Magnetic Furniture & Boards – How to Respond When Magnets “Don’t Stick” - Videos Included

Here is some clear, customer‑friendly language to use when customers report that magnets “don’t stick” or “don’t hold well” on Kaplan magnetic furniture and boards with included video samples toward the bottom of the article. The goal is to:

• Set accurate expectations about how these products are designed
• Avoid implying poor quality or defects
• Provide practical solutions and recommended magnet types
• Provide Recorded Video Examples (Video 1) (Video 2)

Products This Article Covers

Customers most often raise magnet concerns on:

• 37972 – Magnetic LED STEM Center
• 37973 – Magnetic LED STEM Center
• 300581 – Magnetic LED Wall‑Mounted Board

The same guidance can generally apply to other Kaplan items that include a magnetic board or magnetic panel.

Key Design Point (Internal Summary)

Our magnetic panels are intentionally designed with lighter magnetism than heavy-duty metal boards. This:

• Keeps surfaces safer and more appropriate for early childhood environments
• Still allows stronger educational magnets to hold well
• Means everyday “kitchen” or novelty magnets may not hold reliably

This is usually not a defect; it is part of the product design and materials used.

Short Customer‑Facing Explanation (Use in Email/Chat)

You can copy, tweak, and use this wording:

Our magnetic boards are designed for use with stronger educational magnets rather than lightweight “refrigerator” or novelty magnets. Because of the materials and safety-focused design, they may not hold everyday "kitchen" type magnets well, but they do work as expected with stronger magnet sets like magnetic tiles and magnetic wands.

Longer Customer‑Facing Explanation (Use When There’s Frustration)

Thank you for reaching out about the magnets not sticking as you expected.

Our magnetic boards are designed a bit differently from a traditional metal refrigerator or office board. The magnetic surface is intentionally less intense so it’s appropriate for young children and integrates safely into classroom furniture.

As a result, lighter everyday “kitchen” type or novelty magnets may not hold well on these boards. However, when you use stronger educational magnets—such as standard‑size magnetic tiles and magnetic wands—the pieces should stick and stay in place as intended.

This doesn’t indicate a quality issue with your unit; it’s related to the type and strength of magnet being used. If you’d like, we can recommend specific magnet sets that have been tested to work well with this surface.

Magnet Types: What Typically Works vs. What Doesn’t

Typically Works Well

You can reassure customers that these types of magnets generally adhere and hold:

• Standard-size magnetic tiles (e.g., Magnatiles‑style pieces)
• Magnetic wands
• Strong, classroom‑grade magnetic manipulatives designed for STEM or early literacy activities

Often Does Not Work Well

These magnet types are less likely to hold reliably and may appear to “not stick”:

• Thin, flexible refrigerator/kitchen magnets
• Novelty souvenir magnets (especially rubber or vinyl-backed)
• Small, decorative magnets that are not marketed as “strong” or classroom‑grade

You can explain:

Because the board is designed with a lighter magnetic pull, thin or flexible magnets may slide or fall off. This doesn’t mean the board is defective; it just responds differently than a heavy steel refrigerator door.

Recommended Magnet Sets to Suggest

We currently recommend these items on our website for best performance with these boards:

• 33944 – PowerClix® Solids Natural – 70 Piece Set
• 32460 – PowerClix® Frames Natural – 74 Piece Set

Suggested customer language:

For best results with your magnetic board, we recommend using stronger magnets such as our PowerClix® sets, including item 33944 PowerClix® Solids Natural – 70 Piece Set and item 32460 PowerClix® Frames Natural – 74 Piece Set. These have been tested to adhere well to the board surface.

Framing the Conversation (Avoiding “Poor Quality” Language)

When customers say “the magnets don’t stick,” focus on fit-for-use and design, not defects.

Phrases to Use

• “Designed to work best with stronger educational magnets…”
• “This is expected performance with lighter household magnets…”
• “The board is functioning as designed; the difference is in the strength and style of the magnets being used.”
• “To get the best experience, we recommend…”

Phrases to Avoid

• “The board is weak/low quality.”
• “The magnets don’t work on this product.”
• “There’s nothing we can do.”

Basic Troubleshooting Checklist (For Agents)

Before concluding that the item is functioning as designed:

1. Confirm product and magnets being used

   • “Can you tell me which magnets you’re trying on the board? Are they thin fridge magnets or classroom magnetic tiles/wands?”

2. Ask if any magnet at all will hold

   • If no magnet will stick, even strong tiles/wands, that may indicate a true issue.
   • If some stronger magnets stick but weaker ones don’t, that is expected behavior.

3. Ask about surface condition

   • Confirm the board is clean and dry (no film, residue, or heavy dust).

4. Check for comparison expectations

   • Many customers compare it to a refrigerator door.
   • Gently reset expectations using the “Longer Explanation” section above.

If, after this, strong magnets still do not adhere at all, follow your standard “defective item” or escalation process.

Example Response Templates

Email / Chat – Expected Performance (No Defect Found)

Thank you for sharing your experience with the magnetic board.

These boards are designed with a lighter magnetic pull than a traditional refrigerator or steel board. Because of that, everyday kitchen or novelty magnets often won’t hold well. However, stronger educational magnets—such as magnetic tiles and magnetic wands—should stick and stay in place.

For best results, we recommend using strong magnets such as item 33944 PowerClix® Solids Natural – 70 Piece Set and item 32460 PowerClix® Frames Natural – 74 Piece Set, which have been tested on this surface.

If you find that even stronger magnets are not adhering at all, please let us know so we can review further.

Phone Call – Quick Talking Points

• “Our boards are engineered with a lighter magnetic pull for classroom use.”
• “They don’t behave like a refrigerator door, so thin fridge magnets often won’t hold.”
• “Educational magnets like magnetic tiles and wands do stick and stay in place.”
• “We recommend sets like our PowerClix® Solids (33944) and PowerClix® Frames (32460) for best performance.”
• “If those types of magnets still don’t adhere, we’ll be happy to review your specific unit.”

When to Escalate to Quality / Product Teams

Escalate according to your normal defect/escalation process if:

• Strong, classroom‑grade magnets (e.g., tiles, wands, PowerClix) do not stick at all, or
• The magnetic surface shows visible damage, separation, bubbling, or warping, or
• Multiple units of the same item from the same order show identical non‑performance with strong magnets.

Collect:

• Item number and description
• Photos or video showing strong magnets not adhering
• Order number and quantity affected
• Type/brand of magnets used

• Use the playbook to report QA item concerns when the customer is using stronger magnets that do not "stick"
• Videos of QA testing magnetism
  • Video 1
    • This is a video reference for the QA Testing Magnetism, use this sample as a reference of what to review:  https://info.kaplanco.com/hubfs/IMG_9457.mov
  • Vid 2 ("kitchen" /light weight magnets)
    • This is a second video reference for the QA Testing Magnetism, use this sample as a reference of what to review: https://info.kaplanco.com/hubfs/IMG_9457%20(1).mov