|
|
Go to page 1~2~3 [Next] | ||||||||||
stevenamills Veteran user 397 Posts |
I always enjoy the book/trick of the year posts. I usually learn something and sometimes I actually buy something that turns out to be really good - sometimes not.
Anyway, I've argued, for years, that "value" needs to be considered in any review - cars, washing machines or magic tricks. A casual review of the votes puts 3 books at or towards the top - Mentalissimo, the Bossi book and the Jerx book. I can buy the first 2 books and take my wife out to dinner for the price of Andy's book (which I don't have BTW). Does this matter or do most of us look at this without regards to cost? Just wondering..... Steve PS We had a similar issue/consideration in recent years with Train Tracking. |
|||||||||
Ray Haining Inner circle Hot Springs, AR 1907 Posts |
I was wondering, at $300 a pop, how many people who voted for the Jerx book have actually purchased it. There must be lot of people with a lot of money to spend I guess.
|
|||||||||
jmbulg Loyal user Belgium 208 Posts |
Interesting question. If people vote for a book while having paid a premium price, it probably means they really like it, otherwise they would be angry of having being ripped off. So value is certainly and naturally included in the assessment.
Note that last year's winner was also in the same price range. |
|||||||||
Steven Leung Inner circle found the Magic Rainbow after 1614 Posts |
Jamy Ian Swiss did a detailed review on the Jerx Vol 1, here is the link:
http://www.magicana.com/news/blog/jerx-volume-one For US$300 it is a big moneyt for a magic book, but in reality it is not much in terms of other things, I hope that my thought does not offend any people as the world economy no matter inflation / deflation we need to admit that things getting more expensive every year.
Most memorable moment - with Maestro Juan Tamariz & Consuelo Lorgia in FISM Busan 2018.
"Being fooled by a trick doesn't always mean they are having a good time" - Homer Liwag https://hhpresents.com/ https://www.glitchstudiohk.com/ |
|||||||||
stevenamills Veteran user 397 Posts |
I certainly can't argue with what Jamy says, but it doesn't really address the relative value issue.
|
|||||||||
Poof-Daddy Inner circle Considering Stopping At Exactly 5313 Posts |
I too suspect a lot of the voters may not have bought the Jerx book but probably really enjoyed the blog (which I think is part of the content). I have personally not heard of the blog or the book until the voting hype. From the reviews I have seen, I would probably really enjoy reading it but I am of the opinion that "value-wise", "I personally" would get a lot more out of 5 $60 magic books that I can pick up from my favorite authors about content that interests me.
Likewise, no offense meant or intended.
Cancer Sux - It is time to find a Cure
Don't spend so much time trying not to die that you forget how to live - H's wife to H on CSI Miami (paraphrased). |
|||||||||
Joe Roberts Special user 860 Posts |
Quote:
On Jan 5, 2017, stevenamills wrote: I think most people take value into account when they make their assessment. You can argue the Jerx book is one of the most expensive books released this year or that it was the most economical (50% of the book was released free on his site). For $260 (the original price) I got the book, a second book, an iphone app, 12 issues of his review newsletter, a sponsored post on his site, and 12 months of the website. For me it was the best value of the year and the best book of the year and it wasn't even close. |
|||||||||
Tom G Inner circle 2895 Posts |
I think for that kind of money, I could get a lot more value.
|
|||||||||
Claudio Inner circle Europe 1927 Posts |
I believe that considering value does not make sense in an event such as the "Book of the year" where value is, if not entirely, at least mainly subjective.
And on the other hand setting up categories by range prices (like in electronic reviews for example) would also make little sense as the range for books prices is rather narrow. |
|||||||||
Ray Haining Inner circle Hot Springs, AR 1907 Posts |
Quote:
On Jan 6, 2017, Joe Roberts wrote: Was this a special deal just for you, or does all this extra stuff come with any purchase of the book? |
|||||||||
Joe Roberts Special user 860 Posts |
Quote:
On Jan 6, 2017, Ray Haining wrote: This was the original deal for everybody who bought the book. I don't know how it works now. I'm pretty sure you still get the second book and the app, but don't quote me on that. |
|||||||||
Hondo88 New user 90 Posts |
Yes, for the current price of $300 you get the Jerx Vol 1 book, a second smaller book, and the app. All are amazingly awesome and worth every penny.
|
|||||||||
Andy Young Special user Jersey Shore, PA 813 Posts |
I would say that price shouldn't matter. Either a book is the best or it is not based on it's material not it's price. Price comes in when I want to buy something, but it doesn't make a book better or worse. It just makes it more accessible to people if it is cheaper.
