Magnatiles?

[MontrealMum]

I'm thinking of buying some of these for DS' third birthday which is coming up. How many should I get? He's very into building stuff so I predict that these will be a hit. I see sets of 32, 48, 100...how many does a kid need to have fun?
TIA!

[kristac]

We have the 48 and a 100 set (clear). I'd definately recommend the 100 if you can afford it. The 48 is fun since it has a few specialty pieces (wheels, door, arch, etc.) but I would definately say with Magnatiles more is better. We are hoping to add another 100 to our set soon.

[MontrealMum]

Thanks for the info :)

Here's a secondary question, have any Canadians ever seen these up here? In store or online? I went to the official Magnatiles website and the store locater is only for the US. MIL has asked what to buy for DS and I was thinking that this would be great for her since she likes me to give her the name of one -and only one thing - to buy, but not if they're difficult for her to find. She's not cheap, she just doesn't like difficulties.

[mikeys_mom]

I would agree that you should get the 100 clear set. We have that one and the kids use up all the pieces often.

I ordered it directly from Valtech. They shipped to Canada with no problems. Shipping and duties were a bit expensive - maybe $35 combined. I don't remember exactly. From my online searches I discovered that Scholars Choice (I forget the QC name for the store) carries them here but they only had the smaller sets and they were much more expensive than what Valtech was charging. I found a coupon code online for Valtech so I figured it was less expensive to just pay the shipping than to see how much Scholars Choice would charge for a larger set. IIRC I paid $90ish for a 100 set and Scholars Choice was charging $60ish for a set of 32.

[KrisM]

I'll chime in with getting a 100 clear set. We have 2 of those and we're happy with the amount for 2 kids and are thinking of more now that 3 are playing.

[hillview]

I'll chime in with getting a 100 clear set. We have 2 of those and we're happy with the amount for 2 kids.
:yeahthat:

[squimp]

Get at least 100. We now have 200 because they are super popular and DD likes to fill the living room with her creations.

[bubbaray]

I would go with the 100. We don't have them, but DD#1's and DD#2's daycares do. They aren't a fave of my girls, so I've skipped them, but did a lot of research about them and 100 was the amount most recommended.

If I had ordered them, I think I was going to get them direct from Valtech with a shipping code and then have it shipped to my US addy, which you also have. That is what I'd do.

IIRC, there is a Canadian distributor -- is it Mastermind Toys??? Can't remember.

[MontrealMum]

Thanks ladies :)

I may or may not have just ordered 100 magnatiles direct from Valtech w/a 20% off code, to be shipped to my dad's in the US. We're leaving on Sat. for a 2-week vacay down there which is the reason for the rush.

Their site is extremely wonky right now. Even their email support is down. Will have to call tomorrow to check as that's $20 off the Amazon price, but if I have to go there, I will. I'm so excited - I think DS is going to love these!