Customer reviews from fellowes.com
Fellowes - AutoMax 100MA 100-Sheet Micro-Cut Shredder (4704001) - Black
Average customer rating
4.9
(23 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 23 reviews
5 Stars
21
4 Stars
2
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Star
0
100%of customers recommend this product.
(
23 out of
23)
Customer Reviews for Fellowes - AutoMax 100MA 100-Sheet Micro-Cut Shredder (4704001) - Black
Customer Rating
4
My Experience With The Fellowes 100MA Shredder
on April 28, 2023
Posted by: dsos
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] A little on the noisy side but certainly not objectionable. I have 2 other Fellowes brand shredders that still work. The oldest shredder is a model MS-450C. It is my favorite shredder, but it finally got to the point where the automatic feed mechanism no longer works and apparently is no longer supported. The MS-450C has an even finer cut and is quieter than any shredder I have ever owned. My other Fellowes shredder is a Fellowes model 62MC, I purchased it to replace the MS-450C shredder. It continues to work just fine but it lacks one feature that the newer 100MA does have and that is the ability to insert up to 100 sheets of paper in the document feeder to be shredded. I never really knew how handy that could be until I used the feature on the Fellowes 100MA shredder.
At the time of this writing the Fellowes 62MC and the Fellowes 100MA are priced about the same. Both work great for what I use them for (home mostly) and their features are comparable, but the 100MA with its document feeder is easily my preferred choice. Also, on the maintenance side, should the need arise to clean the infrared paper sensors Fellowes has made it very easy to access these sensors and clean them. I had to perform this action on my older MS-450C shredder and on that shredder, you really can't see those sensors, so you are basically trying to clean something with a Q-Tip that is hidden from view.
Some reviews have shown a concern for the model to be "flimsy", well it is a bit on the flimsy side. You will most likely notice this during the very short assembly of the shredder. This seems to be a trend among many consumer products so it isn't surprising to see it here. Having said that, once assembled the shredder is certainly substantial enough to perform its designed duty. Nothing about the 100MA shredder is what I would call a showstopper. If you need a good shredder for home or SOHO shredding I would highly recommend this model. Below are a couple of notes for those that are interested in the shredders speed.
Shredding 1 standard size sheet of paper took about 5 seconds using manual feed.
Shredding 10 standard size sheets of paper took about 33 seconds using the feeder.
The microcut paper cutter should be more than adequate for the intended use. Also, it is noted in the manual that proper oiling will extend the life of the cutters and I can most definitely vouch for that statement.
The manual that comes with the shredder is like most manuals that come with today's consumer products. I would suggest downloading the manual from the Fellowes website, it will be much easier to read through. The link for this shredder is shown below
https://assets.fellowes.com/manuals/Automax_100MA_412554_REVB_3L_072822_SinglePages.pdf
After a short evaluation period I would not hesitate to recommend the 100MA shredder to anyone. With a designed daily usage of 600 sheets, I would think it would be more than adequate for home or SOHO use.
Note: I received this product free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review
At the time of this writing the Fellowes 62MC and the Fellowes 100MA are priced about the same. Both work great for what I use them for (home mostly) and their features are comparable, but the 100MA with its document feeder is easily my preferred choice. Also, on the maintenance side, should the need arise to clean the infrared paper sensors Fellowes has made it very easy to access these sensors and clean them. I had to perform this action on my older MS-450C shredder and on that shredder, you really can't see those sensors, so you are basically trying to clean something with a Q-Tip that is hidden from view.
Some reviews have shown a concern for the model to be "flimsy", well it is a bit on the flimsy side. You will most likely notice this during the very short assembly of the shredder. This seems to be a trend among many consumer products so it isn't surprising to see it here. Having said that, once assembled the shredder is certainly substantial enough to perform its designed duty. Nothing about the 100MA shredder is what I would call a showstopper. If you need a good shredder for home or SOHO shredding I would highly recommend this model. Below are a couple of notes for those that are interested in the shredders speed.
Shredding 1 standard size sheet of paper took about 5 seconds using manual feed.
Shredding 10 standard size sheets of paper took about 33 seconds using the feeder.
The microcut paper cutter should be more than adequate for the intended use. Also, it is noted in the manual that proper oiling will extend the life of the cutters and I can most definitely vouch for that statement.
The manual that comes with the shredder is like most manuals that come with today's consumer products. I would suggest downloading the manual from the Fellowes website, it will be much easier to read through. The link for this shredder is shown below
https://assets.fellowes.com/manuals/Automax_100MA_412554_REVB_3L_072822_SinglePages.pdf
After a short evaluation period I would not hesitate to recommend the 100MA shredder to anyone. With a designed daily usage of 600 sheets, I would think it would be more than adequate for home or SOHO use.
Note: I received this product free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review
Pros: Jam Resistance, Mess Reduction, Quality Construction, Safety Features, Secure Cut Size, Sheet Capacity, Warranty
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from fellowes.comBy CM, CS, May 2, 2023
We appreciate the thorough feedback, dsos!
