My old tape dispenser has black tape around its base to keep sand from leaking out all over the desk. So a Christmas gift to myself: I purchased a new tape dispenser. It arrived at our business the next morning. I unpacked it from the box... When I went to open up the box I was dismayed to see grains of sand! So it appears that the new tape dispenser is in no better condition than the one I wanted to replace. I don't go to town often but when I am next by Staples I will be asking to exchange this dispenser for one I can look at and ascertain is not leaking ballast at the store.
I previously bought a Staples Desktop Tape Dispenser and have used it for years. I recently bought another one and was impressed with the improvements made to the design. In order to load the tape into the old one I had to pull up on the spool carriage and slide the tape on and then push it down until it reseated and although that design was okay there were times when I was in a hurry to get a piece of tape and when I pulled on the tape the spool carriage came up as well. The new design has the spool carriage slide out from the side of the tape dispenser which means that no matter how hard I pull up when getting a piece of tape the dispenser spool will stay put.
Not much more to say. Solid with a simple design. Don't think the piece which holds tape roll will break easily - the reason the last tape dispenser needed replacing.