Casio DM-1200BM Review: Conditional Buy Verdict 8.3/10

Item: Casio DM-1200BM Business Desktop Calculator
Rating: 8.3
Author: User Feedback Aggregator

“Best calculator ever!” is how a Walmart reviewer summed it up—yet elsewhere, a buyer complains “about a third of the calculator buttons do not register unless pressed hard, slow, and in the right spot.” That tension captures the Casio DM-1200BM Business Desktop Calculator perfectly: a big-display, office-friendly machine that many people love for daily arithmetic, but a minority describe as unreliable in the exact moments accuracy and speed matter most. Verdict: Conditional buy, 8.3/10.

Quick Verdict

For many desks, yes—especially if you want a large 12-digit display and dedicated tax/cost-sell-margin keys. But if you’re sensitive to missed keystrokes or you depend on flawless percent behavior every time, user feedback suggests proceeding carefully.

Call	Evidence from users	What it means for you
Big display wins	BestViewsReviews user quote: “i like the new and improved extra large display of this calculator.”	Easier viewing for accounting, teaching, and low-glasses days
Large keys help speed	Walmart reviewer: “it has an extra large display, nice big buttons”	Faster entry for repetitive billing/finance work
Dual power is convenient	Amazon specs: “solar power with battery back up”	Keeps working in bright offices, with backup in dimmer spots
Some report input problems	BestViewsReviews quote: “i had trouble inputting numbers into the calculator multiple times.”	Potential re-entry and verification overhead
Percent accuracy concerns (serious)	Fakespot-surfaced quote: “calculating percentages is wrong!”	Red flag for anyone doing frequent percent math

Claims vs Reality

Casio’s official positioning (via Amazon and Casio listings) emphasizes a “extra large display,” “large keys for easy data entry,” and business functions like “tax calculation” and “cost / sell / margin.” Digging deeper into user reports, the “easy to read” and “comfortable to use” parts hold up strongly across platforms, but there are a few sharp-edged exceptions that show up repeatedly enough to matter.

Claim: “Large keys for easy data entry.”
A recurring pattern emerged: many people say the keys feel good and responsive, but a smaller set describes the opposite—missed or inconsistent registration. A Walmart reviewer, speaking as a power user, wrote: “the keys respond well to touch and i have not encountered a key not responding in all my use,” framing it as dependable for accounting work. On the other hand, a BestViewsReviews-compiled complaint is blunt: “about a third of the calculator buttons do not register unless pressed hard, slow, and in the right spot.” For high-volume entry—billing runs, reconciliations, classroom demos—that gap is the difference between flow and frustration.

Claim: “Tax calculations” and business math convenience.
The product is marketed as business-oriented, and some users explicitly celebrate those dedicated functions. A Walmart reviewer highlighted “dedicated buttons for tax rate calculation, margin on a sale, cost, and selling price,” describing it as a practical desk tool rather than something “fancy.” But user feedback also contains at least one alarming counterpoint around percentage behavior. A Fakespot-surfaced critique claims: “calculating percentages is wrong ! for some reason when i calculate 100 - 30 % it shows 233.” While that’s a single reported example in the provided data (and may involve mode/sequence confusion), it directly clashes with the calculator’s business-math promise—and deserves caution if percent accuracy is mission-critical.

Claim: “Extra large display” improves readability.
Here the marketing and lived experience align most closely. BestViewsReviews includes: “i like the new and improved extra large display of this calculator,” and Walmart reviewers repeatedly point to readability as the core value. One wrote: “the numbers are easy to read,” while another praised that the “display is massive.” The only consistent caveat in the compiled summaries is that a minority found it “hard to read in low light,” which is the tradeoff you’d expect from a solar-forward desktop style.

Cross-Platform Consensus

Universally Praised

The clearest consensus is that Casio DM-1200BM Business Desktop Calculator is built around visibility and ergonomics. For older users, anyone working long shifts, or people who simply don’t want to squint at a tiny screen, the large digits become the product. A Walmart reviewer who called it their “second purchase” emphasized simplicity and legibility: “nothing fancy about this machine, just a simple, accurate calculator. the numbers are easy to read.” That kind of repeat-buy story usually signals the device fits into routine work without demanding attention.

