Magformers - our life has changed!

[citymama]

MIL bought DD2 a set of Magformers (the vehicles set) last week. We're literally all fighting over them and taking turns to build cool stuff. Much better than an iPad! Why haven't we gotten these earlier? LOVE!

So now that we have one set, with just 35 or so pieces, we obviously need more. ;) Any tips on how to get deals on additional sets? And which are your favorites?

For those of you who have seen both Magnatiles and Magformers, are they interchangeable - can you get either kind and they work together? These pieces are perfect for little hands (and big). Are they the same thing, different brands, or actually different products? ETA I just looked at Magnatiles online - these are what DD2 has at her preschool, and she seems to prefer the Magformers, so we'll stick to this brand I guess.

Thanks!

[KrisM]

They are different. We build buildings with Magnatiles and vehicles for them with Magformers.

We found the best price of Magformers at QVC last fall. We got this 44 piece set for $39: http://www.qvc.com/Magformers-CruisersExtreme-44pc-Magnetic-Building-Set-w-2-Wheels.product.T31736.html?sc=T31736-Zone&cm_scid=zone&cm_sp=MERCHZONE-_-Featured:+Best+Sellers-_-3

[citymama]

Thanks KrisM! That's the same set MIL bought. Good to know about the different uses for tiles versus formers.

[hellokitty]

My nephew has the magnatiles and the magformers. I know taht magnatiles get more love here, BUT my older kids LOOOOVED the magformers. The set they had came with a few light inserts, which was ultra cool for my kids. I always thought that my kids had aged out of this particular toy, which is why I never bothered to get them. However, after seeing them play with these for over an hr, if I can find any at a good price, I'd get a few sets. I too think that the magformers are more interesting than the magnatiles. IDK what it is, but I think that magnatiles seem to be geared more toward little kids and the magformers would be better for older kids.

[abh5e8]

we love magformers! my dc make them into all sorts of buildings, houses, barns, etc and love to put people and animals in them. all our sets are from QVC (or ebay, last year when they stopped production). QVC usually has some deals closer to Christmas.

[123LuckyMom]

Thank you, thank you! I never heard of nag formers, but we LOVE our magnatiles, and these look great!!! I'm putting them on my wishlist right now!

[123LuckyMom]

Um, magformers. Thank you, autocorrect.

[infomama]

thanks for posting! I was looking for something for DD's birthday and this is going to be a perfect addition to her much loved Magnatiles set. I'm going for the big set and the car you posted

[hellokitty]

I didn't realize that this toy was no longer being mad. That's too bad. Maybe I will get some for the kids for xmas.

[vonfirmath]

I didn't realize that this toy was no longer being mad. That's too bad. Maybe I will get some for the kids for xmas.

No longer being made? I knew they were out of production for a while but last I looked they were selling new sets at Barnes & Noble, etc.

[hellokitty]

Doesn't out of production mean that they are no longer made?

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[vonfirmath]

Doesn't out of production mean that they are no longer made?

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Yes...
They were out of production. Couldn't find new sets anywhere. They didn't make the decision to never ever make Magformers again -- it was a problem with the production as I understand it.

Then new sets started showing up. So I figured that the factory got fixed/they found another factory. IE they are now being produced again.

ETA: Here's a link that quotes what was on a website at one point: http://adventuretoinspire.com/2011/07/20/magformers/
[Update December 2011: Currently, you can't order Magformers anywhere, including QVC. I've done a little research and I can't seem to figure out why. Maybe a supply issue in manufacturing or some issue with patents? Anyway, I hope that they resolve the issue soon. These really are one of the greatest toys of all time.]

[Update July 2012: Finally an answer! Magformers Official Website states: "Magformers manufacturing was suspended in 2010 because the price of the neodymium magnets tripled. We could no longer produce a toy with a reasonable price. The price of the magnets has fallen somewhat and we are hoping to get back into production late spring of 2012. Check our web site later and hopefully we will have Magformers available for sale again." Click here to visit their website.]

[hellokitty]

Ok, well that's good news.

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[abh5e8]

yes, sorry to be confusing! they were not avaliable anywhere about a year ago (except for rediculous prices on ebay) but lately i've seen them in stock lots of places :)