Its kind of like saying who does the best manipulation act, but you have to factor in their cost to preform it. Just my 2 cents. |
|||||||||
Ray Haining Inner circle Hot Springs, AR 1907 Posts |
The true value of a book is purely subjective. It varies. If you get a trick, a move, a subtlety from a book, the value can be priceless. Even if a book only gives you inspiration, it can have value. Some books are good to have around just for reference.
I was asking about the Jerx book because it must be really good, so many people like it, and I was wondering how many people who voted for it actually bought the book. |
|||||||||
johnstu Regular user London 161 Posts |
I think that perhaps the thing that is being missed by those who were not readers of the Jerx blog is that we weren't buying the book, we were paying to keep the site going. The book was just a nice bonus. It cost me $5 a week
This year I jumped at the chance to sign up again to pay $10 a month to keep the site going for another year. There is apparently a deck of cards in it for me; so you could say I'm spending $120 on a deck of cards, so they had better be the best deck ever. But I'm not, I'm just paying for a thinker I find stimulating to write posts I find enjoyable. |
|||||||||
Ray Haining Inner circle Hot Springs, AR 1907 Posts |
Yes, but it is the BOOK that's on the "Book of the Year" list, and it sells for $300.
|
|||||||||
IAIN Eternal Order england 18807 Posts |
The main factor is if you are getting paid to perform...
if you are, then the price doesn't matter ultimately - its just about whether the book gives you something useful that you didn't have before... so whether it cost £10 or £1000, if it gives you something that you can use, that will then increase your own value in booking terms, then that £1000 is pocket change in the grand scheme of things...
I've asked to be banned
|
|||||||||
johnstu Regular user London 161 Posts |
Quote:
On Jan 8, 2017, Ray Haining wrote: It is and it totally should be. I own most of the others that are in contention, including Mentalissimo, The Aretalogy of Vanni Bossi, The Secrets of So Sato, and In Order to Amaze, and the Jerx book is my favourite book of the year. It sells for $300 now, yes, and that obviously is a lot of money. However I, and presumably most of the people who curently have it and have voted for it, paid to keep the website going and got a lot of value through that. We don't necessarily feel like we paid a lot of money for a book; especially if, like me, it was as a $5 a week donation. But now we have the book and it's time for the annual vote, I feel entirely happy voting for the best book I read this year as book of the year. Which does bring us back to the notion of value, there is a difference between a poll of "what book would I say you should go out and buy right now", and "what book did I think was the best book I read this year". The first is a recommendation of the year, the second is book of the year. Given that, I have absolutely no hesitation in saying Jerx Volume 1 for book of the year. For a "recommendation of the year" I cannot answer. If you have loads of spare cash, yep I recommend it; if you are living on a tight budget, no. Which is why this value idea doesn't work. When the items under consideration are not the same, value is an extremely personal measure. |
|||||||||
Poof-Daddy Inner circle Considering Stopping At Exactly 5313 Posts |
I agree value is very subjective. If I had to go over every magic book I have ever read, and/or own, I would have to put "Counts, Cuts, Moves and Subtleties" by Jerry Mentzer at the very top of my "Value" list. So many sleights well explained and illustrated (via photos) and for about $8.00. Certainly the most "Value" in my collection but probably not my favorite book overall. As for being subjective, how do you determine your favorite book in your own collection? That would be nearly impossible for me as I "wanted them all" for one reason or another when I got them.
I'm kind of glad the vote is only for the book of the year (since I rarely buy more than 2 new titles a year). In addition, I believe that in the rules of the voting, Jamie mentions how the vote totals can have a great financial impact on the winner. (or something to that affect) In this case, I can see people like myself, who had previously never heard of "The Jerx" (book or blog) at least checking it out and possibly supporting the site for the future.
Cancer Sux - It is time to find a Cure
Don't spend so much time trying not to die that you forget how to live - H's wife to H on CSI Miami (paraphrased). |
|||||||||
Ray Haining Inner circle Hot Springs, AR 1907 Posts |
Quote:
On Jan 8, 2017, IAIN wrote: I said above that if you get a trick, move or subtlety, or even inspiration, from a book, then the value, no matter what it cost, can be priceless. What I'm saying is that if people are voting for this book based on the author's blog, and do not really own or have not even seen the book, then this is not fair. And the price leads me to believe that not too many people have actually bought the book. |
|||||||||
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Books, Pamphlets & Lecture Notes » » Book Of The Year - Does Value Matter? (21 Likes) | ||||||||||
Go to page 1~2~3 [Next] |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.02 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |