Royal MC14MX 14-Sheet Micro-Cut Paper Shredder - High Security Office Document Destroyer for Confidential Files, Credit Cards & Staples | Ideal for Home & Business Use

I can't add much to the latest reviews. I've used Office Depot brand shredders for years moving from strip shredders to diamond or cross-cut to this micro-cut but I'd finally had it with the low quality of the office depot brands. I will say, for my first foray into the micro-cut category, this cut truely is confetti; you can use this stuff for anything you'd need colored confetti. Send colored paper through the thing and you've not only got a shredder you've got a colored confetti maker. Nuts!As much as price may dictate quality, get to this level for a truly fantastic product.But, be advised, current shredders in this model and other models appear to make interesting noises if they are lightly shaken and during shredding. I spoke with Royal today and to their credit they acknowledged the issue immediately, something that's uncommon and I tip my virtual hat to Royal for this.My shredder sounds, LIGHTLY, like a large, christmas, jingle bell being lightly shaken whenever it's operating. If I grab and shake the unit, the bell sound is louder, but in operation it's much less. Royal tells me other models sound like broken glass, etc.Just be aware. I don't mind my sound and I don't care or want it replaced. I called to insure that it wasn't something abnormal or broken because it was unexpected. In fact, inside the box it was shipped in I found some tiny, black, plastic fragments that looked like either broken pieces from some part of the predominately plastic shredder or just innocuous leftovers from the manufacturing process. I looked over the shredder and bin completely and couldn't account for these plastic bits but when when I operated the shredder I was surprised at the bell/loose sound. Ultimately, I had to call just to ascertain if this sound meant something was indeed broken inside my new shredder. The Royal rep I spoke with indicated that the sound was normal but that enough customers have called on the issue that it has been escalated up their support and quality control channels and that, as of yet, no official reply has been released.I considered at some length, whether or not to post this information because I do not wish my review to be considered a negative for Royal. In fact, I cannot convey enough how impressed I am that they immediately owned up to the issue and spoke about it with me on the phone. This is just not done in business today. But truth is truth, I did have to find the time to find the number, call, wait in a queue and explain my concern and if this review saves someone that time then that's positive. Additionally, while the sound is really unintrusive, I can imagine in some contexts this sound might be displeasing to a user and finding out about this issue ahead of time may save Royal from a displeased or angry customer or potential; again a positive.Still, I love the shredder, I gave 4 only because very few things in life warrant a 5, but I love this shredder, the best I've had.I had a very small, very weak, easily overheated, crosscut, cheapo shredder. I shred anything that has even as little as my name or address on it and it simply wasn't doing the job. My concern was price vs features. Look at any office supply store (Office Depot, Staples, etc) and you'll quickly figure out that you can't find a microcut shredder that compares to this one for twice the price. I knew I wanted to step up to microcut, wanted something with a decent sized bin and needed something that could handle more than a few pages at once.This shredder:-It's Microcut, and a good particle size. To get much better you have to get the "classified" shredders and those are too expensive for personal use, I think.-Has a large bin/capacity (it's almost as tall as my desk, which I didn't quite expect) and the pull out bin is easier to empty than the kind where you lift the cutter head off the top.-It works without overheating, (something I'm not used to) despite the large amount of items I shred.-I can actually put an entire, unopened, piece of junk mail in and it shreds it. I wouldn't do much more than that at once though.-It's significantly less loud than my last shredder (or any of the ones I've used at the office).-I was afraid for the bargain price it would cheap-made junk. It isn't as far as I can tell. Made well, works great.Other Notes:-Some reviewers have mentioned getting it at Sam's Club, but I don't have a membership and it was out of stock when I ordered this anyway.-Some reviewers talked about an odd noise (I'd say it sounds like glasses klinking in the dishwasher), it does do this sometimes, but is apparently normal and doesn't bother me.-Sometimes the auto-shut off feature turns the motor/blades off just as I'm putting the next paper or envelope in the feed ramp. It realizes something is there and kicks back on, but I wish they had made the timer just a second or so longer.If you are looking for an affordable, medium/large bin, higher paper count capacity, microcut shredder at a good price, I can't recommend a better option. There's some others out there that are comparable, but much more expensive and the ones close this price point are all lacking in some way (usually pages at a time it can handle or bin capacity).Too early to give it a perfect rating. It is slower than my previous machine. You must feed it more accurately than my previous machine. Those are the cons. However, this machine is much quieter and OH SO much easier to use. I can put a plastic garbage bag in the bin and the machine cuts the paper into confetti, I was able to shred an enormous amount of paper in this machine without the bin getting too full. I ran quite a bit through this machine before overheating it. It stopped, the light came on and I did something else. I came back later and shredded more. Eventually, the bin was full and I pulled out the drawer and tied the bag. NO paper on the floor or in the bottom of the bin. NO taking a heavy top off the bin. NO standing over a bin that is very low to the ground. I can sit in my chair and feed the paper from my lap without bending over. Last thing. I read the instructions for this machine and there was no indication of when to lubricate it. I called the Royal Customer Service number. I was told, it does not need lubricating. People say it makes a rattling noise. Many years ago I had a nice crosscut machine like this. The rattle comes from the blades themselves. I don't know how they are constructed but they were made that way on my old machine, which I lent to my brother and the rest is history. I never got it back. I hope this will be the workhorse that I need. I am not a business owner, but I do a lot of stuff for family members who are disabled and I absolutely have a lot to shred especially at the end of a year when I clean out old records. So if you need something faster for a larger office, you might need something faster. So far I love it. Now lets see if it lasts.