Written by a customer while visiting fellowes.com
Customer Rating
5
Good SOHO shredder
on April 23, 2023
Posted by: ruhroh
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] As much as I'd like to recycle all of my paper, that's not a good security strategy, so we shred - a lot. The Automax 100MA is a good shredder for a home office and gets a good recommendation. If you need to shred reams of paper each day, CDs/DVDs, or large paper clips, spend more and get a heavy duty shredder that's built for that kind of activity, but if your needs are moderate, this is a good buy. The operation is smooth (I have yet to jam it up) and the noise level is reasonable, although like any shredder, placing it on carpet will soften the noise. The built-in autofeed should be a plus, because it eliminates the need to stand over the shredder and manually feed it. It functions pretty smoothly, but the paper should be un-wrinkled and "squared up". The autofeed pulls one page at a time into the blades, so paper that is stapled or not "squared up" is a little awkward. One nice feature is that while the autofeed is running, you can also feed sheets manually into the shredder slot. Like most modern shredders it has a built-in safety interlock to prevent overheating. The specs say 5 minutes on manual or 7 minutes on autofeed, but the shredder didn't hang at all for me. Emptying the bin is straightforward, although the guides that re-position the bin as you slide it back in could be a little more solid. It's workable, but a little jiggling helped. I received this product free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Pros: Jam Resistance, Mess Reduction, Safety Features, Secure Cut Size, Sheet Capacity, Warranty
Cons: Shreds Credit Cards, Staples and CDs
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from fellowes.comBy CM, CS, April 24, 2023
We appreciate and value your feedback, ruhroh!
Written by a customer while visiting fellowes.com
Customer Rating
5
An excellent shredder by any standard
on May 10, 2023
Posted by: RevDecker
AutoMax™ 100MA Micro-Cut Auto Feed Shredder
Immediately upon receiving my new shredder I opened the box and took it out. There was very little to do in order to set it up – remove from box, insert wheels in holes at the bottom and then place the shredder head unit on top of the base and insert the basket. I don’t think that it could have been much simpler. The first thing I noticed was that the base was a bit flimsy. I was worried that it wouldn’t stand up to supporting the shredder head unit as it is pretty heavy, however, having now used it for about 2 weeks I can say that I haven’t had any problems at all and even as I move it around the room on the wheels and have emptied it several times, there have been no issues with stability nor any feeling of wobbliness, it feels secure and sturdy.
The bin holds a good amount of shredded paper, I didn’t count how many pages it took to fill it up, but I did notice that I only had to empty it twice in 2 weeks of testing it out and that was a good amount of paper passing through. The rating of 10 pages at one time through the manual feed is a little generous, though in fairness I have found that every shredder I’ve used, with the only exception being an industrial one used in the Navy, has been able to handle their top-rated capacity but not without being bogged down fairly seriously. With 10 pages of standard copy paper it slowed down and you could hear the strain, but it did accomplish the shred. It handles staples and paperclips pretty easily and I didn’t notice any problems when those pages came up. Probably the best feature, in my opinion, is the auto-feed tray! It was a dream to be able to stack 100 sheets in the tray and hit the start button and not have to sit there and babysit the machine. It did indeed hold 100 sheets of standard paper, however, it was kind of tight to fit them all in. It pulled the pieces in one at a time and kept on shredding until it was done, or full. I wish they had thought of this years ago…or, perhaps that I had discovered it as a feature years ago. The shred size is good for getting rid of sensitive information without worrying about someone trying to “reconstruct” the documents. It uses a micro-cut instead of simply long shreds and is, therefore, more secure than the last few that I have used. Most individuals may not worry much either way, but especially for businesses I think it is a huge benefit. You can rest assured that your privacy is maintained and not going to fall into the wrong hands. Another benefit was the noise level. I do not have a decibel meter; however, this was by far one of the quietest shredders I have ever used. It was so quiet that when I started it and walked away, I forgot it was still working until I walked back into the room. Most of the shredders I have used are very loud and while that doesn’t typically matter too much, again if you are a business, it is nice to know that you can have it shredding and still be able to take a call without interfering with the conversation. At the end of the day, I believe for personal use this is probably more than what a typical consumer would need, however, if you are an atypical user or a business, then this is most certainly a great value and an excellent machine. In fairness I have to include this statement, “I received this product free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.” And it is most assuredly honest and unbiased.
Pros: Quiet Operation, Secure Cut Size, auto feed
Cons: Quality Construction
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from fellowes.comBy CM, CS, May 15, 2023
Thank you for the thorough review, RevDecker! We value your feedback and 5 stars!
Written by a customer while visiting fellowes.com
Customer Rating
5
Office Capable
on April 25, 2023
Posted by: krunchnik
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Shredder was packaged well and received from FedEx damage free-Owners manual was right on top upon opening-removed shredder and setup was pretty straight forward-We shredded approximately 500 pages of old documents which I divided-The automatic feed works great but will jam if different size sheets get intermingled-Automatic reverse also works great and sensed a jam and reversed automatically-Front feed slot also works as it should-The bin has a sensor that lets you know when full which is a help-All in all I would recommend for a small office-I received this product free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review-We ran it steady for about an hour and it performed well-
Pros: Quality Construction, Safety Features, Secure Cut Size, Sheet Capacity, Shreds Credit Cards, Staples and CDs
Cons: Quiet Operation, owners manual text rather small
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from fellowes.comBy CM, CS, April 25, 2023
Thank you for your feedback, krunchni!
