Fellowes P400C-2 Shredder

Pros: Confetti cross cut shreds so thiefs will have to work at stealing your information.
Cons: None if you know what it's rated to handle.

By now I think I've bought/used just about every shredder Fellowes makes. My personal favorite, and ...

Pros: Does a great job of shredding.
Cons: Can't see when the basket is full.

Upon the abrupt demise of my Royal cross-cut paper shredder, I had to obtain a replacement. I was looking for a $20 shredder, but finally settled on a $40 Fellowes, model P400C-2.

After opening the box, I discovered that there was a...

Pros: not too expensive; destroys Capital One ads and whiny appeals for money
Cons: drowns out punk rock groups; doesn't fit together right

What do Mother Jones magazine, Bird Talk magazine, Utne Reader magazine and PC Magazine all have in common?

a) I get them all, and b) they all cause reams upon reams of crap to be mailed to me....

Pros: Sleek in Black, High Security Confetti Cut
Cons: Best Fed One Sheet at a Time! Very Noisy!

While the Auto Start feature on this model seems great, BEWARE is you have a cat! One day, Gith, my longhaired cat, perched herself on top of the shredder! How awful if it would have started shedding! For that reason, I NEVER LEAVE THE SWITCH IN AN...

Pros: It's a shredder
Cons: Bad design bad design bad design; does not do what it promises, which ain't much

I'm deeply disappointed with this shredder, even though I still have it. I make it work for me as much as it can. The minute it croaks, however, I'll be looking for a different kind of shredder.

It says it's a personal shredder. Light duty....

Pros: small, lightweight
Cons: not meant for business

My husband and I never used to be overly concerned about someone going through our trash in search of personal information until the recycling program took effect in my community.
I used to be content in ripping up my documents and mixing them all...

Pros: The auto shred feature is nice
Cons: Too many to list in this little line!

Where to begin? Like so many others, I was concerned about identity theft. All those evil credit card offers and catalogues, etc. After discussing it with others, I decided that I wanted to purchase a confetti cut shredder, and spend less than $50. I...

Pros: Inexpensive, cross-cut, self-contained unit. Keeps confetti under control.
Cons: Loud, cannot handle 5 pages, jamming issues, smelled hot, and it died.

The Old Shredder Broke My old shredder broke, probably from overuse in the home office. It ...

Pros: keeps your stuff private, works wonderfully
Cons: none

I have been a victim. I went to balance my checkbook one evening and found charges through our check card for $3400.00 worth of flowers. Now that is a heck of a lot of flowers. My first reaction was to freak out. Then calling husband to make sure he did...

Pros: Very handy and easy to use
Cons: haven't found any

A few months ago, I entered a raffle on a game
site, and won a Fellowes confetti cut personal paper
shredder as my prize. I didn't think I'd have much
use for it..after all, there is just my son and myself
in our home.

...

Pros: Efficient shredding, quality workmanship
Cons: Not many, but requires careful operation to avoid jams or damaging machine

I've had my P400C paper shredder for about four months now, and I am so glad I bought it. It shreds the paper very efficiently, and the 'confetti' shred cut was what sold me. This shredder cuts the paper both horizontally and vertically, to make any...

Pros: Quite inexpensive
Cons: Not my idea of 'confetti,' only for very light useage, VERY loud in operation!

I used to spend from 20-40 minutes a week with a paper cutter 'confetti-ing' junk mail and documents I don't wish to share with the world. Had been looking around for a 'confetti-cut' shredder, but they had been more than I had wanted to spend. Found ...

Pros: Cheap
Cons: Didn't work for too long

Like everyone else I am inundated with junk mail and need some secure way to get rid of it so I bought this shredder on sale at a chain office supply store.

I brought it home, read the instructions, turned it on and started feeding it. It...

Pros: Large Bin Capacity for Paper Once Shredded
Cons: Loud and Easily Jammed

I work for a Law Office in a rural setting where you set your garbage out at the corner. Due to this way of garbage removal we choose to buy a paper shredder from Quill Corp. We choose this particular paper shredder because it was a name brand...

Pros: smooth cut, effecient, solid cutting rollers.
Cons: Struggles 3+ sheets, gears are plastic, small shred repository

The warranty on the shredder says "1 year parts and labor, 3 years on cutting rollers". Now I see why. Recently mine was slipping and upon opening it up, I found that the driving gears are made of plastic. Because of a 3 sheet workload, the slippage...

Pros: Every few years you'll find yourself with a brand new paper shredder!
Cons: It's poorly built and has less longevity then your computer.

If you want a paper shredder that is dependable and will work for a long period of time, this isn't the unit for you.

My Fellowes P400C-2 died after less then two years of service. I used it once a week for maybe 8-10 pages. I kept it lubricated and emptied it frequently.

If you're the person who likes going out every two years to buy a paper shredder, then i strongly recommend this item. Without a doubt it will break every two years forcing you to buy a new one.

