In my experience (I've only bought ones under $50, so maybe the 100+ ones are better) any heavily used paper shredder isn't going to last more than a year or two (I only use it for shredding bills, credit card statements, etc). I've bought three, all different brands, and they've all had their problems. Currently have an Ativa that's been the best yet, but now it has some badly bent blades that mean you don't get good shredding in the center of paper. But as I said, it was the best yet.