For accounting and finance users, the “desktop calculator” form factor seems to hit the comfort sweet spot—big enough to anchor your hands, but not a bulky printing “tape” machine. One Walmart reviewer framed their expectations clearly: “i work in accounting and finance and am used to those big, heavy duty 10 key tape calculators,” then praised the DM-1200BM because “the keys feel nice and the display is massive.” That matters for anyone entering long strings of numbers: when the layout feels familiar and the screen is easy to confirm at a glance, mistakes are less likely—at least for those not experiencing key registration issues.

Teachers and remote presenters also show up as an unexpected beneficiary. A Walmart reviewer described how the calculator helps in live instruction: “i am teaching remotely… it has been super helpful to show when performing operations on my google meets with my students.” In that scenario, the oversized display isn’t just comfort—it’s communication. Bigger digits mean students can follow along without the teacher constantly repeating values aloud.

After these stories, the praise clusters into a few themes:

Readability: “the numbers are easy to read,” and “extra large display.”
Comfort and speed: “nice big buttons,” “large buttons for easy operation.”
Business-friendly functions: “tax rate calculation… margin… cost… selling price.”

Common Complaints

The most consequential complaint isn’t about aesthetics—it’s about trust. Several reports describe missed inputs or laggy buttons, which for business math can create the exact kind of “add it twice” behavior that wastes time and increases anxiety. BestViewsReviews captures the frustration in repeated phrasing: “i had trouble inputting numbers into the calculator multiple times,” and “i had issues with the calculator accepting number input as it was not input at all.” For a cashier-style workflow, invoice batching, or any environment where you can’t stop to confirm every digit, this complaint lands heavily.

There’s also a durability narrative that complicates Casio’s reputation. One BestViewsReviews quote contrasts expectations with reality: “it should last at least 10 years, but my own calculator stopped working after only 2 years of light use.” The same person adds a comparison point—“my father has a similar calculator that is nearly 20 years old”—which reads like a buyer wondering whether newer builds are less resilient. That story doesn’t prove a widespread failure rate, but it does show that some users measure this category by decades, not months.

Smaller but still real: feature expectations can misalign. A Walmart reviewer loved nearly everything, then flagged a missing key: “my one issue with this calculator is that there is no square root button which i find a bit strange.” In other words, the DM-1200BM is “business desktop,” not “everything-in-one”—and some buyers feel that limitation when their work occasionally crosses into more general math.

After these stories, complaints cluster around:

Keystroke reliability: “do not register unless pressed hard…”
Longevity concerns: “stopped working after only 2 years…”
Feature gaps for some: “no square root button…”

Divisive Features

Size is a love-it-or-hate-it trait. For some, that footprint is exactly the point: “nice full sized calculator,” as one Walmart reviewer put it, especially if you’re replicating an office 10-key feel at home. For others, the same presence can feel socially awkward or space-consuming. A BestViewsReviews quote captures that tension: “i work from home and this calculator is great for me, although its size might be embarrassing in an office setting.” That’s a rare kind of honesty—suggesting the DM-1200BM can feel “serious” in settings where minimalism is prized.

The keypad feel is another split. One set of users describes comfort and smoothness—BestViewsReviews includes: “softer keys, and quieter machine”—while another set describes finicky actuation: “pressed hard, slow, and in the right spot.” If you’re buying for a team (or an office manager ordering multiples), that variability matters. A BestViewsReviews user even notes scale deployment: “we have 14 of these calculators in different offices,” suggesting many units perform fine—yet the existence of repeated button complaints implies some units (or some batches, or some user technique) may not.

Trust & Reliability

Trust concerns here aren’t about counterfeit reviews so much as whether the device behaves consistently over time. Fakespot’s summary explicitly claims “minimal deception involved” and says it found “over 90% high quality reviews,” which may reassure shoppers worried about manipulated ratings. Still, review-quality signals don’t eliminate the most important issue raised in user feedback: when a calculator occasionally fails to register input, confidence collapses fast.

