Update. I initially bought this June 2017. It is July 2020 and it’s working great still. I’ve overfilled it a few times and sometimes I can back it out by switch but a few times I really did bad things and had to pull from button side to get it to free. Never a fault of the machine. My point is that it still works great after multiple times of me trying too much mail at once and many years later.
Initial review:
I received this today and I'm completely satisfied so far. My fellowes w11c bit the dust and this is its replacement. It is what I've used for the past few years and they seem like direct competitors so I'll use it as base expectations.
The bad:
This is crosscut not micro shreds.
This has a smaller bin so emptying more often. I mostly shred bills, credit card offers, etc. if I were doing lots of daily shredding, I wouldn't be as happy as I am with this purchase.
Paper shredders are noisy. Can't shred when people are sleeping.
Wish it had a bin with a door.
The cd catcher looks like it's designed for another model. It fits ok, but it just looks backward.
The good:
This is the best value I could locate anywhere for over 10 pages.
12 page capacity is a must. My fellowes was about the same and this performs very similarly. They both bog down some when at max page count. It took years to finally strip the gears on the fellowes so I expect the same with this. Don't blame the manufacturer if you run 10 folded papers ind it breaks. - that is 10 x 2 = 20. Just don't try it. You can do 6 folded pages or 4 pages with envelope folds (the trip folds) in this.
The cross shreds are plenty small for my use - understand my opinion is that micro shredding seems unnecessary. The only real value seems to be the waste basket compacts better so you empty less often. If you disagree this isn't for you.
This unit is small enough to fit easily under my desk and be useable - it is about the max size I'd consider on my desk.
Standard plastic grocery bags will line the bin perfectly. Even though the bin is smaller, this makes emptying about 5 times easier. Again, I shred maybe 15 to 20 envelopes of mail a week, not 500.
When lined with grocery bag, the cd catcher fits easily under the bag on its side and out of the way. Or you can still put it in place with the bag if you shred lots of cds and cards.
It has a window to see how full the bin is - although I can't tell easily since I'm lining with grocery bags.
Even though I've read it is vacuum cleaner loud, I think it is closer to my dishwasher. It's almost half as noisy as my fellowes shredder - much appreciated.
The molded handle on top makes emptying so much easier. It's easier to empty than a handle that flips up and likely less easy to break. I'll never own another without the handle.
It has a separate slot for cds and I assume it's for credit cards. I haven't used that yet - but since they are separate I feel better that my paper shredder will last longer.
Unknown: reliability. I have no reason to doubt it, but I'll update as I use it more.
| Manufacturer | ACCO Brands |
|---|---|
| Brand | GBC |
| Item Weight | 12.12 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 19 x 10.8 x 18.6 inches |
| Item model number | 1757394 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Color | Black |
| Manufacturer Part Number | 1757394 |
