Fellowes Powershred 99Ci 18-Sheet 100% Jam-Proof Heavy Duty Crosscut Paper Shredder Machine for Office and Home, Black/Gray 3229912

Let me start by saying that I was very reluctant to spend so much money on a shredder, despite the fact that I clearly needed a decent shredder and despite my bad experience with a cheap, low-end shredder. I kept going back and forth, thinking that if I somehow just got "caught up" on my shredding, that once that happened then I would be fine with an inexpensive model for my weekly shredding needs. So why spend so much money on a shredder? It's not like I'm a business! Why would I NEED such a professional level shredder? But then I'd remember how annoying, time consuming, loud, and slow it is dealing with sub-$50 shredders. And, really, it's a huge difference, especially in time. Having to open everything, and feed in only two or three sheets at once--that takes some time! So I had this shredder on my wish/shopping list for something like a year before I finally pulled the trigger on it. And let me tell you, I am so glad that I did! This thing is AWESOME! I shredded about TWO full lawn and leaf bags worth of material over the course of a few weeks--hours worth of shredding--and this thing handled it all with ease. (Although, I will say that if you shred non-stop for long enough that you will trip the high-temperature interlock on the unit, which will then need to cool down for 15 minutes before shredding can resume. This happened to me only once, and only at the beginning when I was just hitting it non-stop with material. After that, when I was spending just a bit of time deciding what should, and what should not be shredded, it never tripped off on over temperature again) As others have said, this shredder is quiet and powerful, and will handle most credit card offers whole and unopened. The jam-proof sense system works exceptionally well, as does the system that senses when your fingers are too near the opening. In all my shredding so far I have only had one false activation of the jam sensor, and I just pushed and held the forward feed button to force it to chew up the paper anyway. Everything works, and it works well. And quietly. Very nice. And I am now into that once-only-dreamed-of state of having NO backlog of materials to be shredded. (And God, doesn't it feel good! The 79Ci really will set you free! LOL!) But even so, I still very much appreciate the 79Ci. Even just as a once-a-week use shredder, it's advantages still shine through and make a difference. Very happy I went ahead and purchased this shredder! As for oiling, yes there are no instructions in the manual for how to do so. Here is what I do, FWIW: first I make sure there's at least a covering of shredded paper in the bottom of the bin (to absorb any oil that drips through). Then, I push and hold the reverse-feed button while applying a drop of oil every inch or two into the paper-feed slot. When I get to the end of the slot, I stop, and switch to pushing the forward-feed button for 5 or 10 more seconds. Easy, simple. And you really can't do it too often. Paper and paper dust is hell on shredder blades so do NOT forget to oil your shredder or you will seriously decrease its working life. As for bags, they are ridiculous and more trouble than they are worth in my experience. Just let the paper fall directly into the bin, and be sure to empty the bin BEFORE the full light turns on (you can see the paper level through the plastic window in the front of the bin). I would just pull the bin and dump the shreds directly into a lawn and leaf bag then push it back in and be off and running again. Yes, you might get a few stray shreds here and there, but there's no avoiding that, I don't think. Bags just make it worse. And create a possible issue for people who don't have single-stream recycling. Anyway, there it is. Just wanted to share my experience and encourage others to divest themselves of the dead weight of unwanted, but propriety paper materials!

I have had the work horse of a shredder for 4 years now and I have never had 1 single problem. I don't think they make it anymore. I paid $200 for it and it has been an amazing piece of equipment. I got so tired of the cheaper machines that jammed and were basically unusable if you wanted to put 5 sheets in at a time. Think this machine can handle 15 sheets at a time. Excellent, fast, easy to empty. I also ordered a bottle of shredder oil and followed directions once a month to make sure it was oiled properly. Seriously, this might be the last shredder I ever use. A friend's mother died and I told her to bring me the paperwork and I'd shred it for her. So easy and it's kind of fun to just get it done with NO PROBLEMS, no jamming. If it gets hot, it stops and cools off. Noise level is fine. I highly recommend this shredder or the latest version. I wish I had paid $200 10 years ago because I wasted so much money and this shredder it so worth the price.

