When my husband discovered that someone had stolen his identity and opened a credit card in his name, we decided it would be prudent to begin shredding all of our junk mail and credit card offers we get in the mail but always just threw in the recycling bin. We didn't have a lot of money to spend and we didn't really need anything capable of shredding metal like we often saw on TV, so we decided that a simple unit from Wal-Mart would likely be sufficient for our needs. We ended up purchasing a Powershred P-57Cs for around $150 from our store, although Wal-Mart online has them for about $10 cheaper. There are other units at Wal-Mart but they are more expensive, ranging all the way up to $200 or so, although that was the most expensive we saw. The one we purchased was the cheapest in stock.

The design of the unit seems a little cheaply built, and it is top heavy as the bottom if very lightweight but the shredder mechanism on top is heavy and is prone to being accidentally knocked over. Whenever this happened, the top would often come loose and spill some of the shredded paper. We ended up shoving it into a corner for stability and this seems to have solved the problem of the top heavy design. Beyond that, it functions pretty well. It can shred about eight sheets at a time, although we tend to do no more than four. The device tends to jam if too much is fed in for shredding. The slit in which paper is fed for shredding is just wide enough to allow for paper feeding, but narrow enough to where fingers can't reach in, making this a much needed safety feature of the device. At the moment, I believe this is the most current and cheapest model Wal-Mart carries in paper shredders.

The bucket catches quite a lot of shredded paper, although frequent shreddings will require emptying at least once a month if one shreds all of their monthly bills and junk mail. Emptying is easy and hassle free, as is repositioning the shredding mechanism. I would recommend this unit to anyone who asked, although I'd suggest putting it in a corner. It is compact and easy to stow out of the way, and so would be welcome in small offices cramped for space as well.