I purchased this locally about 8 months ago and it has been chomping away at the mountain of paper in my apartment that I haven't thrown out because I didn't have a shredder. I sometimes overtax it by giving it more than 6 sheets of paper and, while it slows down a bit, it still works. I also like that I don't have to remove staples before feeding it.
When I bought it, I didn't know how important crosscut shredding is. I saw a news piece on identity theft today and the security expert said there is a thriving industry where meth dealers make some of their "customers" sit at tables all day, piecing together documents that have been through a ribbon shredder. You can't do that with something that's been crosscut.
The reviewer who couldn't get it to run after emptying it probably came across one of it's safety features. While the shredder fits in the basket either way, in order for it to run, the cord must be in the same corner as the little metal tab-thingy inside the basket. The tab-thingy fits into a slot in the motor. This is actually an excellent idea. The shredder will not operate unless it is properly in the basket, thereby ensuring that Homedics' customers finish their shredding projects with the same number of fingers they started with. (But it's still a good idea to unplug the machine when you are picking paper out of its metal teeth.) I found this feature by accident but, once I knew what to look for, I still couldn't find it in the manual.
I deducted one star for poor documentation but, other than that, you get exactly what the box says -- a sturdy little crosscut shredder that will handle 6 sheets of paper, staples and credit cards. Homedics ID Defender 6-Sheet Crosscut Shredder (ID-61M)
I bought this to replace an old strip-cut shredder. I wanted the higher security of a cross-cut shredder.
The good:
* It produces confetti. The shreds are pretty small, maybe 1/4" wide by 3/4" long and very uniform.
* I will eat staples and small paper clips without complaining.
* It's small - fits under my desk well.
* The basket has a safety catch so the blades can't engage if the shredder is off the basket.
* Thermal protection will shut down the shredder if it overheats.
The bad:
* Says 6-sheet capacity, but it's more like 3.5 sheets. It will chug along with 4 sheets, but you can really hear it straining. The one time I fed it 6 sheets it wouldn't get through all the sheets and I had to clear it out.
* The confetti takes up a surprising amount of room. The small basket means you have to lift the shredder off and crush down the shreds occasionally. I was catching up on a bunch of shredding (maybe 250 pages) and I filled two kitchen-sized trash bags.
* Small motor overheats quickly. I had to stop twice during my marathon shred session because the shredder's motor overheated and it just stopped on me. Feeling on the case you could tell the guts were VERY warm.
* The catch in the basket means you can't really put this shredder on a bigger receptacle unless you override the safety.
For the money, I'm satisfied. Now that I'm caught up on my shredding, my needs are fairly light weight. But if you needed to do any type of volume of shredding, and by that I mean more than 20 or 30 pages a day, you would probably be better suited to a more robust shredder.
I purchased this shredder and think it is worth the money. I overstuffed it last week because I was not paying attention and it continued to churn but when I stopped it, it would not come on again. I cleared the cutters best as I could, then eventually pressed the lever for the credit card cutter and it finished the job. It is now working again. Am looking for a couple more as gifts and found it on this site. I believe it is a good value, and works well. Just remember that it does have its limitations which are clearly stated as 6 sheets.
I bought this item in late January -- by the end of February it had completely ceased operating. It is totally dead! I have used it, perhaps, about a dozen times and only feeding one sheet in at a time. I will return it for a refund. I suppose I should have known better than buy something cheap; there is a good reason why it is inexpensive! I shall certainly steer clear of this manufacturer for my next shredder and invest in better quality.
I bought this without really reading the reviews and was filled with buyer's remorse after reading all the negative and sub-par reviews. But after trying it out, it's really pretty good. No real problems with it. It's not a five-star product but it gets the job done. I think it can handle a little over 6 pages depending on the thickness. I once put an entire unopened envelope for my cell phone bill and it kind of struggled but it went through. Unfortunately, it didn't shred it completely but it's amazing to me that it didn't blow up.
I agree with people that say the documentation is lacking. For those of you that threw it away or returned it after it stopped working, you really need more patience. It happened to me and all it needed was to cool down a bit. You also have to be aware of the safety switch right under where the power cord is attached. It won't work if you don't put it in the bin properly. I'm glad because I tend to forget to unplug it or switch it off before I start manually pulling papers out. Though I wouldn't have known any of this from reading the manual. It was lucky I read it in the reviews here.
Cons: The bin does fill quickly and the shreds will eventually push the shredder up causing it to shut off. It stops clearing out once it starts to get full so you're left with a clump of shreds to pull out if you don't empty before it fills up. The overheat shut-off seems to happen randomly, usually after you've stopped using it for a couple minutes (I totally understand why people freak out a little).
I think once I'm done shredding all these documents and bills I've been building up the past 8yrs, it should be perfect for light shredding. It was a great price for a pretty good product. - Attractive - A great Safe Shredder - Paper Shredder - Cross Cut Shredder'
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