I'm so happy I can shred more than ten things with a shredder!
I bought this to replace my husband's previous 8-year-old shredder. Some of the plastic between the blades was coming off and blocking the blades from turning. You couldn't shred more than a couple minutes before it would overheat or jam and then turn off (and then it wouldn't work for a few hours).
Enter AmazonBasics 12-sheet High-Security Micro-Cut Paper, CD, and Credit Card Shredder with Pullout Basket!
I was scared to actually put 12 sheets at once into this contraption as I was scarred from the previous shredder but boy am I glad I did. It put faith back into paper shredders for me.
This baby churns like a quiet Devastator (I hope you get this reference). I could probably shred at night and no one would hear me.
I've shredded credit cards, CDs, and paper with this sucker and not one thing has jammed it.
I did read the instruction manual and saw that you are NEVER supposed to shred:
-large paper clips
-windowed or insulated envelopes
-continuous forms
-newsprint
-bound pages (checkbooks, notepads, magazines, etc.)
-transparencies
-laminated documents
-cardboard
-any items with adhesives
-hard materials or plastic (except credit cards and CDs)
I admit to shredding windowed envelopes, continuous forms (like those credit card balance transfer checks), and ad mailers that have cards stuck to them with strips of adhesive. I didn't know you weren't supposed to shred these things but now I do and will take extra special care NOT to shred these. Now I remove all mailers from envelopes, remove glue/adhesive strips, and remove the cards that come in said mailers so it's not too thick for the shredder to handle at one time.
I still do shred continuous forms like balance transfer check offers and credit card offers.
Conclusion: I LOVE THIS SHREDDER!
It's quiet
It shreds 12 sheets of paper, credit cards, and CDs as stated in the product description
It can run 8 minutes plus without overheating (it hasn't overheated on me yet)
It hasn't jammed
The bin is a good size to not have to empty it frequently
The micro-cut is fabulous
It wheels around smoothly, no creaking or squeeking, and is easy to move around
Striker (the cat) loves the end results :)
This one is almost silent. You could shred at night even when people are sleeping. You could bring this to a classical music concert and sit in the back row and shred all of your junk mail! You could take this to church or temple and shred your bills. You can talk on the phone while shredding! You could even shred in your sleep without waking yourself up!
I've attached videos comparing this shredder to my expensive Fellowes shredder, to demonstrate the difference in noise.
I will update the review as I use this more but so far I'm impressed. The shredder is well-built and everything fits together quite well. The green LED for power is not very bright, which suggests it's been fixed since some negative reviews. The three LEDs on the top of the unit are for power, overheating, and the bin being open.
I'm normally a Fellowes shredder guy. The only reason I replaced my first Fellowes was because I gave it to my mother. I've been using the very popular Fellowes Powershred W-11C for almost a year now and have been very happy with it. When I got the chance to try the AmazonBasics 12-sheet micro-cut, I went into it with fairly low expectations. After just a few days with the AmazonBasics, I've decided to donate my old shredder to my sister.
PROS:
- Micro-cut produces nearly 8X more particles than cross-cut
- Quiet for a shredder
- Pullout basket comes out and goes back in easily
- Large 6.7 gallon capacity bin
- Caster wheels for easy mobility
CONS:
- Lacks secondary safety lock
- Blindingly-bright power LED
MICRO-CUT VS CROSS-CUT
The biggest advantage of the AmazonBasics over my old W-11C is the micro-cut feature. I've gradually upgraded from strip cut, to cross-cut, and now to micro-cut. The difference in how small the pieces are for micro-cut over cross-cut is tremendous. Here's a breakdown of the different cut types:
strip cut: security level 2, 39 strips per 8.5" x 11" sheet
cross-cut: security level 3, 399 particles per 8.5" x 11" sheet
micro-cut: security level 4, 3,000 particles per 8.5" x 11" sheet
That's almost eight times the number of particles from cross-cut to micro-cut. When shredding with my cross-cut shredder, I made sure to shred sheets of paper perpendicular to the print. The cross-cut pieces were long enough that shredding parallel to the print would still allow some information to be easily read. With micro-cut, that's a non-issue. I can shred receipts, bills, and other documents at any angle and the pieces come out extremely small. For all intents and purposes, there'd be no way for anyone to put these pieces of paper back together.
