Great deal at $16

Author's Rating:

Pros: Inexpensive, solidly built, works nicely.

Cons: Not for a huge stack of paper; must put the lid on correctly.

The Bottom Line: 
If you see it for the same $16 I got it for, and are willing to be a little careful with the lid, it's a great deal.

Author's Review
My old cheapie shredder died (the gears wore out), so I was ready to spend up to about $50 for one that would last longer. But this one was only $16 at Wal-Mart, and was from the brand that has the most good reviews for shredders on Epinions. It seems solidly built, and has a reasonably good warranty (1 year). And the narrow entrance is perfect for shredding stuff that comes in the mail, which is folded to that size already.

One reviewer had trouble with a plastic tab on the bin that activates a switch on the lid (the actual shredder unit)--if this breaks off, it won't work. The tab is out of the way, and not easy to break, but it looks like you could break it when you put the lid back on if you set the front of the lid down in the bin first, and then tilt down the back. But if you put it down more or less straight, or put the back in first, it shouldn't be a problem. If it does ever break, simply rotate the bin 180 degrees, and there's an identical tab on the other side.

It works fine--shreds quickly, smoothly and thoroughly. It ground through the advertised four sheets fine, although that did slow it down some compared to with two or three.

If you try to shred too much in one session, it will overheat. But that doesn't kill it--it has thermal protection built in that shuts it down and keeps you from damaging it. Simply wait and few minutes and it will start running again. Its limit seems to be about the advertised 40 pages.