---
title: "Black Gel Pens — £116K/yr Amazon UK Niche (2026) - Flapen"
canonical_url: "https://flapen.com/research/uk/stationery-office-supplies/black-gel-pens"
last_updated: "2026-07-31T09:00:05.425Z"
locale: en
meta:
description: "Niche score 35/100 · £116K/yr market · 216K searches/yr · £7.43 avg price. Doesn't clear our bar today. Data updated Jul 2026."
"og:description": "Niche score 35/100 · £116K/yr market · 216K searches/yr · £7.43 avg price. Doesn't clear our bar today. Data updated Jul 2026."
"og:title": "Black Gel Pens — £116K/yr Amazon UK Niche (2026) - Flapen"
---
# **black gel pens**
**Skip it**
Brand-locked demand (top 5 brands take 100% of clicks) — this niche doesn't clear our bar today.
Market size 27Growth 17Conversion 76Competition 35Returns 99Price range 2Avg price 21Brand share 0Review moat 38Quality gap 28
**Returns**
**Incredible****0.2%**
return rate — above 5% kills the launch gate
**Conversion**
**Great****7.2%**
search→purchase rate — share of searches ending in a sale
**Review moat**
**Okay****2,697.94**
avg incumbent reviews — the moat a new listing must climb
**Competition**
**Okay****64%**
top-5 click share — leaders hold, buyers still browse
**Quality gap**
**Okay****4.6★**
avg incumbent rating — lower means beatable quality
**Market size**
**Okay****£116K**
£116K/yr · 216K searches
**Avg price**
**Bad****£7.43**
avg listing price — sweet spot $15–$100
**Growth**
**Bad****-15.6%**
90-day search growth — must beat 0% to launch
**Price range**
**Bad****£3.46–£15.23**
cheapest to priciest tracked listing — scored on the share inside $15–$100
**Brand share**
**Bad****100%**
top-5 brand share — brand-locked demand
According to Flapen's Amazon United Kingdom niche tracking, black gel pens is a £116K/yr Amazon United Kingdom market (216K searches/yr). The top 5 brands hold 100% of demand. Demand peaks in Jan. Verdict: Skip it — 35/100.
Data updated Jul 29, 2026 · scored weekly · [~~How we score niches ~~](https://flapen.com/research/methodology)
## **black gel pens market data**
- **Units sold / yr**
- **15K–20K**
- avg 750–1,000/product
- **Revenue / yr**
- **£111K–£149K**
- units × avg price
- **Conversion rate**
- **7.2%**
- **Avg BSR**
- **#99**
- **Page quality**
- **0%**
- **Prime**
- **100%**
- **Sponsored**
- **47%**
- **Out of stock**
- **5.0%**
- **Avg brand age**
- **48 months**
- **Avg seller age**
- **162 days**
## **Competition & brand share**
The top 5 products take 64% of clicks — established leaders, but buyers still shop beyond them.
**Brands**
**3 **▼falling
**Sellers**
**165**
**Top-5 brand share**
**100%**
Top 20: 100%
**Top-5 click share**
**64%**
Top 20: 100%
**Open market**
**0%**
- Sharpie46% - Paper Mate45% - JARDEN9% - Open — no brand owns it (0%)
## **Demand & seasonality**
Weekly Amazon search volume, last 104 weeks — -15.6% search growth over the last 90 days.
5K3KSpike '24Holiday '24Spike '25Prime Day '25Black Friday '25Spike '26 seasonSepDecMarJunAugNovMarMay
Peak months: Jan · busiest ÷ quietest = 1.5×
[**Open Trend **](https://flapen.com/research/uk/stationery-office-supplies/black-gel-pens/trend)
## **Top black gel pens search terms**
- **papermate inkjoy**61K/yr-16.0%6.4% conv. - **sharpie s gel**39K/yr-18.4%8.6% conv. - **paper mate inkjoy pen**22K/yr-4.1%5.7% conv. - **sharpie gel pens**19K/yr-3.7%8.0% conv. - **papermate inkjoy 100 1.0m**10K/yr-23.4%8.1% conv. - **sharpie s gel 0.7 black**7K/yr-11.2%13.7% conv. - **inkjoy pens**7K/yr-27.0%5.4% conv. - **0.7mm pen**6K/yr-14.7%1.1% conv. - **sharpie s gel pens**5K/yr-10.7%8.1% conv. - **inkjoy**6K/yr-54.5%4.8% conv. [**All search terms **](https://flapen.com/research/uk/stationery-office-supplies/black-gel-pens/search-terms)
## **Top black gel pens products on Amazon**
Each bubble is one product — market share against review moat; bubble size tracks estimated sales, color grades how beatable the incumbent looks.
0%10%£12K20%£23K30%£35K40%£47K101001K10K Reviews — right = deep review moatMarket share (90d) ≈ est. sales
Beatable (≤4.3★) Contested Strong incumbent (>4.7★)
All 17 tracked products in this niche — three views at once, no toggling.