I took it apart and tried to repair it. I was horrified that a paper-clip type spring was the reason it broke. The inside workings of the motor were jammed with paper, and the triggering on/off switch was so flimsy it snapped.

They could not have designed a less dependable paper shredder. I'm extremely angry that i have to waste perfectly good resources, and my time to go out and buy another shredder. These sort of things shouldn't be rocket science. I mean it's not like there's a lot of technology here.

Pros: The box says, "(It's) The world's toughest shredder"
Cons: Jams up with 2 sheets of paper. Craps out after 5 minutes.

It STRUGGLES with ONE SHEET OF PAPER for god sake! Also, buried in the instruction manual is that it can ONLY WORK FOR 5 MINUTES before it needs a rest, POOR BABY!! It's like you are rooting it on, "Come on 'lil fellow, you can do it!" But it can't. I don't know if the model I got was defective or if this brand is just junk. My opinion (or epinion) is STAY AWAY!

Pros: Sort of worked for some months
Cons: 2 sheets strains motor, hard to handle heavy top unit when emptying, frequent jams

Read the reviews where the shredder would take only 1-2 sheets of paper max. I always fed sheets one at a time and the gears would still jam. I have limped along for the better part of the year and it now must be coaxed to complete any shredding job. It takes several minutes to feed one-two pages--stops then starts. Just as I am ready to throw it out, it will eat one more page. I have very light home use and have never fed more than two sheets at a time since the motor would grind and strain. Two sheets slowed the process significantly. Am shopping for a good shredder--not Fellowes.

Pros: Better than some of the competitors' similarly priced products. Low cost replacement when it dies.
Cons: Frequent paper jams, built-in obsolescence (plastic gears), noisy, can't see when basket is full.

After mine died, I read some of the reviews here, and I note that several people refer to "confetti" or "cross-cut". Mine is the same model exactly (P400C-2), but it shreds in strips only - definitely not confetti! Mine was purchased in December 2003, so it died 6 months out of warranty. The cause of death is a broken cog on one of the main drive gear wheels, which are all made of plastic. The machine frequently jammed during its short life, mainly because the basket filled up and shredded paper got pulled back into the shredding wheels, placing extra strain on the drive mechanism.

I called Fellowes to inquire about warranty or replacement parts, and a nice lady informed me that from my serial number, the unit was manufactured in November 2003, and the warranty was one year only. Replacement parts were not available, but I could have a complete new shredder for only $15.00 plus $7.00 shipping & handling. So I ordered a new one.

Pros: None
Cons: Can't handle what it promised and might as well not work at all.

The best thing that could happen to this shredder is that it would shred itself.

I bought this after researching on a respected Consumer magazine. This shredder will not handle multiple sheets simultaneously or for that matter one after another. It has a difficult time shredding single receipts. It stops it the middle of a single shred and I have to reverse it multiple times to help it through. It is noisy, slow and troublesome. Don't waste your time or money on this one. I am looking for a new shredder that will do the job.

Pros: Low price. Major brand name. Cross cut confetti.
Cons: Extremely limited functionality. "Pushing the envelope" (no pun intended) results in paper jams.

I have owned this shredder for over a year now and feel qualified to write this review. It was on the lower end of the cost scale and I initially thought that I would be shredding bank statements and sensitive information like that.
As it turns out, as identity theft has become a mainstream issue, I have begun to shred anything with my name and address on it. Although rated for 4 sheets of paper, this machine can only shred 3 sheets reliably.
As others have noted, there is no indication when the waste-basket is full and changing it causes a dreaded mess.
I'd like to just push the whole envelope through when I receive pre-approved credit card applications but this shredder requires that I open the envelope and put a couple of sheets through at a time.
If I had to do it all over again, I'd spend a little more money on a more powerful machine.
Don't even dream of trying to push a credit card or data CD through this one.

Pros: Small, inexpensive, cross-cut, light duty.
Cons: Max feed is 2-3 sheets, not 5; slow; lasted 18 months; no repair possible.

This shredder worked fine once I realized I could feed only 2, sometimes 3, sheets at a time, not 5 as the specs claim. It's slow, but it does a good job of shredding. Emptying the bin is messy, as strips fall off the shredding head when it's lifted off the bin. Mine got loud/rough after 17 months and died with stripped plastic gears in the 18th month. I was always careful with my paper feeding, so I was surprised the gears self-destructed. There is no clutch or jam sensor that protects the gears. Warranty is 12 months. Neither Fellowes nor my retailer (Office Depot) would provide any relief. Fellowes will not sell parts, and a repair costs as much as a new shredder. I'll buy a replacement from a different manufacturer.

Pros: None
Cons: Cheap Unreliable

Pass this by. This is Junk.
Chokes on more than one sheet. It has a Limited life.
Won't do plastic coated addresses.
Reverse is weak.