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Black Pencil

Fail

The top 5 brands take 99% of clicks, so Black Pencil is a Fail.

Flapen Score
39
39 / 100
Ranks 626 of 835 Stationery & Office Supplies niches · −8 vs the category median of 47
Market size
£149K/yr130K searches / yr
90-day growth
+6.3%search demand this quarter
Competition
64%top-5 click share · 6 brands · 87 sellers

Flapen Score

Black Pencil against its category

The dotted line is the Stationery & Office Supplies average. Past it, Black Pencil is stronger. Inside it, weaker.

39Fail
Big MarketTrendingHigh ConversionOpen MarketLow ReturnsPrice rangeAvg priceNo Dominant BrandLow Review BarrierQuality Gap
This niche Category average

Market

The Black Pencil market on Amazon at a glance

Shoppers on Amazon United Kingdom searched for Black Pencil 130K times last year and spent an estimated £149K. The top 5 brands take 99% of clicks. Demand peaks in Nov–Dec. Flapen scores it 39 out of 100, a Fail.

01 · Demand

2.8% of searches ended in a purchase last week.

Shoppers searched for this 130K times in the last 12 months. That counts every search on Amazon United Kingdom for this niche's terms. In the latest week, 2.8% of those searches ended in a purchase. Searches in the last 90 days moved +6.3% against the 90 days before. Searches, conversion and average price together put the market at an estimated £149K a year.

Searches, last 12 months
130K
Growth, 90 days vs prior 90
+6.3%
Conversion, latest week
2.8%
Market size, estimated
£149Ka year
Peak month
December2.0× the quietest month
Top search term
faber castell polychromos46K searches a year

02 · Price

A sale here is worth £40.48.

Listings sell for £40.48 on average, from £3.08 to £243.12. Amazon reports units sold in ranges. This niche sold 4K to 5K a year. The average listing sells 100 to 250 of them. At £40.48 that is £4K to £10K a year per listing.

Average price
£40.48inside the $15 to $100 sweet spot
Price range
£3.08–£243.12
Amazon United Kingdom median price
£12.12across 27,606 niches
Units sold a year
4K–5K
Units per listing a year
100–250
Revenue per listing a year
£4K–£10K
Returns
0.6%of orders · Amazon United Kingdom median 0.6%

03 · Entry bar

The bar here is reviews.

42% of listings pay for placement with sponsored ads. 100% ship with Prime. On an average day, 1.7% of listings are out of stock. The average listing ranks #217 within Pens, Pencils & Writing Supplies. It carries 2,786 reviews at 4.64 stars, so a new listing needs social proof before a better product.

Sponsored listings
42%
Prime listings
100%
Out of stock, average day
1.7%
Average rank
#217in Pens, Pencils & Writing Supplies
Average rating
4.64 starsAmazon United Kingdom average 4.36 stars
Average reviews
2,786per listing
Listings tracked
19

04 · Newcomers

Brands here are settling in.

The brands on the shelf have sold for 59 months on average, so the names here are settling in.

Launched, last 12 months
0
Successful launches
0Amazon's first-year sales bar
Average brand age
59 months

Products

Top Black Pencil products & what they sell for

Every tracked product: its share of the shelf, its reviews, and its price.

Competition

Competition: brands, sellers & click share

The top 5 products take 64% of clicks. Leaders hold, but buyers still shop past them.

£0£7K£15K£22K£30K101001K10K Review Count Sales
Beatable (≤4.3★) Contested Strong incumbent (>4.7★)

Brands

6 falling

Sellers

87

Top-5 brand share

99%

Top 20: 100%

Top-5 click share

64%

Top 20: 100%

Open market

0%

  • Faber-Castell88%
  • CRAYOLA6%
  • STAEDTLER3%
  • KALOUR PDAS2%
  • Peter Pauper Press1%
  • Ohuhu1%
  • Open — no brand owns it (0%)

Demand

Black Pencil search demand

Weekly searches over the year, seasonality beneath. Pick a range.

5K4KSpike '24Holiday '24Prime Day '25Spike '25Black Friday '25Prime Day '26DecMarJunAugNovMarMay

Peak months: Nov, Dec · busiest ÷ quietest = 2.0×

Search terms

Top Black Pencil search terms shoppers use

The exact words shoppers type, with yearly volume, growth, and conversion.

  • faber castell polychromos46K/yr
  • polychromos colouring pencils31K/yr
  • polychromos10K/yr
  • skin tone pencils10K/yr
  • skin colour pencils9K/yr
  • polychromos pencils8K/yr
  • faber-castell polychromos6K/yr
  • faber castell polychromos pencils4K/yr
  • skin tone colouring pencils4K/yr
  • faber castell colouring pencils polychromos3K/yr

Reviews and returns

What reviews say buyers love and hate about Black Pencil

What buyers praise, what they complain about and why they send it back, from the reviews.

Complain

Color22%0.00

there aren't any colours that suit a dark skin tone

come in a much more limited range of colours

Very pale for colouring

Advertised Vs Actual Product8%+0.53

I am happy with the product although I think the description is quite misleading when you look at the picture

Sharpness8%−0.04

These do not sharpen well at all

Poor quality, do not sharpen well

Quality-Overall5%−0.04

lacking diversity

Shame really as wouldn't expect that from a good make like Faber-Castell

Display Colors4%−0.02

But no names of colours on the pencils

Love

Color27%0.00

beautiful colours

Brilliant collection of colours

nice bright colors

Quality-Overall16%−0.04

The quality of that pencils is well worth the money

Reasonable quality as I did this

Amazing Quality

Value For Money15%+2.20

Value for Money

Worth the money

Good value

Pen/Pencil Quality12%−0.06

Great pencils

a good pencil

lovely pencils to use at an affordable price

Drawing Experience4%+0.64

Thank you I love it Ohuhu Colouring Pencils, 72 Blendable High quality 💯 perfect and easy and soft I love it 💖 when I use my color book and sketchbook for my art I love it 💖💞🥰

My grandaughter loves drawing characters so she was thrilled to give them authentic skin

This was a gift for someone who likes to draw

Return

0.6% Return rate 46% Fixable by listing

Quality-Overall14%▁▅█▁▅▄

lacking diversity

Shame really as wouldn't expect that from a good make like Faber-Castell

Value For Money13%▇█▃▁▁▆
Color11%█▅▇▁▅▁

there aren't any colours that suit a dark skin tone

come in a much more limited range of colours

Very pale for colouring

Advertised Vs Actual Product10%▁▁▁█▁▅

I am happy with the product although I think the description is quite misleading when you look at the picture

Display Colors8%▁▁▄█▅▃

But no names of colours on the pencils

FAQ

Common Black Pencil questions

Answered from the same tracked data.