### **Top sellers**
by 90-day click share
[1**Sharpie S-Gel | Gel Pens | Medium Point (0.7mm) | Black Ink | 3 Count**Sharpie**£3.78**4.5★4,583 rev](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08RG1C1TT) [2**Paper Mate InkJoy 100ST Ballpoint Pens | Fine Point (0.7mm) | Black | 5 Count**Paper Mate**£3.75**4.6★5,732 rev](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MXG1HYL) [3**Paper Mate InkJoy 100ST Ballpoint Pens | Medium Point (1.0mm) | Black | 50 Count**Paper Mate**£8.34**4.7★3,477 rev](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006O8875M) [4**Paper Mate InkJoy 100ST Ballpoint Pens | Medium Point (1.0mm) | Fun Colours | 10 Count**Paper Mate**£3.46**4.7★7,485 rev](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01F3C5DCY) [5**Paper Mate Inkjoy 100 Ballpoint Stick Pen Medium Point Black 12 Pack**JARDEN**£5.06**4.7★148 rev](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BSC25X7W)
**~~View all top sellers →~~**
### **Newest**
by launch date
[**Sharpie S-Gel | Gel Pens for Writing | Medium Point (0.7mm) | Assorted Ink Colours | White Pearl Barrels | 12 Count**Sharpie**£9.70**1,596 rev1y ago](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F2L5LQRH) [**Sharpie S-Gel | Gel Pens | Medium Point (0.7mm) | Assorted Ink Colours | 8 Count**Sharpie**£10.38**298 rev2y ago](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CV64F32H) [**Sharpie S-Gel Pens | Fine Point 0.5mm | Black Ink | Pack of 4 | Retractable Gel Pens | Comfort Grip**Sharpie**£7.30**100 rev2y ago](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CLM2D2BL) [**Sharpie S-Gel Pens | Medium Point 0.7mm | Black Ink | Pack of 10 | Metal Barrel Retractable Gel Pens | Rose Gold**Sharpie**£11.77**23 rev2y ago](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CG6GC81P) [**Paper Mate Inkjoy 100 Ballpoint Stick Pen Medium Point Black 12 Pack**JARDEN**£5.06**148 rev3y ago](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BSC25X7W)
**~~View all new products →~~**
### **Trending**
90-day click momentum
[**Sharpie S-Gel | Gel Pens | Medium Point (0.7mm) | Frost Blue & White Pearl Barrels | Black & Blue Ink | 4 Count**Sharpie**£4.20**4.2★**▲ 107%**](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09PMMDTPW) [**Sharpie S-Gel | Gel Pens for Writing | Medium Point (0.7mm) | Assorted Ink Colours | White Pearl Barrels | 12 Count**Sharpie**£9.70**4.6★**▲ 54%**](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F2L5LQRH) [**Sharpie S-Gel Pens | Medium Point 0.7mm | Black Ink | Pack of 10 | Metal Barrel Retractable Gel Pens | Rose Gold**Sharpie**£11.77**4.7★**▲ 53%**](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CG6GC81P) [**Paper Mate InkJoy 100ST Ballpoint Pens | Medium Point (1.0mm) | Fun Colours | 10 Count**Paper Mate**£3.46**4.7★**▲ 18%**](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01F3C5DCY) [**Paper Mate InkJoy 100ST Ballpoint Pens | Medium Point (1.0mm) | Black | 50 Count**Paper Mate**£8.34**4.7★**▲ 11%**](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006O8875M)
**~~View all trending →~~**
## **What buyers say about black gel pens**
What buyers praise and complain about, mined from review topics.
### **What buyers love **
**Writing Experience**23%
*“Smooth writing and look great”*
**Value For Money**14%
*“Good value”*
**Quality-Overall**9%
*“Great quality pens”*
**Pen/Pencil Quality**7%
*“Great pens”*
**Ink Refill**5%
*“verry good ink”*
**Cartridge/Ink Quality**4%
*“Quality Pens”*
**Ease Of Use**4%
*“Good to use”*
**Durability**3%
*“But I dont regret buying it as its durability”*
**Color**3%
*“All the other colours are nice and different”*
**Ink Leakage**3%
*“it does not smudge or leak through pages”*
### **What buyers complain about **
**Dry/Empty Ink**17%
*“Dry ink”*
**Ink Leakage**11%
*“The ink flow is inconsistent”*
**Functionality-Overall**10%
*“They dont work”*
**Quality-Overall**7%
*“Very poor performance”*
**Writing Experience**7%
*“so they dont write smoothly at all”*
**Cartridge/Ink Quality**6%
*“these pens were awful, very scratchy and poor/inconsistent ink flow”*
**Value For Money**6%
*“Waste of money”*
**Moist/Dry**6%
*“Fully dry”*
**Durability**3%
*“however one of the pens barely lasted two weeks which was disappointing”*
**Ease Of Use**2%
*“Not easy to use, takes a while to get them going, and dont flow”*
### **Top return reasons **
**Functionality-Overall**32%
**Color**10%
**Writing Experience**10%
**Advertised Vs Actual Product**8%
**Dry/Empty Ink**7%
**Size-Overall**5%
**Ink Refill**4%
**Quality-Overall**4%
**Scratch Resistance**3%
**Moist/Dry**2%
## **Common questions**
- **Is black gel pens profitable to sell on Amazon United Kingdom?**
- The niche generates £116K/yr across 17 tracked products. 90-day search growth is -15.6%. Flapen's verdict: Skip it (35/100).
- **How competitive is the black gel pens niche?**
- 3 brands and 165 sellers compete. The top 5 products take 64% of clicks and top 5 brands hold 100% of demand.
- **What do buyers complain about in black gel pens?**
- Top complaints mined from reviews: Dry/Empty Ink, Ink Leakage, Functionality-Overall. The return rate is 0.2%.
- **When does demand for black gel pens peak?**
- Demand peaks in Jan; the busiest month runs 1.5× the quietest.
- **What does it cost to enter the black gel pens niche?**
- Listings span £3.46–£15.23; the average listing price is £7.43 (sweet spot $15–$100). The average incumbent carries 2,698 reviews — the moat a new listing must climb.
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