Fellowes 4605801 Powershred 49C 8-Sheet Cross-Cut Paper and Credit Card Shredder, Black

I bought this in January 07, 2018. The return date was 2/8/2018. It stopped working on 2/19/2018. What a piece of junk. If there was a zero score, that's what I'd give. This coat me $70.00

I got this little guy for my wife for Christmas (her request, not mine). She claimed that we had so much paperwork that needed shredding (If we did, I didn't see it), but it was for her home office/craft room so I didn't argue. Low and behold, one day, she said she was going to shred some papers. I went about my Saturday working on things around the house when a couple hours had passed and she emerged with a smile on her face. I said you look happy, what's up? She took me to the room to show me 7 bags of shredded paper and 4 empty boxes that I "needed" to take to the recycle center.If you want to say Bye-Bye to your documents, I would say that it was a good Buy and it worked like it should for our personal paper shredding needs.

It works fine, it's just a pain to empty. Should have spent a little more and gotten one that has the pull out paper bin. Lifting the shredder off of this trash can is awkward and heavy.

It was a decent price after the discounts. I wouldn't have paid full price for it having now used it. It does a good quick job of shredding, "light duty" per the description. No complaints there. However, while it has an 8 sheet per cut rating, the motor starts to audibly labor at 3 or 4 sheets. It's rated to run for 5 minutes before the motor overheats and a cooldown is required, but you don't need to worry too much about that, as the waste bin isn't large enough to run the shredder continuously for more than about 3 minutes before you must shut it down to empty it. Also, by the time you've run 1 or 2 baskets, you need to clean out the jammed paper shreds that wrap around the axle at the ends, otherwise the jammed paper starts to push the cutting heads out of alignment which further labors the motor. If you're planning on doing an annual shred of household documents, be prepared to spend as much time cleaning the cutting heads as you do shredding.

After the last two cross-cut shredders from Staples (their brand) stopped working within a year, we decided to pay more for a brand that is constantly rated as among the best. This one does not disappoint. Shreds with ease - including those nasty pre-approved credit cards you receive in the mail - and it is QUIET! Cannot believe how quiet it is and how quickly it shreds. Compact size and great for personal use. I do recommend buying the Fellowes' oil so you can keep the blades sharp and your machine functioning. Great warranty too.

As has been my experience with other shredders, it won't take as many sheets as advertised without jamming. It even struggles with a heavy card stock junk mail flier. It does the job for shredding the endless credit card, home refinancing and other junk mail offers that I don't want to sit on the curb for recycling, but I have to feed the papers a few sheets at a time. I gave a 5 star rating to the safety features because it has over-heating protection and will shut off until it cools down if it does get jammed, and a reverse button to back the papers out when it does get jammed so I can try again fewer sheets of paper. I gave it 3 stars for sturdiness because it's top heavy and tips over quite easily so the top falls off, leaving all the shredded paper on the floor.

Over time and use the cutters seem to jam with paper residue collecting n the top of the shredder blades clogging the intake slot. Dust accumulates in the lid which one then has to disassemble, clear out then put it back right. Now, this is easier said than done. There are 8 Phillips screws that must be removed and still one is faced with a protective plastic cover of the shredding blades assembly. In this case, I use a narrow flat bladed screwdriver (common) and work the tip under the collected mass of shredded paper that is causing the jam. I use the thick plastic outer edges as a leverage point. That being said, use caution around the micro-switch located in the middle of the feed slot that turns on the assembly. I have then followed up with canned air to further remove debris. Do I need to say that the assembly needs to be UNPLUGGED from power before one goes attempting to clear the feed throat?

My old paper shredder was a $20 shredder I purchased in the 1990's. It got little use, but finally burnt out. This shredder is so much quieter that I am amazed. Its not so quiet that you will be able to listen to the radio or have an easy conversation without speaking up, but I am satisfied. At work we have access to a shredder that is much, much quieter, so don't expect too much from this one and remember it is under $100. I don't push the limits on the number of pages or how long I continually shred, so I think this will last a long time. It also has no problems chewing through staples.I don't user the bucket that goes under the shredder, but rather have this mounted over a 30 gallon trash barrel. I use a 3d printed part to over ride the safety switch to operate the shredder without its bucket.