![The Camlin Scholar Plus geometry box from this read, with Crayola crayons and DOMS colour pencils, in their own Amazon listing photographs on a colour-block panel - the geometry box the title names]()
A 99% discount badge is usually a story about the maximum retail price rather than the product. Occasionally it is a story about a keyboard.
We read 107 Amazon stationery listings on 20 October 2026. Two claimed 99% off, and in both the stated MRP is exactly one hundred times the selling price — Rs. 170 against Rs. 17,000, Rs. 249 against Rs. 24,900.
Amazon stationery shelf, read 20 October 2026
107 listings from amazon.in's own search results across four queries, logged out, from India - nothing purchased
Median Rs. 203 · 2 stated MRPs are exactly 100x the price · 106 of 107 are rated
📅 Update log:
20 October 2026 — First publication. Read the same day: amazon.in search results for "colour pencil set", "sketch pen", "geometry box" and "crayons" via amazon_prep.py, logged out, from India, with nothing purchased and Amazon not contacted; 107 distinct listings captured, 106 publishing a star rating and review count. Recorded from this read: two listings carrying a stated MRP exactly 100 times their selling price - Camlin Scholar Plus Geometry Box at Rs. 170 against a stated Rs. 17,000, and DOMS ISRO geometry box at Rs. 249 against Rs. 24,900, both displaying a 99% badge - which we treat as decimal-point data-entry errors rather than discounts, on the evidence that the same brands' other listings price comparably (DOMS ENGINEO geometry box Rs. 158 against Rs. 263, Camlin Kokuyo colour pencils Rs. 120 against Rs. 200, Classmate Asteroid geometry box Rs. 163 against Rs. 250); a Kores Geometrix box at Rs. 124 against an exact 10.0x Rs. 1,240, flagged but retained in the figures; across the remaining 105 listings, prices from Rs. 59 (DOMS jumbo wax crayons) to Rs. 1,490 (Crayola 64 count, the only listing above Rs. 1,000) with a median of Rs. 203, 79 under Rs. 300 and 52 under Rs. 200, badges from 1% to 91% with a median of 40%, and 54 distinct stated MRPs; median printed badge by brand of Luxor 6%, DOMS 6%, Camel 12%, Doms 16%, BRUSTRO 22%, Faber-Castell 25% and Classmate 35% against Amitasha 81%, Shuttle Art 76% and YBN 68%; and one off-category result, a "Colors Queen Color It All Long Lasting Crayon Lipstick" at Rs. 178 returned by the crayons query. Not every listing photograph was opened.
A geometry box does not have a Rs. 17,000 list price
We read Amazon's own search results for colour pencils, sketch pens, geometry boxes and crayons on 20 October 2026 — 107 distinct listings, logged out, from India, nothing purchased.
Two of them claimed 99% off. The Camlin Scholar Plus Geometry Box sells at Rs. 170 against a stated MRP of Rs. 17,000. The DOMS ISRO geometry box sells at Rs. 249 against Rs. 24,900.
You do not need a price history to see what happened. In both cases the stated MRP is exactly one hundred times the selling price. That is a decimal point in the wrong place, not a bargain.
The two listings, and the arithmetic
| Listing | Price | Stated MRP | Multiple | Badge printed |
|---|
| Camlin Scholar Plus Geometry Box | Rs. 170 | Rs. 17,000 | exactly 100.0x | 99% |
| DOMS ISRO Mathematical Drawing Instrument Geometry Box | Rs. 249 | Rs. 24,900 | exactly 100.0x | 99% |
170 x 100 = 17,000. 249 x 100 = 24,900. Both land on the stated MRP exactly, which is the signature of rupees keyed in as paise when the listing was created.
This is a slip, not a scheme, and we are not suggesting otherwise. Neither Amazon nor Camlin nor DOMS is accused of anything here: the prices you would actually pay, Rs. 170 and Rs. 249, are perfectly ordinary for these boxes. The reason it is worth writing down is that the badge is generated from the stated MRP automatically — so a typo in one field produces a "99% off" flag that looks like the best deal on the page.
