Has the price of a standard eraser used by schoolchildren risen to Rs.250? Find out the facts…

Due to the ongoing economic recession in Sri Lanka, the prices of essential goods and services have increased by a few folds putting massive pressure on the end consumer. The stationary sector has also felt the impact of price hikes substantially. There have been many complaints from parents getting ready for the new school term in January, as the prices of school children's books, stationery items, school bags and school shoes have risen sharply.

Against this backdrop, an image of an eraser went viral on social media streams in Sri Lanka, indicating that skyrocketing inflation had meant that even an average eraser price had shot up to Rs.250/-. However, the Factcrescendo Sri Lanka team found these claims exaggerated and misleading.

Let’s look at the claim first.

Social Media

The below post questions how students could afford their education, along with the image of an eraser priced at Rs.250/-, implying that this was the current average price of an eraser.

Facebook | Archived

Many similar posts were viral in the Sinhala language as well.

Fact Check

Due to high inflation in Sri Lanka, prices of all goods and services have increased alarmingly over the past few months.

Even so, has the price of a standard eraser used by average schoolchildren, which was priced around ten rupees or even less, shot up to Rs.250?

To find out the facts, we took steps to check the prices of erasers from a few of the prominent bookstores in Sri Lanka.

The selling price of erasers at M.D. Gunasena Bookstore is seen below.

Md gunasena|Archived Link

Also, the prices of erasers were given on the website of “Sarasavi book shop” as follows.

Sarasavi | Archived Link

So, it can be seen that the average eraser is much less than the amount implied by social media posts and in most instances, was priced below Rs.50.

We also contacted some bookstores directly and got the selling price details. They explained that some of the custom erasers, often with beautiful decorations, are sold at higher prices. Via an online shopping portal, we also noticed that the price of decoratively designed erasers was considerably higher.

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What is the erase brand shown in viral social media posts?

The viral social media posts show a German eraser brand called Staedler. Even though some schoolchildren might also use this brand, it is more popular among professional artists and architects.

We contacted the Sri Lanka representative office of Staedler, to gather more insights. They mentioned that this quality eraser imported from Germany could be purchased in different types for different purposes under varying prices, as seen below. The local representative also said that the cheapest German-made Staedler eraser is Rs.73 and the one shown in the viral image could be purchased in the local market for around Rs.207 upwards.

The price list of various Staedler erasers can be read here. Archived.

We also spoke with the manager of Sakura Art Store & Gallery, who confirmed that along with professional erasers, almost all of the art equipment increased considerably over the past few months.

Please Note: Due to rising inflation being experienced in Sri Lanka, the price of school equipment, as with any other sector has increased significantly. In this article we have tried to show that the cost of a standard eraser used by school children has not gone up to Rs.250 as implied by social media claims and that there are many standard erasers which could be bought below Rs.50.

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