NOISE
I measured the noise of my old Fellowes W-11C with an American Recorder SPL-8810 sound level meter and got 91.8 dBA. The AmazonBasics, which benefits from the enclosed basket design, measured at 82.2 dBA -- almost a full 10 dBA quieter than the Fellowes. Ambient noise level was about 34.7 dBA and I measured both shredders right near the mouth.
DESIGN & FEATURES
The pullout basket is a sizable 6.7 gallons, which holds a ton of micro-cut pieces. It removes easily when you need to empty it and goes back in pretty smoothly as well. Removing it also activates a sensor that automatically disables the motor for added safety. The three-position auto/off/reverse switch works well, but is the only way keep the shredder off, other than unplugging it. The Fellowes has a separate safety lock to help prevent yourself and your kids from accidentally activating the shredder. I always unplug the shredder when I'm not using it, but if you like to keep yours plugged in, just keep in mind that there's no additional lock.
I also want to mention that the green LED power light on the Amazon Basics is extremely bright. I don't recommend looking straight down at it, which might be hard to do if you're standing over it while feeding paper through it.
CONCLUSION
The AmazonBasics 12-sheet micro-cut shredder is a fantastic value. The micro-cut feature alone is worth the small premium over standard shredders, like the Fellowes W-11C. Add the quiet operation and large, easy-to-empty waste bin and it's almost a no-brainer.
This is a very good small office shredder for changing things into micro-cut confetti, including credit cards. I think those who posted on the website and were unhappy about the thickness it would handle, or it giving out in heavy continuous use, may not be using it within it's design parameters, and while the advertising says it will shred something 12 sheets thick, that obviously depends on the thickness of those sheets. I've shredded 12 sheets thick of normal 20lb. copy paper without an issue . Further, I've used shredders in a small home office for many years and this works just fine compared with all the others (Fellowes).
There is one issue I've had with it concerning the difficulty of removing the confetti container. As received, it took a gorilla to pull it out of the machine. A number of others have had a similar problem I see. I don't know whether it's a design flaw or I unfortunately received one that had a manufacturing problem in that respect. If they are all like that, and you do not have gorilla strength fingers (mine barely made it with multiple yanks on the container), or have fingernails you'd like to protect, you'll definitely have an issue. I liked the machine enough that I didn't want to go through the hassle of sending it back (I've had it almost 6 months now and use it every day). At a point, I decided to see if the difficulty was remediable by a little home surgery with a dremel tool. I filed a little off one of the top corners of the container basket that seemed to be binding, and also filed down about half the height of the two little plastic center hooks on the basket that catch onto the machine when you slide the basket in. The latter did the trick. Now it has enough hold to keep the basket in, but you can also get the basket out in a normal way. Obviously poor quality control in the manufacturing process. One star off for this. Many more off if you don't want to be your own repairman.
By the way, as others have pointed out, you can make your own lubricant sheets by spraying some cooking Canola oil on a piece of copy paper and running it all the way through. Then flip the machine into reverse for a few seconds. Works like a charm.
Hope this helps.
Compared to my old shredder, this thing is great. I was mostly interested in replacing my old shredder because it lost a tooth and was starting to bind every 25-30 sheets. This new one had no problems with 10 sheets or those thick junk mail envelopes/cards. I can even shred that junk mail without opening it and stretching it out like I had to so my old shredder would not go 'hermitle' (think 'hermit crab retreating into its shell and glaring with its beady red eye (sic 'light')).
Anyhow, I saw the 'has wheels' but did not think much of it since it was going to be placed on a rug under a bench top table. The wheels have no problem with the carpets/rugs though, so I am glad they are there as I can wheel it over to my desk and shred away.
The other GREAT thing about it is that the bin slides out! No more "Must have vacuum cleaner present before operating this device" warning. The shred is also nice little 2 cm squares and do not fly around/grab onto/annoy me like the slips of paper from my old cross-cut shredder (those suckers would stick to everything and were able to achieve flight from me just breathing near them).
Last note - I was also worried that it would be a fine powder but it is not. I consistently got little 2 cm squares from the 10 cm stack of papers I shredded. Maybe the dust will come as it gets older despite how clean and well oiled I keep it... Only time and use will tell.
