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Gel Pens

Maybe

Returns run at only 0.2% of orders. But demand is soft, at -16.0% this quarter, so Gel Pens is a Maybe.

Flapen Score
58
58 / 100
Top 9% of 835 Stationery & Office Supplies niches · +11 vs the category median of 47
Market size
£448K/yr864K searches / yr
90-day growth
-16.0%search demand this quarter
Competition
37%top-5 click share · 37 brands · 162 sellers

Flapen Score

Gel Pens against its category

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

58Maybe
Big MarketTrendingHigh ConversionOpen MarketLow ReturnsPrice rangeAvg priceNo Dominant BrandLow Review BarrierQuality Gap
This niche Category average

Market

The Gel Pens market on Amazon at a glance

Shoppers on Amazon United Kingdom searched for Gel Pens 864K times last year and spent an estimated £448K. The top 5 brands take 42% of clicks. Demand peaks in Dec. Flapen scores it 58 out of 100, a Maybe.

01 · Demand

5.9% of searches ended in a purchase last week.

Shoppers searched for this 864K times in the last 12 months. That counts every search on Amazon United Kingdom for this niche's terms. In the latest week, 5.9% of those searches ended in a purchase. Searches in the last 90 days moved -16.0% against the 90 days before. Searches, conversion and average price together put the market at an estimated £448K a year.

Searches, last 12 months
864K
Growth, 90 days vs prior 90
-16.0%
Conversion, latest week
5.9%
Market size, estimated
£448Ka year
Peak month
December1.8× the quietest month
Top search term
gel pens451K searches a year

02 · Price

A sale here is worth £8.73.

Listings sell for £8.73 on average, from £2.05 to £24.23. Amazon reports units sold in ranges. This niche sold 50K to 60K a year. The average listing sells 750 to 1,000 of them. At £8.73 that is £7K to £9K a year per listing.

Average price
£8.73under the $15 to $100 sweet spot
Price range
£2.05–£24.23
Amazon United Kingdom median price
£12.12across 27,606 niches
Units sold a year
50K–60K
Units per listing a year
750–1,000
Revenue per listing a year
£7K–£9K
Returns
0.2%of orders · Amazon United Kingdom median 0.6%

03 · Entry bar

The bar here is reviews.

87% of listings pay for placement with sponsored ads. 100% ship with Prime. On an average day, 1.4% of listings are out of stock. The average listing ranks #98 within Pens, Pencils & Writing Supplies. It carries 3,366 reviews at 4.50 stars, so a new listing needs social proof before a better product.

Sponsored listings
87%
Prime listings
100%
Out of stock, average day
1.4%
Average rank
#98in Pens, Pencils & Writing Supplies
Average rating
4.50 starsAmazon United Kingdom average 4.36 stars
Average reviews
3,366per listing
Listings tracked
46

04 · Newcomers

Amazon counts 2 of last year's 3 launches as successful.

3 products launched here in the last 12 months. Amazon counts 2 of them as successful launches, new products that hit its first-year sales bar. The brands on the shelf have sold for 38 months on average, so the names here are settling in.

Launched, last 12 months
3
Successful launches
2Amazon's first-year sales bar
Average brand age
38 months

Products

Top Gel Pens 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 only 37% of clicks. An open shelf where new products get seen.

£0£13K£27K£40K£54K1001K10K100K Review Count Sales
Beatable (≤4.3★) Contested Strong incumbent (>4.7★)

Brands

37 falling

Sellers

162

Top-5 brand share

42%

Top 20: 85%

Top-5 click share

37%

Top 20: 77%

Open market

54%

  • Helix11%
  • Sharpie10%
  • UIXJODO8%
  • Mutsitaz7%
  • Gurkkst6%
  • Surcotto5%

Demand

Gel Pens search demand

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

23K18KSpike '24Holiday '24Prime Day '25Spike '25Holiday '25SepDecMarJunAugNovMarMay

Peak months: Dec · busiest ÷ quietest = 1.8×

Search terms

Top Gel Pens search terms shoppers use

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

  • gel pens451K/yr
  • gel pens for writing79K/yr
  • gel pen67K/yr
  • gel pens for colouring65K/yr
  • black gel pens43K/yr
  • gel pens black23K/yr
  • coloured gel pens18K/yr
  • black gel pen15K/yr
  • gel ink pens13K/yr
  • gel ink rollerball pens11K/yr

Reviews and returns

What reviews say buyers love and hate about Gel Pens

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

Complain

Quality-Overall10%−0.04

Awful quality

Cheap rubbish

Concern on Changed Quality

Dry/Empty Ink7%−0.05

Dry ink

All dried up

the pens seem a little dry

Functionality-Overall7%−0.06

Those pens didn't work

dont work

some don't work very well at all

Ink Leakage6%−0.05

the pens leak ink all over your hand

begun leaking their ink profusely

Too much ink comes out

Durability6%−0.04

dont last at all

Not durable

Not long lasting

Love

Writing Experience18%+1.41

Easy to write with

Writes well

Smooth Writing

Value For Money14%+1.06

Best price

Decent price

Amazing value

Pen/Pencil Quality10%+0.74

Excellent pens

Good quality pens

Excellent gel pens

Quality-Overall9%−0.04

Economical and a good product

Amazing quality

Super quality Pens, good value

Color8%

The colors are vibrant

Beautiful colours

Beautiful Colors

Return

0.2% Return rate 18% Fixable by listing

Functionality-Overall13%▁▇▇█▇▇

Those pens didn't work

dont work

some don't work very well at all

Quality-Overall12%█▆▅▆▆▅

Awful quality

Cheap rubbish

Concern on Changed Quality

Writing Experience11%▆▆▆██▆

Scratchy sound when writing

Poor Writing Experience

so they dont write smoothly at all

Ink Refill10%▆▄██▅▅
Color7%▁█▇▇▃▇

Not colored ink

And it keeps getting yellower

didn't realise they are colored

FAQ

Common Gel Pens questions

Answered from the same tracked data.