I'm happy with the way it runs. It's a lot quieter than my old shredder. It shreds a lot more papers with ease than my old. My old said 12 papers, but never liked more than 4 papers at a time. This seems to deal with a lot of pages as promised. I had lights to tell you warn you if you are trying to put to many in it. My late husband left me 20 years and paperwork. I've been shredding little by little. I let it cool off so it doesn't overheat. My only complaint is I'm not a strong person. I had a terrible time putting the wheels in it. I asked my neighbor and even he had some trouble. They should make it a little easier. I mean really? Plus wow the motor. I love that instead of getting light confetti that can be hard to pick up. These shredding are course and you can pick them up. If they are on the floor it isn't a big deal. I really appreciate that. I also appreciate the fact it shuts off if you don't use it. You have to turn it back on if you don't use it after so much time. That's great for saving electric! On con I had was trying to put the wheels on the lifting the motor. But it's set up now. One thing I don't care for is the bin seems cheap. My old bin I felt I could take it to the trash and tap it while it's full. I'm a little leary to do this. It feels cheaply made. I just lift the shreddings out by hand to solve the problem. The light let's you know if it isn't in all the way. It also lets you know if it is full. I really appreciate my new shredder.

So glad I purchased this. It is very quiet, efficient and never jams. Perfect to handle the thick loads I must thread.

Bought this shredder to replace a 10 year-old Staples heavy-duty unit in my home office. Selected the Fellows because of reviews found here and elsewhere on the ’Net. This Fellows shredder is As Advertised! Great value. Super quiet. Efficient. Safe; so safe, I no longer fear my necktie getting caught and dragging me to my demise.ツ Now, about that ONE complaint, with two suggestions. It centers around the plastic bag for the bin. [1] Save your money. Avoid buying the Fellows bags. Based on the sample bags sent with the shredder, the bags appear to be a bit tougher than most plastic bags, but at 21¢ per bag, there is a cost-effective alternative. For instance, we use ProForce Commercial 7-10 gal. Trash Bags (1000 ct.) that cost less that 3¢ per bag. That is a 18¢ savings per bag! [2] Keep the plastic bag from collapsing in the bin. I did try the Fellows sample bags that came with the unit, but the bags inevitably fell into the bin and were covered-up by the shredded paper; making a bit of a mess when it came time to remove the bag. And because Fellow bags are taller than the bin is deep, there is some product waste. However, if you use a medium-size binder clip (such as: ACCO Binder Clips, Medium, 12 Per Box (72050) ) and place them to grab the bag along the top edge of the bin, approximately 1½" from each end (please see my photos), the bag stays up, the shredded paper stays in the bag, and bag removal is clean and simple with no shreds on the shag! !! P L E A S E N O T E !! There is one trick to the Binder-Clip fix: When positioning the binder clips over the bag along top edge of the bin, be certain each clip is tilted inward to clear the side walls of the shredder when the bin is pushed back in. If you forget to do this, you will be reminded when the bin fails to go all the way in and the door-open status light atop the shredder glows red. Happy shredding!