What the same shelf says a geometry box costs
| Listing | Price | Stated MRP | Badge | Note |
|---|
| DOMS ENGINEO geometry box | Rs. 158 | Rs. 263 | 40% | Same brand as the Rs. 24,900 claim |
| Classmate Asteroid geometry box | Rs. 163 | Rs. 250 | 35% | A directly comparable product |
| Geometry box set with compass and divider | Rs. 252 | Rs. 400 | 37% | Metal instruments |
| Camlin Kokuyo 24-shade colour pencils | Rs. 120 | Rs. 200 | 40% | Same brand as the Rs. 17,000 claim |
| Kores Geometrix geometry box | Rs. 124 | Rs. 1,240 | 90% | Also an exact 10.0x - treat with the same caution |
DOMS's own other geometry box lists at Rs. 263. Camlin's own colour pencils list at Rs. 200. Both brands price the rest of their range in the low hundreds, which is the clearest possible evidence that Rs. 24,900 and Rs. 17,000 were never real list prices.
One more listing deserves the same caution. The Kores Geometrix geometry box shows Rs. 124 against a stated Rs. 1,240 — exactly 10.0 times. A round multiple is not proof of an error the way an exact 100x is, so we have left it in the figures below rather than excluding it. But against Rs. 250-400 for comparable boxes, a Rs. 1,240 list price is worth a second look.
Why the badge is weak evidence in the first place
The two errors above are an extreme case of something ordinary on this shelf: the printed percentage is arithmetic on the stated MRP, a number the brand chooses and you never pay.
We measured that split across this same aisle earlier in the month and published it separately — the established names badge in the teens while unfamiliar ones badge in the sixties, at similar rupee prices. Rather than repeat those figures here, the comparison is at Amazon stationery price October 2026: known brands badge 15%, others 67%.
For this page the rule is narrower, and worth keeping. When a discount looks impossible, divide the stated MRP by the selling price. An exact 100, or an exact 10, is a keyboard rather than a bargain.
The shape of the shelf
| Measure | Value | Note |
|---|
| Listings read | 107 | Across four queries, one morning |
| Listings publishing a rating | 106 of 107 | Unlike AJIO, Amazon returns a star average and a review count here |
| Listings excluded as decimal errors | 2 | Both with a stated MRP exactly 100x their price |
| Cheapest of the remaining 105 | Rs. 59 | DOMS jumbo wax crayons |
| Dearest | Rs. 1,490 | Crayola crayons, 64 count - the only listing over Rs. 1,000 |
| Median price | Rs. 203 | 79 of 105 sell under Rs. 300; 52 under Rs. 200 |
| Badge range (excluding the two errors) | 1% to 91% | Median 40% |
| Distinct stated MRPs | 54 across 105 listings | — |
| Off-category listings spotted | 1 | A lipstick, returned by the crayons query |
This is a cheap aisle. Three-quarters of it sells under Rs. 300, and only one listing in 105 passes Rs. 1,000. The money question on a school stationery list is usually answered in the low hundreds.
And one listing is not stationery at all. The crayons query returned "Colors Queen Color It All Long Lasting Crayon Lipstick" at Rs. 178 — a cosmetic on a children's colouring shelf, there because the word "crayon" is in its name. We have counted and flagged it rather than quietly dropping it. We did not open the photograph for every one of the 107, so we cannot promise it is the only one.
What this page does not tell you
This is a price read, not a product test. We did not buy, open, draw with or test anything, and we make no claim about pigment strength, lightfastness, instrument accuracy, build quality or child safety. Descriptions such as "Non-Toxic", "Hi-Precision" and "Washable" above are the listings' own printed words, reproduced unverified.
Nor does it tell you today's price. Every figure here was returned by Amazon on the morning of 20 October 2026, and marketplace pricing changes by the hour. The two decimal-point errors may have been corrected since — which would be a good thing, and would also make the 99% badges disappear. Check the live listing, and when a discount looks impossible, divide the stated MRP by the price and see whether the answer is a round number.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the 99% off on that geometry box real?
No — and the arithmetic is what gives it away. The Camlin Scholar Plus Geometry Box sells at Rs. 170 against a stated MRP of Rs. 17,000. The DOMS ISRO geometry box sells at Rs. 249 against Rs. 24,900. In both cases the stated MRP is exactly one hundred times the selling price — 170 x 100 = 17,000, and 249 x 100 = 24,900. That is the signature of a decimal shifted two places, almost certainly rupees keyed in as paise when the listing was created. The same shelf settles it: DOMS's own ENGINEO geometry box lists at Rs. 263, and a Classmate Asteroid at Rs. 250. We are not suggesting Amazon or either brand set out to mislead anyone — this reads as a data-entry slip, and the Rs. 170 and Rs. 249 you would actually pay are ordinary prices for these boxes.
