Amazon Basics Premium Colored Pencils

I have been in the adult coloring community for about 8 years. Prior to that I used Prismacolor pencils for coloring in my own artwork. I am not a professional artist, but an experienced colorist and hobby artist. I will say I sat back for years and watched many rave about these pencils, however; I did have my doubts. Because I primarily use artist grade pencils ( I am not opposed to budget brands) I am familiar with these professional grade pencils and enjoy the results, so I have declined purchasing the Amazon Basics. I do own two budget brand pencils sets (one being Crayola) but if I am being honest I reach for my Prisma and Polychromos on most occasions. I always weigh in factors before buying colored pencil sets? I ask, "will I actually really use them?"My artist grade pencils are the ones I reach for time and time again. I did not feel that I would use them often, and did not want a wasted pencil set sitting around, so this is another factor in why I have put off purchasing them. BUT, I saw another Youtube colorist recently review the pencils - and they claimed the pencils were fantastic. I have to wonder, am I missing out on something? I decided (after years of going back and forth) that I would order the small set, being the price had dropped to a mere $5. I figured this was a great way to try them out for a super cheap price, and if I don't like them, no big deal. I only spent 5 bucks. My pencils arrived today, so let me say the good about the pencils. They are wrapped very well. In a cardboard box with bubble wrap taped to the box to keep the pencils secure. I appreciate Amazon's efforts here. Also the tin is decent, not very heavy, but substantial enough. The pencils are very nicely made. They look nice, paint is nice and bright, and they are arranged well. I decided to test the pencils on cheap Amazon based coloring book paper first. I will say this is a NO go. The pencils drag on this paper, do not blend well at all, and leave lots of visible wax streaks and crumbs. I did not like them on this paper. I then tried them on a Hanna Karlzon and Jasmine Beckett Griffith book. They worked much better on this smoother, nicer paper. I wouldn't say they perform as nicely as your artist grade pencils, but they were ok-considering they are budget pencils. But, once I added 3 layers, the 4th started to gum up a bit with wax. So if you are someone who layers continuously (which I am) there is a limit on layers here. I also tried these pencils on a Mythographic book. Again, a NO go. I did not like the pencils on this paper either, very similar results as the Amazon paper test. I found the toothier, rougher paper not a good choice for these pencils. The smoother nicer paper worked much better. With that said, if I am being honest -- I was not impressed with these pencils. I will not be purchasing a bigger set. I will say that Crayola work much better in my opinion, on various types of paper at that. So my final recommendation is buy these if your budget only allows for this set. If you are able to spring for the Prisma's or even Crayola's, go for these instead. You will get much better results. I wasn't missing out on anything after all, but for 5 bucks I am glad I took the chance to find out.