---
title: "Coloured Pens — £172K/yr Amazon UK Niche (2026) - Flapen"
canonical_url: "https://flapen.com/research/uk/stationery-office-supplies/coloured-pens"
last_updated: "2026-07-31T15:13:53.413Z"
locale: en
meta:
description: "Niche score 40/100 · £172K/yr market · 523K searches/yr · £4.95 avg price. Doesn't clear our bar today. Data updated Jul 2026."
"og:description": "Niche score 40/100 · £172K/yr market · 523K searches/yr · £4.95 avg price. Doesn't clear our bar today. Data updated Jul 2026."
"og:title": "Coloured Pens — £172K/yr Amazon UK Niche (2026) - Flapen"
---
# **coloured pens**
**Skip it**
Prices mostly outside the sweet spot ($2.06–$9.25) — this niche doesn't clear our bar today.
Market size 35Growth 18Conversion 72Competition 43Returns 99Price range 0Avg price 14Brand share 32Review moat 24Quality gap 28
**Returns**
**Incredible****0.2%**
return rate — above 5% kills the launch gate
**Conversion**
**Good****6.6%**
search→purchase rate — share of searches ending in a sale
**Competition**
**Okay****59%**
top-5 click share — leaders hold, buyers still browse
**Market size**
**Okay****£172K**
£172K/yr · 523K searches
**Brand share**
**Okay****86%**
top-5 brand share — brands hold most of the demand
**Quality gap**
**Okay****4.6★**
avg incumbent rating — lower means beatable quality
**Review moat**
**Bad****6,230.08**
avg incumbent reviews — the moat a new listing must climb
**Growth**
**Bad****-14.3%**
90-day search growth — must beat 0% to launch
**Avg price**
**Bad****£4.95**
avg listing price — sweet spot $15–$100
**Price range**
**Bad****£2.06–£9.25**
cheapest to priciest tracked listing — scored on the share inside $15–$100
According to Flapen's Amazon United Kingdom niche tracking, coloured pens is a £172K/yr Amazon United Kingdom market (523K searches/yr). The top 5 brands hold 86% of demand. Demand peaks in Aug–Sep–Oct. Verdict: Skip it — 40/100.
Data updated Jul 29, 2026 · scored weekly · [~~How we score niches ~~](https://flapen.com/research/methodology)
## **coloured pens market data**
- **Units sold / yr**
- **40K–50K**
- avg 1,500–2,000/product
- **Revenue / yr**
- **£198K–£248K**
- units × avg price
- **Conversion rate**
- **6.6%**
- **Avg BSR**
- **#37**
- **Page quality**
- **0%**
- **Prime**
- **92%**
- **Sponsored**
- **71%**
- **Out of stock**
- **0.0%**
- **Avg brand age**
- **38 months**
- **Avg seller age**
- **163 days**
## **Competition & brand share**
The top 5 products take 59% of clicks — established leaders, but buyers still shop beyond them.
**Brands**
**13 **▼falling
**Sellers**
**206**
**Top-5 brand share**
**86%**
Top 20: 100%
**Top-5 click share**
**59%**
Top 20: 95%
**Open market**
**11%**
- STAEDTLER45% - BIC27% - Zebra Pen5% - Paper Mate4% - Helix4% - YISAN3% - Open — no brand owns it (7 brands, 11%)
## **Demand & seasonality**
Weekly Amazon search volume, last 104 weeks — -14.3% search growth over the last 90 days.
30K20KSpike '24Holiday '24Prime Day '25Spike '25 seasonSepDecMarJunAugNovMarMay
Peak months: Aug, Sep, Oct · busiest ÷ quietest = 2.3×
[**Open Trend **](https://flapen.com/research/uk/stationery-office-supplies/coloured-pens/trend)
## **Top coloured pens search terms**
- **coloured pens**158K/yr-13.3%6.6% conv. - **pens multicolour**76K/yr-35.8%6.1% conv. - **staedtler**42K/yr+2.7%0.5% conv. - **staedtler pen**43K/yr-16.2%3.6% conv. - **staedtler pens**31K/yr-18.8%2.4% conv. - **colourful pens**20K/yr-9.1%4.3% conv. - **coloured biros**16K/yr+14.2%12.5% conv. - **bic coloured pens**18K/yr-4.8%5.0% conv. - **biro pens multicolour**13K/yr-0.5%8.1% conv. - **coloured pens for writing**15K/yr-16.7%8.5% conv. [**All search terms **](https://flapen.com/research/uk/stationery-office-supplies/coloured-pens/search-terms)
## **Top coloured 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%£17K20%£34K30%£52K40%£69K101001K10K100K Reviews — right = deep review moatMarket share (90d) ≈ est. sales
Beatable (≤4.3★) Contested Strong incumbent (>4.7★)
All 24 tracked products in this niche — three views at once, no toggling.
