Hi friends! I have a bit of a bummer of a review today. I have been asked to review the Amazon Basics colored pencils many times so when I saw them on sale during Black Friday I snapped up a set to review. All I can say is I am glad I didn’t pay full price. The day I am uploading this video the Amazon Basics set of 72 colored pencils is the #1 best seller in wooden colored pencils on Amazon. Why?!? Maybe I missed the mark and got it completely wrong but these are the least enjoyable pencils I have used in years. I just looked up the price of this set of pencils on Camel Camel Camel (it is a website that tracks Amazon price history) and this product fluctuates by $20 however recently the price has been very low so I am wondering if they might have changed manufacturers to get the price down. If you have used these pencils and have a different experience than me please let me know when you bought them and how much they were in the comments. There were so many good reviews for these pencils on Amazon but I feel like I was using entirely different pencils than what was described. Here is the link to the pencils I bought so you can have a closer look but I do NOT recommend them: *affiliate link used You can see my full review in the video below.
Pros:
- They look nice
- They sharpen well
- They were packaged nicely
Cons:
- They lift with water (but not in a good way like watercolor pencils)
- Weakly pigmented
- They are difficult to blend or layer
- The hard lead was uncomfortable to color with
- They were not enjoyable to use
I am confounded, these have such good reviews on Amazon, and they are the #1 best seller in colored pencils on the website but these are the most difficult pencils I have ever used. Maybe I got a bad batch or maybe they are making them in a different factory now but I did not enjoy them at all. I would have returned them if I was still within the return window because I would feel bad giving them to someone. You are better off spending the limited funds on a 12 set of Prismacolor than the 72 set of Amazon Basics. I hope you found this review helpful and til next time happy crafting!
The Frugal Crafter Blog 
Thanks for your honesty.
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Linsay, You just can’t trust the reviews on Amazon, before I buy anything I go out on the web and look for professional artist reviews of the product (like your reviews), and even then I proceed with caution. I have all the Faber-Castell Polychromos and and Albrecht Durer Watercolour Pencils, and Dewent Inktense sets and don’t find that I need any others as they are perfect. Thanks for your honest reviews as they are invaluable to so many people. Betty
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hi lindsay. The positive reviews were probably done by an AI bot rather than real people. Good that you put the review up and call out the poor quality products. All the best. Peter (Australia)
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I agree ! Thanks Lindsay for warning us about those pencils ! We can always count on you for an honest review!
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It may just be that the price is what attracted people to buy. People may be buying them for coloring books and may not be serious artists, may not have experience with better quality to be able to make a comparison.
I checked to see if you put a review on Amazon, and you did. Good! Even if people don’t recognize your name, the fact your review was well-written and polite will let people know you are serious and not just griping. Thanks from all the consumers of art supplies.
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I have given up on getting any reviews that are actually about the product and are real. Sometimes you can tell that they are showing reviews that are not even about the same product. I am not suprised those pencils were not neally as good as the reviews showed.
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Amazons reviews are not alway accurate. I no longer bother to read the good reviews. I lread the 1 and 2 star reviews and then I look at reviews elsewhere for comparison.
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