If you have been in the market for a paper shredder, you know that they come in all different shapes, sizes, colors and prices. Recently, I bought a more expensive paper shredder due to the volume of documents I was shredding. My new shredder is a security level 3 and is all black with steel casing. This shredder is certainly an upgrade from the cheap paper shredder I had. Despite this shredder being more expensive and a tougher, the cheap shredder I had certainly got the job done. The thing is, I bought a few cheap shredders before buying the last one that I had before this more expensive shredder. It was two shredders ago that I learned what is important to maintain a cheap paper shredder.
The first thing you need to consider when buying a paper shredder is capacity. My first few paper shredders broke down pretty quickly because I was lazy. I always wanted to stuff 50 sheets of paper into a low price paper shredder. That is not going to work out too well with any shredder unless it is an industrial shredder. The capacity of a paper shredder is really no more than 5 sheets of paper at a time, especially cheap paper shredders.
The next thing you need to look at is how often you want to clear the contents of the shredder. I used to just let my shredder fill up to the top and that was a recipe for disaster. My shredder was always jammed or broken. You need to clear out the shredder often and do not let it fill up to the brim.
Finally, you might have to oil the shredder. Even shredders need a little grease to stay functional. I learned this the hard way, but it is important.
I know these things are basic, but after 3 cheap shredders, I finally learned my lesson. The best thing you can do is to take care of your cheap paper shredder or you can go all out and spend a couple of hundred dollars to get an expensive shredder.