I don't think Woot is trying anymore, Amazon.com has these everyday price for 89 blocks for
$45.10, and 148 Blocks for $69.10. and for the very industrious, 296 blocks for $90.92.

So these are kinda like giant buckyballs and magneto-sticks right?

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but what do you get in one 72 piece set that you don't get in two 36 piece sets and is worth an extra $1.01 ??

Price or no price. I purchased the smaller of the sets on a whim for a present for my younger brother and sister. They were 3 I believe, at the time. Best present out of everything they had received, and they had gotten quite a few more amazing gifts, in my opinion.

txcruiser wrote:I don't think Woot is trying anymore, Amazon.com has these everyday price for 89 blocks for
$45.10, and 148 Blocks for $69.10. and for the very industrious, 296 blocks for $90.92.

where are you seeing these prices. Can you please post a link? Thanks.

mcgma wrote:Perhaps I'm missing something here, but what do you get in one 72 piece set that you don't get in two 36 piece sets and is worth an extra $1.01 ??

A deal is a deal is a deal. I don't care if you save a nickel. It's still a drop in price. I guess I don't understand your comment.

Thazeran wrote:Price or no price. I purchased the smaller of the sets on a whim for a present for my younger brother and sister. They were 3 I believe, at the time. Best present out of everything they had received, and they had gotten quite a few more amazing gifts, in my opinion.

+1

I have a 1 and 4 year old. I got a 32 piece set from a "specialty" kids store. Those 2 kids play with them every day. They *love* these things.

This is why I really want to get a 72 piece set. I can't imagine what those 2 will build with that many pieces.

It's going to be super cool watching (well, probably not watching... i like playing with them too.)

sonicmouse wrote:A deal is a deal is a deal. I don't care if you save a nickel. It's still a drop in price. I guess I don't understand your comment.

She/he was saying that by buying 2 small sets on Woot, you get the same amount of pieces for about $1 less than if you buy one large set.

sonicmouse wrote:where are you seeing these prices. Can you please post a link? Thanks.

I think that poster is referring to this - http://www.amazon.com/Guidecraft-Magnetos-Master-Builder-Piece/dp/B0017QKJD4

sonicmouse wrote:A deal is a deal is a deal. I don't care if you save a nickel. It's still a drop in price. I guess I don't understand your comment.

Except that it's not a deal, look at his post again. You are paying $1 MORE for a set of 72 vs buying 2 sets of 36

Can someone tell us what sort of pieces are in this set? Looking at the comments for the 89 piece set on Amazon, I found this:

"From Guidecraft's own website "This set contains: 12 balls, 2 bendies, 6 long rods, 14 short rods and 43 clips, plus 12 panels in a variety of sizes." So if you are hoping for close to 80 big building parts, what you'll actually get is 32 plus 2 neat bendies, a ton of clips and some "flags"."

Is the kids.woot set composed of all balls and rods, or does it have filler panels and clips, too?

I found this list of Magneatos sets on their website: http://www.guidecraft.com/search?q=magneatos&x=0&y=0

I am guessing that the 36 and 72 piece sets are just rods and balls. But the descriptions don't say for sure.

Yes, I would like to know what's included. Is it one of those rip-off sets that the "pieces" are really a bunch of clips or do these pieces actually mean balls and sticks?

cjbennett4 wrote:Yes, I would like to know what's included. Is it one of those rip-off sets that the "pieces" are really a bunch of clips or do these pieces actually mean balls and sticks?

No.. what's in the picture is what you get. Rods and balls.

And the post above with the 144 pieces for whatever... that's a set with "clips" and other nonsense. That's why it's 144 pieces for a lesser price.

This deal is actually a really good one. And it's the jumbo pieces... not the small rods and balls... the big ones.

If you have youngins at home... you won't be disappointed. I highly suggest the 72 piece set... or maybe a couple of them

mwinkykitty wrote:Except that it's not a deal, look at his post again. You are paying $1 MORE for a set of 72 vs buying 2 sets of 36

Amazon shows different prices to different customers. Google the phrase "variable pricing."

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2000/09/38622

What the heck are "clips" anyway??? I didn't know these sets needed any sort of clips. Odd.

sonicmouse wrote:No.. what's in the picture is what you get. Rods and balls.

And the post above with the 144 pieces for whatever... that's a set with "clips" and other nonsense. That's why it's 144 pieces for a lesser price.

This deal is actually a really good one. And it's the jumbo pieces... not the small rods and balls... the big ones.

If you have youngins at home... you won't be disappointed. I highly suggest the 72 piece set... or maybe a couple of them

I have the 72 piece set of these in my classroom and they are great! Younger kids (2-3) have fun connecting the pieces, and my 4's and 5's use them to build more elaborate pieces. I use them to show the kids that triangles are a stronger building shape. A square of magneatos will fall apart but a pyramid will not (if you pick it up somewhat gingerly.)

