I have seen the junk they have at OfficeMax, and it's just not adequate. I'm looking for something that is heavy-duty enough that I can shred at least 10 sheets at a time, and won't break or burn out for a very long time. It would be nice if it was quiet-ish, but I'm flexible on this point.
There are also professional shredding services that might give you a one-off deal which will be less than an industrial shredder.
>if you're like me, ask them to shred it right then and there
I will agree that there are times you really need a volume shredder. If I keep up on it, it's not so bad, but if you have half a box full, it's so daunting. I usually just bring it to my office and dump it in the secure trash at that point.
Maybe I was over-thinking it with 10 sheets. My desire is to shred junk mail without the indignity of having to open even the fattest faux-hand-addressed envelopes.
My strategy for this is to keep a bucket of that crap and shred every 6 months or so at a pro location. I've considered pulping the docs myself (mostly out of curiosity in the process), but from what I can tell, pragmatically it's more work than it is worth.
Handles 10 sheets in the normal shredder, or spam mail with CDs inside the envelope for the heavy duty shredder. I can throw my junk mail without opening them in the heavy duty shredder entry without worrying about those plastic fake credit cards advertisers sometimes send.
Here's a similar model: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16846101...