What does school stationery actually cost on Amazon?
Very little. Across the 105 listings left after removing the two decimal errors, the median price was Rs. 203, and 79 of them sold under Rs. 300 — 52 under Rs. 200. The cheapest was a DOMS jumbo wax crayon pack at Rs. 59. Only one listing on the whole shelf passed Rs. 1,000: a 64-count box of Crayola crayons at Rs. 1,490. So the practical planning number for a geometry box, a colour pencil set or a sketch pen pack is Rs. 100 to Rs. 300, with branded art sets and large multi-piece kits running to Rs. 400-800.
What should a geometry box actually cost?
Roughly Rs. 125 to Rs. 260 on this shelf. The comparable boxes we read were a Kores Geometrix at Rs. 124, a DOMS ENGINEO at Rs. 158, a Classmate Asteroid at Rs. 163, the Camlin Scholar Plus at Rs. 170, the DOMS ISRO at Rs. 249 and a metal compass-and-divider set at Rs. 252. Their stated MRPs, setting the two errors aside, ran from Rs. 250 to Rs. 400 — except the Kores, which stated Rs. 1,240. So the realistic planning figure is a little over Rs. 150, and nothing on this shelf justifies paying much beyond Rs. 260 for a school geometry set. We did not test instrument accuracy or build quality, so this is what the listings cost, not which one is best.
Do these listings have ratings you can use?
Yes, and that is the useful difference from some other shelves. 106 of the 107 listings published both a star average and a review count, so there is a second number to sort by when the prices sit within rupees of each other. The counts vary enormously — from single digits to several thousand — and a four-star average over six reviews is a far weaker signal than the same average over three thousand. Read the count before the stars. We report the published figures and have not verified any of them; review quality is not something a price read can assess.
Is everything returned by these searches actually stationery?
Not quite. A "crayons" search returned "Colors Queen Color It All Long Lasting Crayon Lipstick" at Rs. 178 — a cosmetic, sitting on a children's colouring shelf because the word "crayon" appears in its name. We have flagged it rather than quietly counting it, because it is a reminder of how these shelves are assembled: by keyword, not by category. If you are filtering a stationery search by price alone, glance at the photograph before adding something to a school list. It was the only off-category listing we spotted among the 107, though we did not open every photograph.
Prices & codes last verified: October 20, 2026
Zoutons may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. Every price, stated MRP, discount badge, star rating and review count above was returned by amazon.in's own search results on 20 October 2026, read logged out, from India, with nothing purchased and Amazon not contacted. PRICES MOVE HOURLY ON A MARKETPLACE — check the live listing before buying. THE TWO 100x STATED MRPs ARE DESCRIBED HERE AS ALMOST CERTAINLY DATA-ENTRY ERRORS BY WHOEVER CREATED THE LISTINGS. WE DO NOT ALLEGE THAT AMAZON, CAMLIN, DOMS, KORES, CLASSMATE OR ANY SELLER SET OUT TO MISLEAD ANYONE, AND WE MAKE NO CLAIM OF DECEPTIVE PRICING AGAINST ANY PARTY. Our basis is arithmetic on published figures — a stated MRP that is exactly one hundred times the selling price, alongside the same brands' other listings — not any knowledge of how the listings were created. They may have been corrected since we read them. NO STATED MRP IS OTHERWISE CALLED FALSE. A maximum retail price is a maximum that brands are entitled to set; reporting that one is high relative to the selling price is an observation, not an accusation. THIS IS A PRICE READ, NOT A PRODUCT TEST. We did not buy, open, draw with or test any item, and we make NO claim about pigment, lightfastness, instrument accuracy, build quality, non-toxicity or child safety. Descriptions such as "Non-Toxic", "Hi-Precision" and "Washable" are the listings' own words, reproduced unverified — check manufacturer labelling and age guidance before buying anything for a child. Star ratings and review counts are reported as published and have not been assessed for authenticity. We did not open every listing photograph, so we cannot confirm the one off-category result we found is the only one. What Amazon publishes at the time you buy prevails over anything here.
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