From the blog

• January 14, 2017 Best Marble Run Toys 2017 - Social Proof
  

  In today's digital world, we are always making buying decisions either consciously or sub-consciously based on Social Proof.  This simply means that we rely on the input of others to help us make a decision.  For instance, we like to look at reviews on Amazon to learn how other people like a product before we buy or maybe we look at a popular website or blog to see what they recommend.

  At Marble Genius, we strive to make the best Marble Run Toys that you will find anywhere and we believe there is significant external validation that backs this statement up.  Using Google or going straight to Amazon is a great way to to get this information, but we thought it might be helpful to share with you some of this Social Proof.

  Amazon - Best Selling Marble Run

  According to Forbes, Amazon's market power "now rivals or exceeds Walmart" and almost 50% of US households are Amazon Prime Members.  Given this market power, looking at reviews of a product on Amazon is a great place to start to get a sense of whether this product might be something to buy or not.  Products with a significant number of Verified Reviews as well as products that have at least 4 stars are a good starting point for Social Proof.  At Marble Genius, each of our products have a healthy number of Verified Reviews and we encourage you to take a look at those before making a buying decision.

  

  Another great thing to consider on Amazon before making a buying decision is how a particular item ranks in a given category.  One thing to watch out for is a particular product might be a Best Seller for the day due to a large number of giveaways or because they deeply discounted their price for a day to get a better ranking, but if you consistently see a product at the top of it's category it's safe to say that most people are buying that product in that particular category.  In the Marble Run Category, our Super Set has consistently been the Best Selling Marble Run Toy on Amazon.  This can obviously always change, which is why we included the link so that you can see what the Best Selling Marble Run products are when you are reading this.  When you want to identify what the Best Selling item in a category is, the quickest way I have found to do this is to actually Google "Amazon Best Selling _________" and that typically gets you there fastest.

  External Websites & Blogs:

  As of this writing, there are over 1 Billion websites on the internet, which is a staggering figure and another reason why you definitely have to consider the source or look to multiple data points before relying on what it is saying.  You can also use Alexa to see how popular a particular website is.

  

  According to Wiki.ezvid.com, which is the world's first video wiki that gets millions of visitors every month and is a top 3000 website on the internet, our Marble Genius Super Set is the # 2 Best Marble Run Toy on the market and the best plastic Marble Run Toy in their rankings.  They spent over 29 hours compiling this and if you click the link you can see the video of the top 10 Marble Runs and additional explanation.  Note: they did not accept any money or input from the companies whose products they reviewed.

  

  Another significant website, MyKidsNeedThat.com has ranked our Marble Genius Super Set as the #1 overall Marble Run for 2017 and our Marble Genius Starter Set as the #3 Marble Run on the market.  This website goes into great detail as far as their methodology is concerned and they did not accept any money or input from the companies whose products they reviewed as well.  One other interesting observation that the # 1 ranked Marble Run on Wiki.ezvid.com was ranked #10 on this website.  This is another reason to look at multiple sources before making buying decisions because there can be significant variability with product rankings.

  We are extremely thankful to each of the sites above for the platform they have provided to help us grow our product.  It's worth noting that we have no affiliation with either of the 2 websites mentioned above and our only affiliation with Amazon is that we sell on their platform.  

• October 23, 2016 2-Story Marble Genius Marble Run
  

  We have had a goal for a while to build a tall Marble Run with our Marble Genius Marble Run Toys and we decided to do just that a couple weeks ago.  After establishing a solid base with 10 bases, we started inter-locking the Marble Run pieces.  Building the first 6 feet of the Marble Run went relatively quickly  because a ladder wasn't necessary.  The base and the first several feet of the Marble Run were the most important because the strong foundation we established allowed the Marble Run to climb over 2 stories.  In addition to the large number of bases at the bottom, 4 "poles" were established that would extend from the bases to the very top of the Marble Run.  You can see these 4 "poles" that are a combination of Marble Run Tubes and Marble Run Action Pieces in the main picture.  

  Once we got above 6 feet, a ladder was necessary to complete the build.  This is the part of the Marble Run that took the most time (over 3.5 hours).  All told, it took over 5 hours to build this 2-Story marble Run and took over 20 Marble Genius Marble Run Toys (Starter Set, Super Set, & Extreme Set).  As we were finishing, the wind started to pick-up so it became necessary to secure the Marble Run to the ladder with a couple of bungee cords and we secured the ladder to the roof with a bungee cord as well.  This allowed us to keep the Marble Run up for about a week so that we could produce the video below.

  

  We occasionally see feedback on Amazon that indicates our Marble Run Toys are not very stable.  We hope this 2-story Marble Run provides encouragement to those that struggle to create a stable structure.  It absolutely can be done if you establish a solid foundation and interlock the structure.  Please enjoy this Marble Run and we would love it if you would send the tallest Marble Run structures that you have created!

  Happy Building!

• August 28, 2016 Marble Run Exhibit Coming to a Museum Near You?
  

  Marble Genius Marble Run Toys currently hold the top 2 spots in the Marble Run category on Amazon, which is extremely humbling. The positive reviews that we continually receive have challenged us to push the envelope of innovation even more and consider how we can leave an even bigger impact. You will see examples of this with new products we introduce next year; however, we are launching our new Marble Run exhibit that we want to have in as many of the top Children's Museums in the country as possible.

  Why?

  STEM learning continues to be a very hot topic among parents of school age children as well as education systems.  Marble Run Toys are a proven leader when it comes to toys that not only help maintain kids attention and entertain them, but also help them learn as they have fun.  A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted some of these benefits including enhanced problem solving for kids that play with Marble Run Toys.

  

  Given these benefits and the fact that screens continue to be one of the first choices when it comes to keeping kids busy, we feel a strong sense of urgency to get the word out that Marble Run Toys are more exciting than ever!  When you combine see-through pieces with numerous different types of action pieces, it is easy to see why kid's of all ages enjoy playing with them.

  How it works?

  We spent some time this last week creating an example of what a Museum Exhibit could look like.  The picture below is only about 12 sets and stands 6 feet tall by 3 feet deep by 8 feet wide.  This exhibit could be in full light or if there's a dark place, it also could look really neat with Black Lights.  We would pay to enclose it in glass and make sure the marbles are accessible at the bottom of the exhibit so that guests can easily access the entry to interact with the exhibit.

  

  Here is a brief video to give an idea of what it would look as it's being used:

   

  How you can Help?

  We are looking to donate these exhibits to any Children's Museum that is in the top 30 largest Children's Museum's in the United States.  If you work one of these museums or know of someone that does and is interested in having us setup an exhibit, please reach out to me: jeff@marblegenius.com.

  Thanks!

  

• August 21, 2016 Marble Genius Extreme Set
  

  We are happy to announce the arrival of our latest product, the Marble Genius Marble Run Extreme Set!  This set has 125 pieces and 20 glass marbles and contains a number of exciting new pieces:

  1.) 360 degree loop:

  

  2.) Jump and catch piece:

  

  3.) Y - Splitter Piece:

  

  All pieces in the Extreme Set:

  

  Since we launched our Marble Genius Marble Run Starter Set & Marble Genius Marble Run Super Set, the success of these has been amazing! We have sold thousands of each of these sets since our launch 2 months ago and have consistently been in the top 5 marble run toys on Amazon.  One of the requests we often received was if we had  anything more, which is why we launched the Marble Genius Marble Run Extreme Set just in time for the Christmas Shopping Season. This set is great on it's own or is a fantastic addition if you already have a Starter Set or Super Set.