Review of the Mini Sharpie

When I saw the display for the Mini Sharpie at Staples I almost went into hysterics. I knew that there was talk of Sanford putting out a mini version of the Sharpie but didn't hear of a street date for them. Two weeks before Halloween they started hitting stores and were a huge success thanks to a marketing blitz that included commercials on MTV with their reality television series "The Real World". It took a little bit of time and a lot of digging but I eventually found a few of the black mini Sharpie's in the display. Most of the colors left were neon (yuck, lime green) but I wanted to start off with the black ones to see if it was worth getting the other colors. At .99 cents a piece they were about the same price as the individual Sharpie markers but these come with a really cool triangular key chain clip that you can attach to almost anything. This is a great perk for those who do a lot of traveling or are always losing permanent markers, the downside is that you need to make sure that the cap is completely in place, otherwise you will end up losing the marker or worse, having it come loose inside a backpack or knapsack.

Sanford Sharpie Mini

Measuring about three and a half inches in length, this is truly a mini marker that will keep up with you! So far I have only seen these in the fine version but I am sure that Sanford will be releasing more in the near future. These were originally marketed for people who are always on the go and had a need for a permanent marker that would be portable but functional. After test marketing it and finding that college students really liked them, they ventured out from the usual colors of blue, red, black and green and added neon colors to the line up. This went hand in hand with the MTV promotions, something that has really made these "the cool thing" to have on your backpack or knapsack. I don't care how cool something is or if it's the latest "must have" item, I want something that is going to work, without fail, and serve its purpose. This does perform like the regular Sharpies but some people may have a little trouble getting used to the size of the barrel, especially if they are using just the marker without having the cap on the back end to add a little length to it.

When it comes to the ink, it is essentially the same that you find in the regular sized Sharpie markers but I did notice that a few of the black ones were a little lighter. I tested out several of the black ones that I purchased on a variety of surfaces ranging from plastic to glass, poster board to cardboard. Two of the five that I was playing around with were lighter than the others; this could have been due to them being from an early fill on the production line or temperature differences in storage - who knows. If you have the ability to test out the markers before you buy them it is in your best interest to do so. I sent an email to Sanford about this and they asked me to send them back to them so they could check them out. They sent me a prepaid mailer as well as replacement markers, I haven't heard anything back from them but they did assure me that they would let me know what their quality control department had to say about this.

Since this is the fine tip version you can use it for addressing packages, writing on CD covers, labeling floppy discs, marking food containers and pretty much anything that you would use a regular Sharpie for. This does contain permanent ink so make sure that you are writing something that you want seen for a long time. This will rub off if you write on a smooth surface but it takes a lot of rubbing for it to start wearing off. This raises the concern of vandalism; since these are smaller they are undoubtedly going to be used for less than desirable things like writing on bathroom walls and other places. There are products that will remove this if you are having trouble with people leaving their mark in all the wrong places, ask for an ink remover at your local office supply store and they'll be more than happy to help you out. This will bleed through thinner paper so make sure you have something under it to catch the extra ink, I made the mistake of not doing this when we were playing around with these and felt like kicking myself when I saw little patches of ink on the table. Thankfully I was able to remove most of it thanks to some industrial cleaner I had on hand.

Price

Most places like Staples, Office Depot and Office Max are selling these for .99 cents, you can find these in plastic bins and on display racks near the front registers - chances are most places have them in the front so people can see them when they are waiting in line to check out and to avoid having them get stolen. Some places are selling these for .59 cents if you purchase another Sanford Sharpie product, a nice deal if you need to stock up on other Sharpie items. These are nice for stocking stuffers too so make sure you dig deep into those bins to get the coolest colors! These are backed with Sanford's guarantee of satisfaction, if you try them and don't like them for what ever reason, they will replace them or refund your purchase price. This is nice if you purchase them in a set and don't like them but I can't see spending the postage to send one of them back - keep the receipt and take it back to where you purchased it.

The Bottom Line

If you like the regular Sanford Sharpie permanent markers then chances are you will love the mini version. They do take a little getting used to because of the length of them and it is a lot easier to write with them if you have the cap on the back end of the marker. I have one of these on my backpack and find myself using it all the time - at the post office to add something to a parcel, to label a new floppy disc before I forget what is on it and for when I burn CD's at the shop. I had no idea that these things were "the cool thing" to have but ever teen, tween and college student I see walking past me has at least one of these attached to their backpack. They are a great way to always have a permanent marker handy and they are just as dependable and useful as the full sized Sharpies!