Long-term durability stories are conflicted. One BestViewsReviews quote expresses disappointment in lifespan—“stopped working after only 2 years of light use”—while other narratives imply repeated purchasing because it reliably fits the job. A Walmart reviewer calling it their “second purchase” frames loyalty and satisfaction, whereas the durability complaint frames regression against older Casio-era expectations. Taken together: the DM-1200BM’s reliability reputation is strong overall, but not bulletproof, and the minority reports are severe enough that accuracy-focused buyers should validate behavior early in ownership.

Alternatives

Only one clear alternative model appears in the provided data: the Casio fx-115ES Plus (mentioned in BestViewsReviews content). That mention isn’t a direct competitor in form factor—it’s a scientific calculator—but it signals a different buyer priority. The fx-115ES Plus is associated with toughness in an anecdote: “survived the oven heat and can still flawlessly compute trigonometric functions.” If your work includes scientific functions (or you want a more portable, student-oriented device), that kind of comment points away from the DM-1200BM’s desktop-business lane.

Within the desktop category, the data also includes generic Amazon listings in images, but no named competing desktop model with user feedback. So the most honest takeaway is not “buy X instead,” but “choose the category that matches your job.” If you need large, clear digits and business keys on a stable desk unit, the DM-1200BM aligns with those stories. If you need advanced math functions, the scientific line is where users are already comparing durability and capability.

Price & Value

The DM-1200BM’s value story is consistently framed as “a lot of calculator for around twenty bucks.” Amazon’s listed price appears as $21.19, Casio Canada shows $20.99, and eBay listings range higher in some cases (examples include $25.46 new, and another listing at $32.30). That spread suggests the “deal” is strongest when bought at mainstream retail pricing, not marked-up resale.

Value is also tied to productivity: the larger keys and display can reduce strain and speed up entry for accountants, teachers, and home-office workers. A Walmart reviewer’s framing—“simple, accurate… nothing fancy”—reads like the category’s ideal: low drama, high utility. But the cost calculus changes if you end up re-entering numbers due to missed keystrokes, echoing the complaint about having to “add up a series of numbers more than once to verify accuracy.”

Buying tips implied by user stories:

If you rely on percent calculations for billing/discounts, sanity-check the percent key behavior early (given the “calculating percentages is wrong!” report).
If you type fast, pay attention to whether keys register cleanly during the return window (given repeated “do not register unless…” complaints).
If you want maximum display readability for teaching or presentations, prioritize the mainstream price channels where it’s near $21.

FAQ

Q: Is the Casio DM-1200BM easy to read for long work sessions?

A: Yes. Multiple reviews emphasize the “extra large display” and that “the numbers are easy to read.” For accountants, teachers, and anyone who spends hours verifying totals, the big 12-digit screen is repeatedly described as the core benefit across Walmart and aggregated community quotes.

Q: Do the buttons register reliably?

A: It depends. Some users say “the keys respond well to touch,” but others complain that “about a third of the calculator buttons do not register unless pressed hard, slow, and in the right spot.” If you enter numbers rapidly, test for missed keystrokes early and consider exchanging if it feels inconsistent.

Q: Does it support tax and margin calculations in real workflows?

A: Yes for many buyers. A Walmart reviewer praised “dedicated buttons for tax rate calculation” and “margin on a sale, cost, and selling price,” aligning with Casio’s business positioning. However, at least one report alleges percent calculations behaving incorrectly, so validate the specific sequences you use most.

Q: Is it good for low-light use?

A: Mostly, but not perfect. The calculator is marketed as “solar powered with battery back up,” and users generally praise screen clarity. Still, aggregated feedback includes a minority who found the display “hard to read in low light,” so dim environments may reduce the visibility advantage.

Q: Does it include a square root button?

A: Not according to one Walmart reviewer, who wrote: “my one issue… is that there is no square root button.” If square roots are part of your regular workflow, confirm the exact keyset you need before buying, since the DM-1200BM is positioned as a business desktop calculator.

Final Verdict

Buy if you’re an accountant, finance worker, or remote teacher who benefits from an extra-large 12-digit display and big keys—Walmart reviewers call it “best calculator ever!” and praise that it’s “simple, accurate,” with “nice big buttons.” Avoid if missed keystrokes would be catastrophic, because some users complain the buttons “do not register unless pressed hard, slow, and in the right spot,” and one report even alleges “calculating percentages is wrong!”