### **Top sellers**
by 90-day click share
[1**STAEDTLER 4320 MC10 Stick Rainbow Ballpoint Pen - Assorted Colours (Pack of 10)**STAEDTLER**£2.38**4.6★1,790 rev](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVRPTT1K) [2**BIC Crystal Multicolour Pen Bag Pack Of 10 Multicoloured**BIC**£4.33**4.5★7,240 rev](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LY6W2YH) [3**STAEDTLER 4230 MC8 Retractable Rainbow Ballpoint Pen - Assorted Colours (Pack of 8)**STAEDTLER**£2.50**4.7★931 rev](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVRP3WPZ) [4**Zebra Pen Z-Grip 8pk Assorted**Zebra Pen**£2.06**4.6★611 rev](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CT3KX6ZK) [5**BIC 4 Colours Pens Multicolour Original - Retractable Ballpoint Pens - Pack of 3**BIC**£3.93**4.7★23,878 rev](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007CX2HKE)
**~~View all top sellers →~~**
### **Newest**
by launch date
[**YISAN Retractable Ballpoint Pens Fast Dry Gel Ink Pen with Soft Silicon Grip 12 Colors Journal Pens 0.7mm for Writing Note Taking 71082**YISAN**£6.54**56 rev6mo ago](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FVXCNZQ9) [**Maxmoc 14 Pcs 4 Colour Pen Set**Maxmoc**£5.84**39 rev10mo ago](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FQB37ZLD) [**Paper Mate InkJoy 300RT Retractable Ballpoint Pens | Medium Point (1.0 mm) | Assorted Colours | 24 Count**Paper Mate**£9.25**2,707 rev1y ago](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F8GVL8SZ) [**EYEYE G-103 Gel Pen 0.7mm 10 Colours Medium Point Pens**EYEYE**£7.91**599 rev1y ago](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DWMKRBQ9) [**YISAN Retractable Ballpoint Pens Gel Ink Pen 12 Colours 0.7 mm Journal Pen Set for Writing Drawing Mandala Journaling 71044**YISAN**£6.66**688 rev1y ago](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DTPQL2J6)
**~~View all new products →~~**
### **Trending**
90-day click momentum
[**YISAN Retractable Ballpoint Pens Fast Dry Gel Ink Pen with Soft Silicon Grip 12 Colors Journal Pens 0.7mm for Writing Note Taking 71082**YISAN**£6.54**4.4★**▲ 427%**](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FVXCNZQ9) [**uni-Ball EYE UB-157E Fine Liquid Ink Rollerball Pen - Tropical Set - Pack of 5**uni**£6.76**4.8★**▲ 133%**](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B014V7R6SQ) [**Liquidraw Multicolour Fineliner Pens - Set of 24 Assorted Colours | Fine Point 0.4 mm Tip | Storage Wallet | Coloured Pens For Artists Handwriting Drawing Sketching | Fade Resistant Ink**Liquidraw**£4.73**4.4★**▲ 100%**](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N13GL95) [**EYEYE G-103 Gel Pen 0.7mm 10 Colours Medium Point Pens**EYEYE**£7.91**4.4★**▲ 79%**](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DWMKRBQ9) [**Helix Oxford Colour Gel Pens x10 Pens with Plastic Free Packaging**Helix**£2.47**4.4★**▲ 60%**](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KCQM1XZ)
**~~View all trending →~~**
## **What buyers say about coloured pens**
What buyers praise and complain about, mined from review topics.
### **What buyers love **
**Color**18%
*“The colors are vibrant”*
**Quality-Overall**18%
*“Good quality set”*
**Value For Money**13%
*“Excellent price”*
**Writing Experience**12%
*“Amazing quality and great to write with”*
**Pen/Pencil Quality**7%
*“Brilliant pens at a great price”*
**Advertised Vs Actual Product**5%
*“As advertised”*
**Ease Of Use**3%
*“easy to hold”*
**Grip**2%
*“Great pens with a comfortable grip”*
**Drawing Experience**2%
*“Great quality, perfect for artistry and other uses”*
**Paper Quality**2%
*“producing crisp, clear lines on a variety of paper types”*
### **What buyers complain about **
**Quality-Overall**14%
*“Poor quality pens”*
**Durability**12%
*“breaks easily”*
**Dry/Empty Ink**7%
*“Dried up ink”*
**Functionality-Overall**5%
*“one of them doesn't work at all”*
**Moist/Dry**4%
*“Some Colours were dried out”*
**Leak-Proof**4%
*“they leak constantly”*
**Color**4%
*“didn't realise they are colored”*
**Ink Leakage**4%
*“a lot of the ink is dried up so doesnt work”*
**Nib/Tip Quality**4%
*“The pen nibs are furred”*
**Cartridge/Ink Quality**2%
*“the ink flow in this pack is extremely poor”*
### **Top return reasons **
**Color**19%
**Quality-Overall**9%
**Functionality-Overall**8%
**Nib/Tip Quality**7%
**Defective Material/Parts**6%
**Dry/Empty Ink**5%
**Display Colors**5%
**Leak-Proof**4%
**Value For Money**4%
**Advertised Vs Actual Product**4%
## **Common questions**
- **Is coloured pens profitable to sell on Amazon United Kingdom?**
- The niche generates £172K/yr across 24 tracked products. 1 of 2 products launched in the last 360 days are still selling. 90-day search growth is -14.3%. Flapen's verdict: Skip it (40/100).
- **How competitive is the coloured pens niche?**
- 13 brands and 206 sellers compete. The top 5 products take 59% of clicks and top 5 brands hold 86% of demand.
- **What do buyers complain about in coloured pens?**
- Top complaints mined from reviews: Quality-Overall, Durability, Dry/Empty Ink. The return rate is 0.2%.
- **When does demand for coloured pens peak?**
- Demand peaks in Aug–Sep–Oct; the busiest month runs 2.3× the quietest.
- **What does it cost to enter the coloured pens niche?**
- Listings span £2.06–£9.25; the average listing price is £4.95 (sweet spot $15–$100). The average incumbent carries 6,230 reviews — the moat a new listing must climb.
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