Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

So far, this spreader has worked well for grass and other small seed. The dial is easy to use and I didn't experience any clogging. (Not sure how it would work for salt/melt but I purchased it for seed and/or granular fertilizer). I won't use it that much, just an occasional home user with a small yard, but it has worked well so far. The battery-operated nature is far superior to "hand crank" spreaders as it does not require both hands. One subtle benefit is that one can hold it in either hand while spreading, not generally possible with most crank spreaders. I am not sure how long the batteries would last but it worked fine for my needs. It has the "edge guard" feature, a simple lever which works to block seed from spreading out to the left side (meaning you need to walk clockwise around the perimeter of your lawn). One note on the batteries: It seems to take 3 AA batteries, which seemed not to be indicated in any of the specs or listings on Amazon or even on the Scotts website. (This would seem a nice thing to include). I was, however, pleasantly surprised to find the batteries included and already installed in the product (with one of those "pull here" paper isolator things to prevent accidental turning on while shipping. You do have to jiggle it back and forth a bit as the seed begins to deplete so that the remainder falls into the feed hole (perhaps a more "conical" design wouldn't need to do this, although that would presumably limit the capacity of the hopper or make the device unwieldy), but that's minor and not unheard of with these types of devices. The device comes almost ready to use (need to remove the battery isolator, mentioned above), with a promotional sticker applied to one side. I foolishly ripped this off (thinking it was just one of those glossy sales stickers) before noting it had the suggested dial settings for different types of seed/fertilizer/melt. So now I will have to glue it back on or otherwise not lose it so that the next time i use it I can know what the settings should be. (They also have this info posted on the Scotts website, I later found out). The price point was good (I guess it's a few dollars more than a crank spreader) but the ease of use makes it more than worth it. Note: I was NOT given the product or any other consideration in exchange for this review. .