I have to be the voice of dissent here, we had 3 sets I picked up for cheap and while they stick together fairly well, you must build with them with some knowledge to get your structure to be more than one breath away from collapse. These were infinitely frustrating for my kid and required adult intervention constantly to repair a collapsed "sculpture."

wootpapa wrote:Amazon shows different prices to different customers. Google the phrase "variable pricing."

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2000/09/38622

It's got nothing to do with Amazon. The original poster was pointing out that it's $1.01 cheaper to buy two 36-piece sets than one 72-piece set FROM HERE.

cjbennett4 wrote:What the heck are "clips" anyway??? I didn't know these sets needed any sort of clips. Odd.

The clips fit around the rods and hold the panels (not part of the Woot sets) in place.

Magneatos are great for small kids - I would say up to 2-3 years of age IF your little one isn't prone to throwing things. The pieces have some weight and you don't want them sailing through the air and hit something.
My son (5) would not play with it for anything but making ice cream cones as the " buildings" are just frustrating as they come apart easily. Cool toy but a 1-3 year old is just as facinated with everyday things like cooking utensils ...
If you are running a daycare they are great - easy to clean and durable - however I would recommend investing in magna tiles - way more fun and for a wider age range.

Are they made of wood or plastic?

vyper0 wrote:Are they made of wood or plastic?

Plastic.

mcgma wrote:Perhaps I'm missing something here, but what do you get in one 72 piece set that you don't get in two 36 piece sets and is worth an extra $1.01 ??

Could be one of 2 things that I can think of:
1) 99% of people won't understand the misprice, even if you explain it to them- as evidenced in the comments above
2) The 36 piece sets are expected to sell exclusively until sold out. After that happens the price per piece goes up.

My 2.5yo daughter has the curved set, and loves just playing with the magnetic feature of it, feeling the resistance of one side and stick of the other. She'll make 2D shapes, but hasn't quite gotten the 3D construction aspect of these yet. That'll come, and I'm glad it'll grow with her. One of those open ended toys that's actually good for our kids!

I bought this 36 piece set that is straight links and balls about 3 years ago.

The good: The magnets weren't the high powered ones used in older kid sets and we never had one pop out. I actually *thought* the magnet was not exposed on the end - but I am not sure enough to say. The pieces are large and feel pretty durable. The ball was maybe a little smaller then a racquetball ball.

The bad: The set was super weak and the bonds fell apart easily. We could make a cube or triangle, but my kids lost interest with the limited building options. The magnetic bond wasn't strong enough to hold the weight of other pieces. The builder has to be old enough to know how to 'reinforce' the building. I could build things larger if I carefully made sheets and then pulled them together - but not realistic for a 3-5 year old child.

Overall - Hopefully, they've improved since I bought them. I think it's a neat concept (which is why I had gotten them) but I wouldn't but them for kids older then 3.5 My two cents would be for ages 18m-3.5y with parental supervision/play help. Even if the bonds are weak - I know today my 18m old would enjoy 'helping' me and knocking it down.

yos9694 wrote:Could be one of 2 things that I can think of:
1) 99% of people won't understand the misprice, even if you explain it to them- as evidenced in the comments above
2) The 36 piece sets are expected to sell exclusively until sold out. After that happens the price per piece goes up.

The smaller sets have already old out.

I just wanted to warn everyone that if your child swallows two of these, you could be in for a trip to the ER. Apparently the magnets are strong enough to rip intestines apart as these toys pass through them.

What? These are magnetic, but not buckyballs? Nevermind. Carry on.

fgarriel wrote:I just wanted to warn everyone that if your child swallows two of these, you could be in for a trip to the ER. Apparently the magnets are strong enough to rip intestines apart as these toys pass through them.

That's true of small magnets. These are huge. There's no way any kid is ever going to successfully swallow one of these, much less two.

It's conceivable that they might get one lodged in their throat and choke, but they'd have to work so hard at it to even do that that you'd pretty much have to chalk it up to Darwin at that point.

Fedex delivered the package to USPS.
USPS had it tracked as out for delivery then posted a notice was left even though no one ever showed up and there was no notice. When I called the customer service swore by their delivery man and said someone came at 3:30 PM and left a notice. I told her someone was sitting outside waiting at that time. Nevermind redelivery and waiting again.
I arranged to pick it up at the Post Office myself.

The next day I spent an hour on line and when I finally go to the window they had no idea where the package was. Later that morning, USPS delivered the package.

The pieces don't hold tightly enough to move a built object around and are best used on a low surface, I prefer on a carpeted floor. The children enjoy making things and connecting with the magnetic balls and rods.