Feature Product
- High-security, micro-cut shredder with 12-sheet capacity; destroys credit cards, CDs, and DVDs (one at a time)
- Shreds paper into tiny pieces (5/32 by 15/32 inches) at a rate of 6 feet per minute
- 8 minute continuous run time with 45 minute cool down time; Auto start and manual reverse to clear paper jams
- 6.7-gallon pullout bin; 9.1-inch-wide paper feed; thermal protection with auto shut-off
- Measures 24.29 by 17.01 by 13.39 inches; Backed by an AmazonBasics 1-year Limited Warranty
Description
AmazonBasics brings you everyday items at a great value. An Amazon Brand.
This shredder works great. We keep it on all the time and feed it when we check the mail. I would prefer not to get a hundred refinancing and credit card opportunities, but since I can't stop that, this shredder is the next best thing. Credit cards? no problem! CDs/DVDs? no Problem. This cookie monster of an appliance will eat everything. It stays on for a long continuous time (we've never had to stop to let it cool, yet). The bin is of generous capacity. The auto-start/stop is convenient. The Micro-cut makes great confetti. I just need a set of big googly eyes to make this shredder feel like more of a part of the family.
I've had this shredder a week now and I LOVE IT!!!! the main reason I bought this type of shredder is the fact that it's a MICRO shredder which means it shreds paper into very small particles that's impossible to read! I was in awe of how small the particles were.and this shredder is big! I mean real big.. I was expecting a small one because in so many cases things aren't what they seem when viewing online. it has a big pull out basket that holds a lot of clippings so you don't have to lift the top up to empty. I also bought the Square trade protection plan for $5.95 which covers two years because Shredders don't seem to last long because the gears break so much. one thing about warranties I discovered a while back. They tell you it's 2 years but in many cases the first year is covered by manufacturer's warranties so you're told to use theirs first for the first year! which leaves only the second year you can use the protection plan you paid extra for... in other words I may be paying for two year warranty and only getting a year out of it. don't know it this rule applies with Square trade but it sure as heck worked that way when I bought an extended plan a staples store for a PC I bought a while back! if you get any kind of shredder.. pay the extra bucks and GET A MICRO CUT Type!!! Regular shredders cut paper in to strips that you still can read.. WHAT GOOD IS THAT!!! if anyone has any question about this shredder feel free to ask me. I tell it like it is! So far I love this shredder!!!... haven't tested it for the long term yet. I uploaded pics so you can see the size of the shredder and pull out basket in comparison to a pair of sneakers to give you somewhat of an indication of it's size and also uploaded pic of shredded paper in my hand so you can see the results of MICRO shredding . hope it helps.
regards,
Mr.Chris
For those of you who are wavering on Amazon Basics products, and wondering whether it is too good to be true - this product is not too good to be true.
I had a shredder, cross-cut. You would run it with 3 and 4 sheets, and it would clog. it would get hot after 30 minutes of consistent use. We bought this as an alternate (for when the main got hot.)
When it arrived, we tried it out. The first thing you will notice is that it is slow - it took approximately 10% more time to swallow a batch of papers. The second thing you will notice is that it can swallow 8 sheets without an issue. 5 minutes later, you will notice that this is not a cross-cut shredder - it is MICRO CUT. I know it says it in the title, but it makes confetti, rather than cross-cut strips, or diamonds.
It made shredding so easy and comfortable that an hour went by with shredding (and yes, we emptied the bins) before we noticed that so much time passed. You know what DIDN'T happen? It still didn't overheat. It didn't get clogged. Needless to say, the other shredder has not been used since, and after a week of on-and-off shredding, 10 years worth of taxes, along with receipts and 20 years worth of bank statements, ALL GONE.
Part of the benefit is that you don't have to bend over as far. It is a nice height to feed the paper into, so you are not hunched over.
Pro-tip: I thought this was self-evident, but after seeing others using similar shredders, I'm going to mention this. Do NOT use a bag. Let it all go into the bin, and when you filled the bin, dump it into a 13-gallon bag. The 13 gallon bags can take about 3 full bins. If you put a bag around the bin, you're going to end up with a mess. Have a broom handy to get out everything. (Yes, I went to an office with a similar pull out drawer. They were using a plastic bag and interrupting every 10 minutes to empty it - you will be hard pressed to get through as many papers if you opt for the bag.