Written by a customer while visiting fellowes.com
Customer Rating
5
AutoMax 100MA - shreds withs ease
on April 29, 2023
Posted by: Stromboli
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I’ve owned several shredders over the years and never found one that could hold up to my home and home/office needs. Many just couldn’t handle more than a couple sheets or they’d bog down and get jammed. Then there was the overheating issues that caused the shredder to turn off. It would then take a half hour to cool down before it would resume operation. With the AutoMax 100 it lasts a lot longer before needing a cool down and then would resume operation a few minutes later. Even after a lot of auto shredding I still have not had a single jam. Not sure if you’re supposed to but I often used both the auto shred and manual shredding at the same time with no issues. One nice feature I really appreciated was they’ve made it easy to oil it. This really facilitates keeping the shredder oiled and insuring it has a long life. The receptacle for the shredder is easy to remove and dump the shredded paper - something that was not so easy with some of the competition I’ve owned and have since passed on to their final resting place in the shredder graveyard. I received this product free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. I really like this shredder as it just works well and quickly. I would buy this shredder and did buy another one for my sister an accountant who works out of her house.
Pros: Jam Resistance, Mess Reduction, Quality Construction, Safety Features, Secure Cut Size, Service Guarantee, Sheet Capacity, Shreds Credit Cards, Staples and CDs, Warranty
Cons: a way to reduce shredding dust
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from fellowes.comBy CM, CS, May 2, 2023
Hi Stromboli! Thank you for taking the time to post about your experience! We value your feedback and recommendation!
Written by a customer while visiting fellowes.com
Customer Rating
5
Everyday workhorse
on May 10, 2023
Posted by: JohnW
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I've been using the shredder for a few weeks now, primarily to shred daily "snail mail" I don't need to keep. It works very well, though I've managed to jam it a couple times with too many sheets at a time or those mailers that contain a plastic insert, etc. After clearing the jam and choosing a smaller number of sheets, the shredder was able to handle the load without fuss. Definitely would recommend this shredder for this type of use. I received this product free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Pros: Mess Reduction, Secure Cut Size
Cons: Jam Resistance
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from fellowes.comBy CM, CS, May 15, 2023
Thank you for taking the time to post your review, JohnW! We value your feedback.
Written by a customer while visiting fellowes.com
Customer Rating
5
Easy to use
on May 12, 2023
Posted by: SrAdminAsst
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Shredder is very easy to use. I will recommend this shredder to my co-workers, family & friends. I was able to put my shredded documents in the feeder and watch each page shredded with no jams or issues. The shredded documents were evenly shredded. The shredder is a bit loud, otherwise it is a wonderful shredder. I received this product free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Pros: Jam Resistance, Mess Reduction, Quality Construction, Safety Features, Secure Cut Size, Sheet Capacity, Shreds Credit Cards, Staples and CDs
Cons: Quiet Operation
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from fellowes.comBy CM, CS, May 16, 2023
We appreciate the recommendation and feedback, SrAdminAsst!
Written by a customer while visiting fellowes.com
Customer Rating
5
Excellent upgrade from a Model 12C
on May 15, 2023
Posted by: Elsbeth
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] First, lets get the disclaimer out of the way: I received this product free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. With that said I do want to assure you that my review here is unbiased, especially after reading the negative reviews regarding this unit before I set it up. While this unit costs a bit more than other models both from Fellowes and others, it is worth the price. I dare say that the automatic sheet feeder alone is a solid reason to buy this model if you do a good amount of shredding of 8 1/2 x 11 pages. I had a ton of archived mail that I needed to shred, but I had been just letting it pile up because it took so long to do it all by hand manually with my trusty Fellowes Model 12C. This sheet feeder did it all for me in record time with no jamming. The automatic blinking of the shred button when the feeder is ready is a real time saver. This unit is also very quiet for what it is doing. Our other unit is pretty loud and you can't really talk while it is running. This one didn't get near half as loud and was shredding things faster and more securely to boot. The cross-cut shredding is great! The 12C just cuts things into slices but the tiny pieces this model produces are much more secure and give me piece of mind. This unit also runs cooler than my 12C and other small SOHO shredders I have used in the past so hopefully that means it will last longer too. The buttons have a nice feel to them and they don't feel cheap or flimsy. I would highly recommend this model to anyone looking for a quality shredder given all the features it has. If I had to find a con for the unit I guess it would be that the capacity of the sheet feeder is not huge, but I don't know that I would want to leave the unit alone shredding hundreds of pages at once anyway!
Pros: Jam Resistance, Mess Reduction, Quality Construction, Quiet Operation, Safety Features, Secure Cut Size, Service Guarantee, Shreds Credit Cards, Staples and CDs, Warranty
Cons: Sheet Capacity
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from fellowes.comBy CM, CS, May 16, 2023
Great review, Elsbeth! We really enjoyed reading your thorough and unbiased review and value your feedback!
Written by a customer while visiting fellowes.com