Piers Parkin wrote:
[...]
like most people I am cash
rich but time poor. Why people waste money on cheap junk always
fascinates me!
[...]

Maybe because "most people" are actually poor in both time and cash!
Having been time-rich and cash-poor for quite a chunk of my life (and
actually rather enjoyed it, on balance) I believe wholeheartedly that
the best is usually the cheapest; but do understand that sometimes a
hundred quid in a lump is as big a treat as a spare thousand may be
for you.

My prescription for that situation, of course, is "Don't buy a damned
shredder at all!" But in a market where a good electric drill you
only use four times a year makes more financial sense than a very
good one designed for daily use at three times the price, it's hard
to criticise anybody who assumes the cheaper shredder will probably
be OK for his simple needs -- it'll probably be a mistake, but I
don't blame him.

Mike.