Where is the best place to buy strong magnets online?

November 23, 2008 12:43 PM

Where is the best place to buy strong magnets online?

I've found myself in need of some powerful (N40 +) magnets. I have purchased some in the past from the following website: http://www.supermagnetman.net/. Does anyone know of a better seller?

I like Magnet Man's selection of different shapes, sizes, and strengths, and the prices seem very fair to me. But lately the website has been unusably slow, and I've decided to see if there's a better (perhaps cheaper) distributor. The only problem is, I do NOT need them in bulk. I only want to buy a few magnets at a time.

Thanks for any advice you can offer :)

posted by Jimmie to shopping (12 answers total)

United Nuclear? Interesting history to the company if you've listened to much AM talk radio about paranormal and UFO stuff.
posted by crapmatic at 1:00 PM on November 23, 2008 [1 favorite]

AM talk radio about paranormal and UFO stuff? Can't say that I have.

But thanks for the link :)
posted by Jimmie at 1:02 PM on November 23, 2008

yeah, i was going to suggest united nuclear for the TERRIFYINGLY strong magnets.

for magnets that are merely Very Strong, try american science and surplus
posted by rmd1023 at 1:09 PM on November 23, 2008 [1 favorite]

Yeah reading some of the warnings on United Nuclear is quite frightening. However, their website is very easy to browse - no clicking necessary. And the magnets are sometimes stronger and cheaper than Super Magnet Man's.

American Science and Surplus is interesting, they offer a lot of basic supplies that I can benefit from. Thanks for that link as well. But those ambiguous product titles are just annoying.
posted by Jimmie at 1:20 PM on November 23, 2008

If you're from Europe (or other readers who might happen upon this thread later are), I'd recommend Supermagnete.de. They're a Swiss company, but ship to Germany, the rest of Europe and elsewhere in the world (excluding the USA, Canada and Japan). I've ordered magnets from them several times and was very happy with them. They often give you some additional magnets for free! :-)
posted by amf at 1:57 PM on November 23, 2008

I use and love WonderMagnet.
posted by princelyfox at 2:10 PM on November 23, 2008

Oh, here's the link to Wondermagnet's catalogue.
posted by princelyfox at 2:12 PM on November 23, 2008

amazingmagnets.com is another supplier I've encountered. I've never done business with them myself though.

(Also, ♥ American Science & Surplus / Jerryco!)
posted by hattifattener at 2:38 PM on November 23, 2008

I bought my N40s from Amazon and was happy with them for small purchases.
posted by jessamyn at 4:29 PM on November 23, 2008 [1 favorite]

For selection, quality, and an easy-to-parse site layout, I highly, highly recommend K&J Magnetics.

Huge variety of shapes... quality magnets (up to n52!), great data-sheets, and good service and turnaround time. Prices are on the low side of average--but quality magnets, and a good and honest description, are assured. As per your stated preference, single magnets/small numbers of magnets are available without any kind of enormous markup.

I've ordered from them 3-4 times and have always been satisfied. I had occasion to ask the owner (not remembering his name at the moment) for insight into a solution to a particular problem once and found him to be refreshingly responsive, and very passionate and knowledgable about magnets. He knows his shit, and is exactly the type of person I'd like to do business with, regardless of the product or industry.
posted by jjjjjjjijjjjjjj at 7:21 AM on November 24, 2008

Lee Valley Tools rare earth magnets are very strong.
posted by frizelli at 8:06 PM on November 24, 2008

I was very happy with the service an selection available at United Nuclear. I highly recommend it to anyone else looking for powerful magnets.
posted by Jimmie at 1:44 PM on January 21, 2009