I got this shredder on about July 9, 2025. Today is July 17, 2025. On about July 12, I estimate I shredded about 2,500 sheets of paper. Then today I just finished shredding about 4,500 sheets of paper. I calculate as follows: 1 ream (500 sheets) of 20-pound-weight standard 8.5 x 11-inch paper weighs 5 pounds (according to Google AI). One bin load of shredded paper weighs almost 5 pounds (about 4.8 pounds). By rounding up to 5 pounds, I figure one bin holds about 500 sheets of paper, in shredded form I spent about 5 hours today to shred 9 bins worth of paper. So, it took me about 5 hours to shred almost 4,500 sheets. Parenthetically, I believe a standard "Bankers Box" has capacity of 15 linear inches and is considered to hold, on average, about 3,000 sheets of paper. This shredder did not hiccough or balk a single time in my heavy use of it today.. And it did not overheat and have to cool down. The company says it can do 30 minutes of continuous shredding before the over-heating-and-required-cool-down period is triggered to occur. But it isn't really possible to make it run continuously for 30 minutes--you have to take time to tamp down the paper in the bin and then to empty the bin. And you have to pay a little attention to what you are shredding. And you have to chat with your cat occasionally. So, basically, the shredder gave me 5 hours of continuous service. The motor did get a little warm; definitely not hot. All of this is to say: I hesitated before shelling out almost $300, with tax. But it sure was a good decision. I've wasted money, sometimes, on some things. But getting this shredder was totally the best thing for me my needs. I am so happy with it. It is heavy (about 33 pounds, I think)--and I like that. I feel like it is real well-built and will go the distance. I can think of one suggestion for the company. Fellowes should sell compostable bin liner bags. I fill up a garbage bag with the shredded paper, in the bin, and then transfer the shredded paper from the garbage bag to a compostable bag. This works okay -- the bin holding 9 gallons and the compostable bag (the largest one I can find) holding 13 gallons. I would feel horrible if all this paper went to a landfill. So I'm taking pains to put the shredded paper with my paper recycling by transferring it from a garbage bag to a compostable bag. If Fellowes sold compostable bags, I would be instant customer for that.

This paper shredder is a HUGE upgrade from the one I had before! It holds a great deal and it has a drawer you can pull out and put bags in for the shredded paper instead of you having to take the lid off to empty the bin. It's so simple, all you have to do is take the bag out, throw it away, and change it! It's also a lot more quiet than a lot of other paper shredders. It's been great so far. Hopefully it continues to be great!

**UPDATE** I purchased this shredder originally on 9/6/12. Now, just over 10 years later, I can say this is the best purchase I have ever made of any piece of electronic equipment. For the amount of heavy shredding jobs I do, this has NEVER once stopped working or given me any problem. I have never had to oil it or anything. A relative was even able to get the wheels on eventually and so now, it CAN be wheeled whereas I was not able to do so originally. It is very rare that one purchases a piece of equipment that is this sturdy and reliable and so I am more than happy to sing the praises of this unit! I just got finished shredding more bags of papers and was wondering at how long I have had this and how it still works just as great as day 1. I decided to come on to Amazon to see just how long it has been since I purchased this and realize that it was almost 10 years ago to the day and am amazed. I decided to update my review to match all of the other stellar reviews. It's sad that the best purchase I have ever made is in the form of a shredder, but I will take victory where I find it. ******** I purposely waited a few months before reviewing because whenever I get a piece of electronic equipment, something always seems to go wrong. Something did go wrong upon receipt. The wheels do not go on (as others have stated). Which was not a huge deal for me because it sits in one area of my house. So while it would be convenient if ever I did need to wheel it somewhere, I could live with it. I was more concerned about its shredding power. I must say this is a great shredder! I had a lot (and I mean a lot) of old school work and financial documents to shred but did not want to spend hundreds of dollars on a heavy duty shredder. This shredder was a great find! It shreds well, turns off when your fingers are too close to the opening and has a very generous-sized bin. I have not had a jam yet. When the bin is full, it stops and the orange light comes on, but that's not a jam. I am not sure if other customers know the difference. Maybe they are right and got lemons, but mine has not jammed and I have shred bags upon bags of documents (a lot with staples) and I have not had a malfunction yet. So far, the "jam proof" seems to be right on the money. I am very happy with this purchase.

This is a big improvement on all the shredders we have had before. Just wish to bin was slightly bigger to hold more waste.

Den Aktenvernichter haben wir jetzt seit mehreren Jahren im Einsatz und er ist wirklich unverwüstlich. Wir werden wieder von dieser Marke kaufen!

Funciona adecuadamente.

Llego a tiempo y en perfectas condiciones. Fácil de poner llantas, cumple su función muy bien.

Sturdy, quiet and well built.