--- product_id: 48797303 title: "Melissa & Doug Abacus - Classic Wooden Educational Counting Toy With 100 Beads Abacus Toy for Kids Maths for Ages 3+" brand: "melissa & doug" price: "R1833" currency: ZAR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 category: "Melissa & Doug" url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/48797303-melissa-and-doug-abacus-classic-wooden-educational-counting-toy-100 store_origin: ZA region: South Africa --- # 100 colorful beads Compact dimensions Solid hardwood frame Melissa & Doug Abacus - Classic Wooden Educational Counting Toy With 100 Beads Abacus Toy for Kids Maths for Ages 3+ **Brand:** melissa & doug **Price:** R1833 **Availability:** βœ… In Stock ## Summary > 🧠 Count on Fun! Unlock your child's potential with every bead. ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Melissa & Doug Abacus - Classic Wooden Educational Counting Toy With 100 Beads Abacus Toy for Kids Maths for Ages 3+ by melissa & doug - **How much does it cost?** R1833 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.za](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/48797303-melissa-and-doug-abacus-classic-wooden-educational-counting-toy-100) ## Best For - melissa & doug enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted melissa & doug brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - β€’ **Solo Play Fun:** Designed for individual play, fostering independence. - β€’ **Durable Design:** Crafted from solid hardwood for lasting play. - β€’ **Perfect Gift Choice:** An ideal present for birthdays and holidays. - β€’ **Colorful Exploration:** Encourage color recognition and patterning skills. - β€’ **Timeless Learning Tool:** Engage your child's mind with this classic abacus! ## Overview The Melissa & Doug Abacus is a beautifully crafted wooden developmental toy designed for children aged 3 and up. With 100 vibrant beads, it promotes essential math skills, color recognition, and fine motor development. Its solid hardwood frame ensures durability, making it a perfect gift for any occasion. ## Description Kids can count on this wooden "calculator" for years of play and learning! The Melissa & Doug Abacus is beautifully crafted with a solid hardwood base, and 100 brightly coloured wooden beads. The sturdy frame holds 10 thick-coated wires with 10 colourful wooden beads on each -- 100 beads in all. Younger kids can slide the beads back and forth to explore different patterns and colours, while practicing their fine motor skills. Older children can enjoy using the abacus as a visual and hands-on way to learn addition and subtraction and other early maths concepts. The beads are sized for little hands, and glide easily across the smooth wires. The counting toy comes with eight extension activities to add to your child's learning experience. With no loose pieces and no mess, it's a great toy to pack in a bag for on-the-go play. The abacus makes a great gift for kids ages three and older for hands-on, screen-free play. Assemble the wooden frame and use the beads to count and learn math. No warning applicable All sizes are as accurate as possible and all images are accurate at time of publication. Please note that small variations and modifications may be made by manufacturers without notice. This wooden β€œcalculator” helps teach math skills, patterning and colour recognition. Slide and count the beads with this timeless counting frame. 1x Abacus Review: Wooden Abacus - Had this for a couple of years now. Kids have thrown it around and it's been under other toys at the bottom of the toy box etc. Still in one piece though. Quality build and hardwearing. I have used this to help kids with the concept of adding and subtraction. Can't say that this is their favourite toy. They'd rather play with their NDS than with this. But has an educational value and they get a concept of addition and subtraction for their maths through this. Would recommend it for 4+yrs in my opinion, but others may have different experiences. Update May 2014 Have had several kids use it (bigger than average family!!) and my 3 year old is using it now. Still as good as new. Very hardwearing and solid toy. The colours of the beads and the appearence of the wood still good. It has been a very good purchase. These days things you buy don't last long. But nice to have something all my kids have used and still almost as good as when the first child received it. If I get around to it I will upload a picture. I hope these ones they ship now are as good as the one that I received many years ago (saw this on desertcart for Β£6 recently, which is cheaper than I paid years ago and represent good value). Review: Teaching tool and fun - I decided to buy two sets of letters and two sets of numbers and the abacus too but for some reason I could only buy one set of numbers and letters. I get the whole rationing thing with food but with letters and numbers!? Strange but with no school at the moment wouldn't we want to teach our children more and get them to eat less. What a world we live in. Anyway, I'm sure its a stocking issue but it still seems odd to me. Anyway, on to the products. We bought a set of letters previously and thought we would get a couple of sets of each numbers and letters, an abacus and a magnetic whiteboard to "teach" our 3 year old at "school" as she doesn't go currently due to the pandemic. It worked, was fun and as she already had a small table and chair we set up a classroom and we got her to interact with the whiteboard. This is now a daily thing and she loves "school!!" We like Melissa and Doug's toys but my one frustration is "Made in China" why!! You have a UK brand, children, learning and fun. I'd rather pay more and buy British so I was a bit disappointed as there are cheaper out there obviously from the Far East. If we keep making this about money we won't have any industry left in the UK, this is nothing against China but we are being swamped and are in real danger of being run from afar. We need to be less obsessed with cost and care more about where we buy our goods from otherwise there are countries that will have all our money and we will be looking for landfill abroad too. