Inc ClipClicks Ball Point Pens (Dollar Tree)

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My day job has me writing a lot. I’m regularly jotting down notes, making lists, or crossing critical items off my to-do list. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s the value of a good pen. Some pens are comfortable but they smear, a problem made worse by the fact that I’m left-handed. Other pens are precise but are uncomfortable plastic rods. Still others are inconsistent in their ink, or unreliable in their mechanism. The worst of them, in my view, are the ones that can’t stay put together or unceremoniously explode.

A good pen, then, is a valuable commodity, especially when you’re using it a lot.

Most stores with an office supply section have plenty of pens to choose from, be they pens with caps or clicker-style pens. Depending on the store, you might find name brands or generic equivalents or both. At Dollar Tree, the extreme discounter, you’ll find a little of both. One of those offerings jumped out to me for a couple of reasons, which is why I decided to test it out.

Inc ClipClicks Ball Point Pens can be found at Dollar Tree. The back of the packaging declares that they’re distributed by Greenbrier International, the Dollar Tree company, but they also note that Inc is a trademark of Peachtree Playthings, a Hong Kong-based distributor of various office supplies, toys, and games. As best as I can tell, Dollar Tree distributes these under license from Peachtree. Notably, Peachtree sells these pens elsewhere, including on its Amazon storefront.

These pens come in a pack of 10 and cost $1.25, which comes out to 12.5 cents per pen. That’s pretty cheap, especially compared to other clicker-style pens, which can cost upwards of 50 cents per pen.

According to the packaging, these pens are retractable, with a comfort grip and “long-lasting ink supply.” They are made in China.

The pens use a clicker mechanism that involves pushing the button in to activate it, and then pushing a release beneath the clip on top to retract the pen. I tend to personally prefer the ones that extend and retract from the same back button, but I find these serviceable enough.

The build quality feels decent. Everything comes out of the package tightly screwed in. While comfort grip isn’t the softest I’ve used, it has some give. And on the subject of writing, it inks out cleanly without smearing.

The Verdict:

Dollar Tree sells a decent clicker-style budget ball point pen. It’s simple enough to use, the ink writes cleanly, and it has a comfortable grip. This 10-pack is pretty inexpensive compared to many other options, especially at the same pen count. DT might not be the first place you might look for office supplies, but these aren’t a bad choice if you need something both cheap and reasonably effective.