Amazon Basics 8-Sheet Cross Cut Paper Shredder and Credit Card Shredder – Black by Amazon Basics

This shredder is a bit louder than I expected, but it works perfectly. It handles multiple sheets at once without jamming and shreds fast. The compact size and clean white look are a bonus. If noise isn’t a big deal to you, it’s a solid choice.

I picked up the Amazon Basics 8-Sheet Cross-Cut Paper Shredder for about $30, and it worked perfectly straight out of the box—no jams, no fuss, just smooth shredding. It shreds up to 8 sheets of 20-lb bond paper at once, plus credit cards, staples, and small paper clips with zero hiccups. Everything I needed for my home office security came without extra setup or unexpected limitations.

Key Highlights

8-sheet cross-cut capacity meets P-4 security standards

Dedicated slot for shredding one credit card at a time

3.7-gallon pull-out bin with clear window for easy fill-level monitoring

3-minute continuous run time with auto shut-off and a 30-minute cool-down to protect the motor

Compact footprint fits neatly under or beside a desk

Performance and Ease of Use

Simple 4-mode switch (auto/on, off, reverse, forward) starts shredding as soon as paper enters the slot

Rare jams clear instantly in reverse—no need to dismantle anything

Comfortable carry handle on the shredder head makes emptying the bin a breeze

Pro Tips

Never exceed 8 sheets at once to avoid triggering the overload indicator and forcing a long cool-down.

Engage reverse mode at the first sign of a jam before lifting off the head.

Place on a stable, hard surface to minimize noise and vibration.

Empty the bin when it’s half full to maintain peak shredding speed and airflow.

This works perfect! I have had a collection of credit cards that have been expired for years but just never tossed… my husband gladly shredded them all for me with ease! I have only had one jam and that was what I believe to be user error because my husband had put too many papers in at once. I feel like this was a quality shredder and will hold up well for years to come! The top part is a little heavy but if you hold it by the handle when you remove it from the bottom it’s really not an issue. I do find the noise level to be a little louder than I would like but I usually just lay the things I need shredded on top and wait for everyone to be awake to use it! My kids enjoy seeing what is new to shred LOL. I will say now that i’ve caught up the things I had accumulated to shred I don’t usually do more than 1 or 2 pages at once, but when I first got it I did do probably 4 or 5 pages at once. I know the capacity is pretty good because it never jammed on me when I did that! I would recommend this to anyone thinking about getting a shredder and composting it after! My garden has really enjoyed them!

This machine is paper-shredding heaven for me. Three small shredders have already died on me, followed by a much better quality one which lasted a few years which recently went up in smoke – scary. The space in the basement storeroom needs to be cleared – so there are boxes, sacks, and years and years of paper stuff to shred. I checked out the shredder reviews and which machine did what, how many sheets of paper in a pass, for how long, and resting time – And finally I decided on this AmazonBasics15-Sheet Cross-Cut as ticking the boxes I needed ticked, at a price I would consider. Well, this model arrived a week ago and is turning out to be a fabulous work horse, steadily and reliably chomping through piles high of old records, an unbelievable amount of paper. I have boxes more to bring up from downstairs and feel confident that this machine will carry on doing the job. The chomping section feels sturdy, the bin isn’t the entirely best designed and a bit on the flimsy side – but it holds a pretty whopping amount and once I’d worked out the best way of emptying it into a big see-through plastic sack, it became all very simple. I’d be surprised if it turned out there was a problem with it. Oh, the machine chomped happily through old bank cards, old office card folders, wadges of reports, all the kind of thing I need it for. And lastly, given that it’s been having to work hard, it is the quietest of all the machines I’ve ever had.

This is an honest review of the Amazon Basics 8-Sheet Cross-Cut Paper Shredder that I have been using for about 9 months now. It replaced an older Amazon Basics 6-Sheet Paper Shredder.

Pros: I really like this paper shredder as Amazon has made numerous updates from the previous design that really make this model stand out. Cross-cutting the paper is far better than a straight cut when cutting up sensitive information. This unit is an 8-sheet and has plenty of power, though I rarely do more than 2 or 3 sheets at a time. The size of the can is a standard size that easily accommodates most personal shredding. It chops paper and credit cards with ease. I also like how they added a handle, making it easy to dump, along with a window so you know when it is full. I haven’t had any issues with mine overheating or stopping. In terms of the internal parts, the shredder has had no issues.

Opportunities: None. It appears Amazon has listened to its customers and improved significantly on prior designs.

Overall: This is an excellent paper shredder for home use.