I had a Droll Yankees feeder for 7 years and would still have it had a bear not checked it out last year and smacked it about. Even still it wasn't destroyed, these feeders are high quality, tough and worth the price. This feeder would get 5 stars from me, but so far the mechanism that throws the squirrel off the feeder if engaged actually falls out the bottom of the feeder instead and the birds cannot perch. We can't tell if it's faulty or if this is user error, but when I went to troubleshoot support with Amazon they provide a phone number for Black and Decker and a link to their website. When I called, they are not the correct contact for product support and knew right away that I'd gotten their number from Amazon. If you need assistance call Droll Yankees at 1-860-779-8980 or 1-800-352-9164. I'm confident my experience will be resolved, and based on prior experience with their products would highly recommend Droll feeders.

Cheap entertainment for parents and kids. We love ours. Have had it for years and it's still working. Just bought this recent one as a gift for our grown kids and their children. And not to worry: The squirrels don't get hurt. They spin a little bit and then fall off and skedaddle away. By the way, the spinner is not raccoon proof. We found one on the spinner early one morning around 5, stealthily munching away. To see one of these cool spinners in operation, be sure to check out the many videos on YouTube.

Backhanded compliment: It works so well that you may not see squirrel spin off it. If you want to see squirrels flung out by centripetal force you need to watch to many you tube videos. The splt second it takes to fling off the squirrel punctuates hours of bird feeeding happily. If you hoped to be entertained by the schaedenfreude of flung squirrels, you may be disappointed because it is unlikely you will see them. Perhaps they learn and don't return or perhaps the flinging is so quick I miss it. If you turn away for a moment, suddenly all you see is a swinging feeder and a bewildered squirrel on the ground. In addition to the spinning ring, the design (large diameter and long smooth sides) deters squirrel who can dangle by hind legs and feed form lesser feeders. Finally, it seems very solidly constructed and durable. As a lapsed catholic I feel slightly guilty for being so disappointed about the lack of visible suffering by the squirrels implicitly promised (but not guaranteed) by this feeder.

I would have given this item a 5 star + review for being absolutely squirrel-proof -no entertainment here, they give up instantly. Saved a ton of $ on birdseed.
However, the power stick is another story:
The first charge lasted 8 months. Wow!
The second charge lasted 6.5 months. Great!
The THIRD charge lasted 2weeks. Huh?
The FOURTH charge lasted a week. ???
The electronics warrantee of course is only a year. All that savings? Will be eaten up pretty soon by a new battery, which is minimally $40.

I was hesitant to spend such a large amount on a bird feeder! I am so glad I did! This feeder is VERY large! But it's actually part of the reason why it's squirrel proof. This feeder is quite entertaining in two ways. Number 1: the squirrels try and try to get to the port holes by climbing on top of it and hanging downward by clenching the top with their back feet but their bodies are just not long enough to reach the food. Then they try to slide down the tube face first and they just hit the ground. I've yet to see the spinner in action unfortunately. ( wish I had a squirrel surveillance camera) And then there's the next enjoyable reason why the feeder was a great investment : there are more bird varieties that come to feed on it. I use black sunflower seed in it. It holds about 5 pounds! The birds that have come here in Iowa as of the first week of April is redhead finches, as well as some other varieties, sparrows, cardinals, blue jay, chickadee, small woodpeckers, and some other small birds I've yet to identify. Point is that there has certainly been an increase in varieties of birds! I am a bird lover and it brings me such enjoyment to watch them and hear them sing! So it's very worth the money for this feeder! No harm to squirrels either! I do like squirrels just don't want to feed them my bird food! Plus they used to hog the old type feeders and deter the birds!