of it jamming up. I also shredded a credit card and CD and it ate right up with no problem. I would recommend this shredder in a heart beat. It works great and most of it is really quite. The directions that came with it were very clear. It did say you can oil it by putting oil on a piece of paper in a zig zag pattern then send it through. (Amazon sells the oil. What don't they sell? LOL!)It did not give any indication of the frequency, but I suspect maybe once or twice a year would be sufficient. Maybe once every six months.(?) If you have any questions, feel free to leave one and I'll be glad to help you out. You won't go wrong with this shredder.

For the amount paid for this product, you would expect that the cards or CD's were shredded into smaller pieces, the CD's ok, no biggie, but the cards still show viable information anyone can piece together and get the numbers, it cuts both cards and CD's in like big square chunks instead of small shredded pieces. No protection of privacy here which was the whole idea to begin with.

This shredder shreds quickly and quietly. The top is quite heavy and has no good way to grip it so it is unwieldy. It needs handles or indented places to hold the top, especially due to the weight. The collection bin is what it is, but that is small.

I was given this item an exchange for an unbiased review of this product. I have owned a Fellows 7 sheet shredder for yeaars, but wanted one that could shred more pages at a time. This item handled 12 pages at once with no strain on the motor. There was even a credit card attached to one of the sheets!Pros:Handles 12 sheets at a timeStaples do not need to be removed before shreddingSeparte slot for credit cards and DVDsCrosscut shedding for extra securityAuto Start feature - INset paper and the motor starts automaticallyLarge collection bin with clear window to see when it is getting fullHandle to remove motor to easily empty the binVery quiet motorCons:Slot where papet is inserted is just wide enough for an 8 1/2 inch page so multiple pages must be stacked neatly to fit inBased on my experience with this item thus far, this shredder will be replacing my Fellows 7 sheet shredder.