I purchased one of these in 1999; similar, but a different model number, the Conair GMT170 1.5V. That's 9 years that puppy lasted, until a small plastic part wore out in the drive. This newer model, the Conair GMT175W has replaced that particular part with brass. On the up side...my old Conair had a 1.5V DC motor with 3 AA batteries in parallel which made for a strong cut. On the down side...the new model has a 3V DC motor with 2 AA batteries in series...which cuts a little sluggish...but for the price, I'll tough that out.
When I bought the trimmer (11-18-2008) it was $9.96 with a 97¢ shipping charge. I jumped on that like a bum on a boloney sandwich. Arrived, UPS, in 4 days. Tried it out, works like it supposed to. I'm a happy camper. Matter of fact, I'm 66, and I'm goin' back in to buy one more of these. If they both last another 18 years...we oughta both wear out about the same time. How organized is that, huh?
FWIW