Review: Amazonbasics Colored Pencils

 

Amazonbasics Premium Colored Pencils

We eat a lot of different kinds of nuts at our house. We’ve tried many brands, and the problem is that most of the salted ones are too salty. We do like some salt, though, so the unsalted varieties are too bland. Eventually we got around to trying Amazon’s Happy Belly brand, and like the baby bear’s porridge, the nuts are just right in saltiness. They have become our favorite nuts. The spouse guy also likes Amazon’s instant coffee (although for him, coffee is a caffeinated vehicle for sweetener and creamer, so his choice may not be saying much about the coffee’s flavor).

Always “helpful” in suggesting products I might want, Amazon has been showing me its Amazonbasics colored pencils for a long time, but I have easily ignored them. Salted nuts are one thing, but colored pencils? Pffft. At $14.39 for a set of 24 (about $0.58 per pencil), they don’t even fall into my “budget” colored pencil range (which I would price at about $0.25 or less each, many of which there are).

Actively searching for Amazonbasics colored pencils seemed to indicate that no other sets were available – only the 24. That said to me that Amazon is not trying to compete with all those humongous sets of budget-priced pencils, some with as many as 300 and even 520 colors. Like one size and variety of instant coffee or peanuts, it’s not trying to be a colored pencil brand; it’s only offering a “basic” selection. Fair enough.

One evening Amazon’s “suggestion” made me curious, so I searched for reviews to see what people were saying. Surprisingly, the reviews I saw were mostly positive. One YouTuber said they were hardly distinguishable from Prismacolors. But even if that were true, contemporary Prismacolors in the same size set are about $0.75 per pencil. Amazonbasics’ price isn’t so much lower that I would necessarily consider it a cost-effective alternative.

In any case, curiosity satisfied, I went back to my business, when lo and behold, the price shown for that same set of 24 Amazonbasics pencils was now suddenly $5.30! What?! I thought Prime Day wasn’t until Oct. 10! I know I should be disturbed that Amazon saw me searching for reviews and mistook my curiosity for interest in the product. However, at $0.22 per pencil, they were now squarely within the “budget” category and worth trying, especially after seeing those reviews. (Miraculously, a couple days after I bought the set, the price was showing at $14.39 again! Uncanny! And even more disturbing is that I’m so used to this that I don’t even care!)

As the name says, the set is basic – a decent, predictable range of colors for a set of 24. Branding, color name and number on the barrel are also straightforward and basic.

Unfinished ends and glossy, round barrels, just like Prismacolors

The pencils are different from most other budget-priced sets in one way: Instead of China, Amazonbasics pencils are made in Vietnam. Although there may be others I’m forgetting, off the top of my head, the only other colored pencils I’ve used that were made in Vietnam are Tombow Irojiten, Moleskine watercolor pencils, Winsor & Newton watercolor pencils and Tombow Hello Nature. (OK, I’ll admit it – I only remembered Irojiten; I had to search my spreadsheet for the others. Yes, I do keep a spreadsheet, but in the early days, I was inconsistent about including country of manufacture, so the list here may be incomplete.) I’ll get into performance soon, but for now I’ll just say that Amazonbasics perform better than the two Tombow Vietnam-made pencils I mentioned.

Made in Vietnam

I can see why other reviewers have compared them to Prismacolor Premier, as the barrel style and even core size are identical. I found a few Amazonbasic cores that were off-center, but again, that’s true for contemporary Prismacolors also. It’s clear that Prismacolors were the model for Amazonbasics. (Unfortunately for me, they do not have the delish Good & Plenty scent of Prismacolors!)

The blue pencil is Amazonbasics; the magenta is a contemporary Prismacolor Premier.

Although I wouldn’t go so far as to say they are indistinguishable, swatching the colors definitely evoked Prismacolors. Perhaps just a smidge harder than Prismacolors, Amazonbasics are also less waxy.

I don’t always make swatch comparisons with other pencils, but Amazonbasics had piqued my curiosity. While it’s certainly unfair to compare any budget pencil to Caran d’Ache Luminance (about $3 per pencil), I included it anyway. Of the four I compared them with, I’d say Amazonbasics come closest to budget-priced Arrtx (which also get compared frequently to Prismacolors) in pigment content and overall “feel.” I even compared the white to the same four brands (contemporary Prismacolor Premier, Faber-Castell Polychromos, Luminance and Arrtx) on black paper. Opacity is the characteristic which Amazonbasics compares unfavorably to Prismacolor, which is one of the most opaque white pencils I’ve used. Again, the white is very close to Arrtx.

Swatches made in Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook (3 layers)

Comparison swatches made in S & B Epsilon sketchbook (3 layers)

Comparison swatches made in Stillman & Birn Nova sketchbook (3 layers)

Finally, I made a sketch using an Earthsworld reference photo. Using my typical messy hatching method on this quick sketch, I was surprised by how good these pencils are. Smooth but not waxy, they layer well. I would say they are darn good pencils – especially for $0.22 each. I would recommend this set to any student, coloring booker, or sketcher who wants to dabble in colored pencils but doesn’t want a larger set.

10/5/23 Amazonbasics colored pencils in Field Notes Streetscapes sketchbook
(Earthsworld reference photo)

By the way, if you want these pencils, I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that you check the price on Prime Day!

Edited 10/14/23: A reader noted that the image of the back of the tin on Amazon shows that the set was made in China, and today, the price is $6.91! What a crapshoot -- both the price and the country of manufacture!