Fellowes DS-1 Shredder

Pros: Safe sense sensor, works, attractive.
Cons: motor is a little noisy.

About a month ago, my husband was going to Office Max, and so I said- “get a paper shredder.” The one we had was just a simple strip cut Mainstays brand shredder, and I think I was on the verge of killing it. So, he came back with Fellowes ...

Pros: The Safe Sense feature and everything else.
Cons: A slightly short cord.

We recently upgraded to the Fellowes DS-1 Shredder after I moved in with my fiancee. He is one who never throws things out. And I throw everything out, and that made him nervous. So now he shreds all the junk mail and anything else we don’t ...

Pros: Safety, Security, Ease of Use and Quality of Destruction.
Cons: Slightly loud motor

The Fellows DS-1, when compared to other shredders I have had over the years comes out on top. There are many shredders on the market that are two-piece units. Two piece units are basically a shredder head that sits on the container in which the ...

Pros: Works like they all should, it just does it's job.
Cons: Have not found any as of yet.

We had a Royal shredder (you can lookup my review on that shredder here) that even thou it was still working, was just to big a pain to use. It jammed, it collected paper in the cutters and it was difficult to empty. Both my wife and I were tired of ...

Pros: Easy to use and functions very well. Attractive styling. SafeSense technology
Cons: Have not found any so far.

I have wanted to purchase a shredder for the longest time having been a victim of identity theft the past two years. I finally purchased the Fellowes DS-1 after doing some research online and have been very happy with the shredder so far. I purchased ...

Pros: Ease of use to start with.
Cons: Had a very short life.

I received this shredder on a Monday. It worked nicely, if not a bit noisily. I had one jam, but was able to get it cleared after working with it a while. On Friday, it wouldn't work. The green "go" light was lighted, it was turned on, but the motor ...

Pros: Easy set up
Cons: None so far

Great deal, works great. Sam's closing them out.
Almost bought at office max on sale for $70 and stumbled across this one at Sam's. Great deal for the money.

Pros: Cuts fantastically. Doesn't malfunction. Loves me for who I am.
Cons: It just won't stop working perfectly!!!

My experience using this confetti shredder has been a dream! The shredder I was issued at work would malfunction all the time. This shredder cuts my documents beautifully, and it would take a congregation of people to carefully piece it back to it's perfect state. Since my last shredder not only ceased to cut my paper, it would do it tauntingly. So I spent most my work time creatively finding ways that might make it work better. After many failed attempts, I went searching. The Fellowes DS-1 Shredder was the first I beheld. It cuts my paper so so nicely. It turns my SSN into a Da Vinci code, but not even Robert Langdon could figure it out. Anyways, when it gets full, all you have to do is throw the cut paper into a blender, dump some paint in it, and you get colorful confetti for your child's next birthday party!!!

Pros: Good shredding power.
Cons: Fellowes Powershred DS-1 shredder not reliable beyond 1 year base warranty.

I have used the Fellowes Powershred DS-1 shredder at home for 16 months. It has never shown the red overheating light. No problems with paper jams. Now, suddenly it will no longer run in the forward shredding direction. Still runs fine in reverse. Forward indicator green light and yellow if touch center feed area light still work. Little white plastic feed switch moves freely. Fellowes phone rep diagnosed as circuit board failure. Because the problem is not with the blades, which have 5 year warranty, they can't do anything. Not happy that $90 home use machine failed this quick.

Pros: Works for a short period of time
Cons: Failed shortly after warranty expired

Have used this unit for 18 months. 18 months of blissful shredding, filling the paper box, useful security feature with a magnetic gizmo that recognizes if anything but paper is present and auto shuts-off. While cleaning out our office and shredding a bit, the machine stopped working. Not overloaded; I was shredding 2-6 sheets at a time, well within the unit's capabilities. It simply refused to shred anymore. No movement of the gears in the forward direction whatsoever. Runs fine in reverse. Over the phone the fellowes phone reps diagnosed the problem as gear stripping or gear failure of some sort. Because the problem is not with the blades, which are warrantied for 5 years, they refused to do anything about it. I find it extremely convenient the unit will work flawlessly for 18 months then completely break down; the company must have known this to give a mere 12 month warranty on anything but the cutting blades. I am a home user and use this machine once every 1 to 2 weeks. It has never overheated.

Pros: worked properly for a limited time
Cons: Reliability; stopped working after ~18 months

Purchased unit about 18 months ago. Used the unit now-and-then, always followed the user guidelines: never overloaded or let unit overheat. Rarely shredded credit cards or paper clips.
Everything worked fine for about 18 months. Shredder simply stopped working one day. No movement in forward direction. Only reverse mode was working. Sensor works fine.
Talked to a Fellows service rep and was told that this problem is typical for this shredder. It's probably the gears or the sensor is malfunctioning. Rep told me there's nothing he can do. There are no parts available and since the shredder is no longer under warranty the costs would not justify a repair anyway.
I have read that some users have had similar experiences. Although I liked the features and design of this shredder I cannot recommend it since it's not reliable.

Pros: Jams are easy to clear.
Operation is smooth. 
Never overheated.
Cons: Control board prone to failure.
Reverse required often to clear paper stuck in shredder teeth.

We bought the first shredder from Best Buy and it worked great for about 11 months.  Just before the 1 year warranty expired it experienced a failure.  The machine stopped running in the forward direction but reverse worked fine.  We called Fellowes and they replaced the shredder with a 2nd unit (no warranty on the new one).  Now 7-8 months later the exact same problem has occurred.  The unit never indicated that it overheated and the day it failed I only shredded 2 pages. The shredders were used for home use primarily shredding junk mail 2 to 3 times a week.  Internet research has revealed that the control circuit boards on this shredder are prone to failure and to repair them is more expensive than a new shredder.  I have to rate this shredder low because I expect a $100+ shredder to last at least a few years if properly used.

Pros: Very safe and easy to use. The visible waste basket is convenient.
Cons: 1st one quit working under light duty at home.

I bought this DS-1 at Office Max, and within 9 days of easy home use, it quit for no apparent reason. I like the safety touch feature that allows the machine to quit if touched with the human hand. Office Max personnel were more than happy to help and replaced it immediately and with a smile. Maybe I got a lemon, or maybe this machine is weak.