I'm going to go back to the first part, though - it is slow. If you have mountains of sensitive documents in an office setting, and we are talking about a full file cabinet 2 feet x 3 feet x 4feet, you WILL do better time-wise to use an industrial shredding company. The shredder here is GREAT for the occasional removal of random documents, but if you do a big sweep and purge, you will find it better to go industrial. Some will do it for as little as $100 plus tax for a 95 gallon bin (2' x 3' x 4'), you're not going to shred that in 10-12 hours of employee time. The tax papers I mentioned were maybe 1/16 of that volume and it took 2 weeks of on-and-off shredding, but factoring in electricity and time, industrial is the way to go.
As an attorney, I have lots of evidence that needs to be shredded.
Since opening my practice, my drawer of damning documents, smoking guns, and admissions has been piling up. You're not a real attorney until you hurriedly shred documents right before the FBI, SEC, or local LEO comes bursting in your office door. Now my clients can rest easy knowing that their secrets are safe with the landfill.
Micro-cut. I bought this shredder because of the micro cut feature. What do the movies Batman Returns and Argo have in common? Besides the obvious, they both have scenes where shredded documents have been put back together, by penguins and children respectively. With micro-cut, anyone wanting to reassemble my documents will have to employ a lot more penguins, employ a lot more children, or have a lot more patience.
Two tips. They would like to sell you special oil and bags for this shredder; neither are necessary. As a bag, I just used a white kitchen-sized bag. It overlaps the front of the bin, but I'm not worried about how it looks. As for oil, the instructions say you can use any vegetable oil. You can't directly reach the cutters, but dripping oil onto a piece of paper that I, then, shred seems to work well.
I've needed a nice shredder since my old one kicked the bucket, and I wanted one that would securely dispose of old bank statements, junk mail offerings and other things that could be used for identity theft, etc. This seemed to fit the bill, and was a great price for a micro-cut shredder.
I have only used this for a day, so I can't speak to its longevity yet, but I'm already impressed with it. The AmazonBasics shredder is the quietest shredder I've used, and it is easy enough to operate. It chops up old credit & debit cards easily and pretty securely--a lot easier than hacking away at them with scissors. It's also faster than I anticipated a micro-cut shredder being.
Overall the build quality seems pretty good, and the bin fits tightly enough to prevent the tiny shreds from getting loose. The bin is easy to remove for emptying. I like that it has handles on the sides so you can pick it up and carry it easily. It also has nice casters so it can be wheeled around if you don't want to carry the unit. It rolls easily, even on carpet. However, I have noticed several areas where this shredder could use some improvement.
The first thing I noticed when I got the shredder was how incredibly flimsy the switch is. It is a cheap plastic slider and wiggles around loosely when I switch settings. That's concerning, because it feels like it could snap just from normal use, turning the unit from off to on and back. It also has a habit of periodically producing larger shreds that I would expect from a cross-cut shredder instead of a micro-cut. These are rare, but something to keep an eye on if you are shredding something that you think is particularly sensitive. I've included pictures from some junk mail I shredded to demonstrate this problem. The other negative I noticed, and I'd imagine it's an effect from the micro-cut is that the shreds are very staticy. They'll get everywhere if you're not careful!
I've not had any problem with it kicking shreds back through the top and haven't had it leak any shreds. The slot is somewhat obscured by a plastic lip for safety, and seems to be almost exactly 8.5" wide, so it can be a little difficult to feed wider sheets. I haven't tried feeding more than 8 sheets at a time, so I don't know if it can go up to the 12 sheets it says it can, but I also have no need to test its maximum limit. It took several pieces of cardstock at the same time without an issue. I shredded a huge pile of junk mail that had been stacking up, and there were no overheating or other issues.
1 Year UPDATE:
I've used this shredder for almost a year now, and it's still going strong. I use it to shred bank statements, bill stubs, junk mail and other assorted papers that may pose a risk for identity theft. I have had to pull compacted paper out of the blades from time to time, as some papers will "mash" instead of shredding properly. There are also times when it will leave larger chunks or strips of paper that aren't micro-cut properly. Larger/longer pieces than my picture of them from when I first purchased the machine. However, they are easy to sort out from the rest if needed. After almost a full year I'm still very satisfied.
I'll update this review again if the shredder breaks or starts having problems.
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