During the school year, students must have some type of pencil. After all, they are the main tool during school. But there is one thing that completes a pencil, and that is the eraser. For some reason, many newer pencils are equipped with much more downsized erasers than the slightly older models. It is in many ways understandable that people may choose tinier erasers for more control when they erase, but the problem is the amount of time they last. From personal experience, I have made the mistake of buying many of these pencils that come with smaller erasers, and I always use up the entire eraser in less than a week. Sure, you can get a pack of erasers, but always having to change out your erasers is a pain. Also, if each eraser only lasts a couple of weeks, then it will be necessary to buy more and more packs throughout the year, which is just an unnecessary waste of money.

Another problem is having to always having to ask your parent or guardian to go out and buy the supplies needed for school. This can be painful, especially about something as simple as inconveniencing your parents over a pencil just because of the eraser, or just the eraser itself. It can read as embarrassing or just set off the image that you are less responsible.

Just a pack of two pencils at Office Depot and Walmart are around $6.99- $7.99, and those are for the pencils with tiny erasers. Granted, you can get a pack of four pencils for less money, but they, too, will have smaller erasers, and likely are of lower quality.

It’s hard these days to find a quality pencil not made with a small eraser. They always cause a distraction in class. I have been repeatedly distracted by the people next to me asking for an eraser. It is not a problem to lend your friend or classmate an eraser every once in a while, but after a while it can be an issue when they continuously ask. Most people in this day and age, from personal observation, do not own a handheld eraser, such as a Paper Mate Pink Pearl. These erasers are larger than the ones that come on pencils and are around $0.60 to $1.30 for a three pack. They can be found in Walmarts, Targets, Office Depots, or any other store with office supplies. For that low of a price, it would make sense to go out and buy one of these erasers, but some people don’t have that time after school, or simply would like to stick with just having a singular pencil and not have to carry around an accessory. This is what most markets are taking advantage of these days, forcing other people to buy and continuously pay more for pencils and erasers. And once again, most people do not carry around a larger eraser, and much more would just rather have it on a pencil, but when the pencils include smaller erasers for $6.99- $7.99 for four pencils, it puts you in a situation of whether or not you should spend the extra money or have to carry around a larger item.

So now here you are, stuck in between paths and not knowing what to do. After just a week or two, your eraser starts to become even smaller than it originally is, and you erase it down so now you can’t pull it out of your pencil to replace it, and once again, you are have limited options. Whether it be to beg your friend for a way to erase your mistakes or just buy a new one, but either option is a forced choice. Also, once the eraser is jammed, the only way of inserting lead is through putting it through the same place the lead comes out, but the lead has a higher risk of breaking while doing this, and nobody wants to waste lead in such a ridiculous way.

On the bright side, I bought a Clearpoint pencil, made by Paper Mate, which comes with a longer eraser that can be twisted out and doesn’t get jammed. The downside to this is that a pack of two Clearpoints is anywhere between $5.99 to $8.00 just for two of the same pencils, and the cap tends to break pretty easily.

As marketers, companies, and businesses advance, their ways of pulling people to spend more money do as well. Such a simple item as a pencil with a tiny eraser can cause such a big problem. Corporations target such a simple item that ends up having an unfavorable effect on us, and these small erasers must be condemned.