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | B00005BVRQ | | Age Range Description | 3 - 8 years | | Best Sellers Rank | 89,264 in Toys & Games ( See Top 100 in Toys & Games ) 14 in Counting Frames | | Brand Name | Melissa & Doug | | Colour | Multicolor | | Country Of Origin | USA | | Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 18,333 Reviews | | Educational Objective | Practice counting and early math skills | | Global Trade Identification Number | 00000772004930 | | Included Components | Abacus with 100 wooden beads | | Indoor Outdoor Usage | Indoor | | Is Assembly Required | No | | Item Dimensions | 31 x 30.5 x 8 centimetres | | Item Type Name | Wooden Abacus | | Item Weight | 0.96 Kilograms | | Manufacturer | Melissa&Doug | | Manufacturer Part Number | 493 | | Manufacturer Warranty Description | No Warranty | | Manufacturer recommended age | 36 months - 8 years | | Material Type | Wood | | Model Number | 493 | | Number of Batteries | 1 Unknown batteries required. | | Number of Packs | 1 | | Number of Players | 1 | | Operation Mode | Manual | | Power Source | Manual | | Set Name | Wooden Abacus | | Size | One Size | | Sub Brand | Doug | | Subject Character | Abacus | | Supported Battery Types | No batteries required | | Theme | Video Games | | UPC | 000772004930 681147000476 | | Unit Count | 1.0 count | ## Images ![Melissa & Doug Abacus - Classic Wooden Educational Counting Toy With 100 Beads Abacus Toy for Kids Maths for Ages 3+ - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71c-jRvN9QL.jpg) ![Melissa & Doug Abacus - Classic Wooden Educational Counting Toy With 100 Beads Abacus Toy for Kids Maths for Ages 3+ - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81EFFAaxznL.jpg) ![Melissa & Doug Abacus - Classic Wooden Educational Counting Toy With 100 Beads Abacus Toy for Kids Maths for Ages 3+ - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71A-s8rDozL.jpg) ![Melissa & Doug Abacus - Classic Wooden Educational Counting Toy With 100 Beads Abacus Toy for Kids Maths for Ages 3+ - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71UERUO-UeL.jpg) ![Melissa & Doug Abacus - Classic Wooden Educational Counting Toy With 100 Beads Abacus Toy for Kids Maths for Ages 3+ - Image 5](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71rxUk+KzkL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Style** options. ## Questions & Answers **Q: What are the dimensions of this product?** A: Hello,According to our supplier it is 12" L x 11.90 "W. Thanks! **Q: Does this come with instructions?** A: I don't believe it does. I bought it for my grandson at a younger age when he enjoyed moving the pieces. I'm not sure how he's playing with it now. **Q: does thus come with instructions** A: I think there were very basic instructions on the box itself. We have gotten a lot of information on the many mathematical uses from various youtube videos. **Q: Could this be used for older kids to learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division?** A: An abacus is typically used for addition and subtraction but it can be used for multiplication and division. There are You Tube videos that show you how. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wooden Abacus *by M***N on 4 October 2008* Had this for a couple of years now. Kids have thrown it around and it's been under other toys at the bottom of the toy box etc. Still in one piece though. Quality build and hardwearing. I have used this to help kids with the concept of adding and subtraction. Can't say that this is their favourite toy. They'd rather play with their NDS than with this. But has an educational value and they get a concept of addition and subtraction for their maths through this. Would recommend it for 4+yrs in my opinion, but others may have different experiences. Update May 2014 Have had several kids use it (bigger than average family!!) and my 3 year old is using it now. Still as good as new. Very hardwearing and solid toy. The colours of the beads and the appearence of the wood still good. It has been a very good purchase. These days things you buy don't last long. But nice to have something all my kids have used and still almost as good as when the first child received it. If I get around to it I will upload a picture. I hope these ones they ship now are as good as the one that I received many years ago (saw this on Amazon for Β£6 recently, which is cheaper than I paid years ago and represent good value). ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Teaching tool and fun *by P***R on 9 May 2020* I decided to buy two sets of letters and two sets of numbers and the abacus too but for some reason I could only buy one set of numbers and letters. I get the whole rationing thing with food but with letters and numbers!? Strange but with no school at the moment wouldn't we want to teach our children more and get them to eat less. What a world we live in. Anyway, I'm sure its a stocking issue but it still seems odd to me. Anyway, on to the products. We bought a set of letters previously and thought we would get a couple of sets of each numbers and letters, an abacus and a magnetic whiteboard to "teach" our 3 year old at "school" as she doesn't go currently due to the pandemic. It worked, was fun and as she already had a small table and chair we set up a classroom and we got her to interact with the whiteboard. This is now a daily thing and she loves "school!!" We like Melissa and Doug's toys but my one frustration is "Made in China" why!! You have a UK brand, children, learning and fun. I'd rather pay more and buy British so I was a bit disappointed as there are cheaper out there obviously from the Far East. If we keep making this about money we won't have any industry left in the UK, this is nothing against China but we are being swamped and are in real danger of being run from afar. We need to be less obsessed with cost and care more about where we buy our goods from otherwise there are countries that will have all our money and we will be looking for landfill abroad too. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great value for money. *by L***A on 10 June 2026* This has served my son and now my daughter, improved our arithmetic with additions and more. Absolutely brilliant ## Frequently Bought Together - Melissa & Doug Abacus - Classic Wooden Educational Counting Toy With 100 Beads - Scholastic Flash Cards: Sight Words - Learning Resources MathLink Cubes - Set of 100 Cubes, Ages 5+ Kindergarten, STEM Activities, Math Manipulatives, Homeschool Supplies, Teacher Supplies --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - πŸ›’ **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** β€” Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** β€” Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - πŸ’° **No Hidden Fees** β€” All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - πŸ”„ **15-Day Free Returns** β€” Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - πŸ”’ **Secure Payments** β€” Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** β€” Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/48797303-melissa-and-doug-abacus-classic-wooden-educational-counting-toy-100](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/48797303-melissa-and-doug-abacus-classic-wooden-educational-counting-toy-100) --- *Product available on Desertcart South Africa* *Store origin: ZA* *Last updated: 2026-09-08*