Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

*** Update - 7 years later *** Still going strong. The infrared sensor has failed so it keeps running. I have to shut the unit off from the rocker switch in the back. Not that big a deal but not ideal. *** I'd still buy it again. I purchased this shredder 12/2008. There are a lot of reviews already but I thought I could add a few things. A reviewer commented about the mess in the shred bin. Yeah, but it is only a minor problem. All my past shredders were worse. I shredded some CDs and DVDs and they make a mess because of the paint on the non-writable side. If you jar the bin slightly and push the pile down with your hand before pulling the bin out the rest of the way, you can minimize the mess. But with CDs and DVDs, some of the stuff is so light it blows around. Someone commented about the on/off switches. There are two. A master rocker switch in back that I would guess you always leave on. The switch on top you might turn on and off. If you leave the unit on (both switches) all the time, the blue light will run and use a little power. If you really want to be green, I guess you could turn it off. I want to stress what some other reviewers said about this monster. This is by far the best shredder (and most expensive) I've owned. I owned about three el cheapos before. They all burned out. I use this at home and I'm a nut about shredding anything with any personal information on it. So I might use it more than the average household and I can't imagine ever stressing this beast. But I did give it a shot (below). For day-to-day shredding, this thing wouldn't break a sweat. It is almost overkill but I could see this unit lasting years. While vacuuming out the unit after shredding the DVDs, I looked at the business end of the shredder. There is a spindle of nasty looking, sharp metal teeth between plastic guides. The power cord is bent at 90 degrees so the unit will sit closer to the wall. Nice touch that a lot of other manufacturers should do. I had a pile of paper to shred since my last shredder burned out. It sawed through that pile in a few minutes. My old shredder would have loudly churned through the pile in about two hours. I always dreaded shredding before. Now, I'm looking for things to shred. The other thing is, this unit is very quiet. It produces a low hum as opposed to the much higher pitched whine of cheap shredders that beg for mercy if you give them a couple of sheets at a time. The teeth are metal so follow the instructions and oil them. Nuff said. Now for the main selling point. I had about 250 CDs and DVDs (old computer backups). You don't want to just toss your personal data in the trash - you have to shred that stuff. Most reviews of most shredders never mention shredding DVDs which seem a little tougher to me. This unit had no problem with the CDs or DVDs. I shredded them in groups of ten. I oiled the teeth a couple of times during the process. Awesome! I used the guide for the credit cards, CDs and DVDs. I think there are probably tougher teeth in the middle and the guide makes sure the plastics go through in the right path. The auto shutoff works as advertised. The teeth are so far down that I can't see a baby's finger getting in there. There's no way an adult's finger could get in. Maybe Gene Simmon's tongue (Kiss) could get in the slot. :-) Look no further. Buy this shredder.