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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
I have received a string of abusive PMs from a young man who feels that he was taken advantage of when he purchased a particular item that was the brainchild of someone I know. I'm not sure why I was the brunt of his wrath, but he seems to feel that I did not do or say enough about this trick to, I don't know, maybe get it pulled off the market. And he feels that the man who thought the trick up should be personally handing out refunds -- after all, HIS name is on the trick.
Without going into details about who any of the characters in this tearful little melodrama are, I'll just give this much factual information. The man who wrote the original manuscript is a well-known creator of magical ideas in a foreign country. A distributor of magical products arranged to have this particular manuscript translated (badly), and it was sold with advertising that most of us who actually purchased the manuscript felt was somewhat misleading. The trick was first reviewed on this board in 2002. That means that had this young man searched the reviews, using the search function, he would have found several threads that panned this item, and addressed all of his concerns. Obviously, he did not do this. Had he done this, he would have found the following post: Quote:
IMHO... This trick is the biggest waste of money you'll ever spend! Don't do it! You really will regret it! It wouldn't be worth it if it were free! I'll give you more details if you want to send a private message. But no matter what don't do it! That would have saved me the price of the item. Yep! I have one, too. I bought it in spite of doing what I am going to recommend now. Anytime I make a major magic purchase, if I can't see the item in person, I call one of several bricks and mortar magic dealers that I know and trust. I ask them a few questions. Usually it goes like this: "Do you have the 'Extremely Wonderful New Thing' from Harvey Krotchmeier?" "Yes." "I have a couple of questions for you. Is it actually angleproof? Can it be done in a windy situation? Is it practical? Does it work?" Or I will ask other questions that will tell me whether it will fit me. I might ask, "Does it require a lot of preparation?" I never ask "How does it work?" I don't need to know that. I need to know whether it will work for me. Even most internet dealers who are not bricks and mortar dealers will have enough insight into how things work that they will at least try to make sure that when you purchase something from them that you will be happy with it? The young man suggested that since the trick was such a dog, the fellow who wrote it should have had his name taken off it. That may not be an option. Sometimes when you sell the rights to something, you completely lose control of it. He was also under the impression that the fellow made "Thousands of Dollars" off the sale. Wishful thinking. That's all it is. If you ever buy an item and you feel that it was fraudulently advertised or deliberately misrepresented, contact the person you bought it from and complain about it. He's the one who got your money, not the man who wrote the manuscript.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Here are some other things to think about when purchasing magic.
Is the expensive one a ripoff? If by "ripoff," you mean "overpriced," it may or may not be. I'll give an example. For many years, I did the vanishing bird cage. The one I used was the Owen Challenge Vanishing Bird Cage. At the time I purchased it, it cost four or five times what the next one down the line cost. Why did I use the expensive one? Because it worked. It worked every time, without fail. It didn't snag, hang up or cause me bodily injury. I couldn't say that about any of the others on the market at the time. So which one was overpriced? The Owen cage that worked or the one that was cheaper that didn't work. Well, the answer is pretty obvious. The cheap one was overpriced. When you get serious about a particular trick or routine, you decide at some point to invest whatever it costs to make it perfect. If you don't, you will have less than perfect results. This may mean that you will have a piece custom made by the manufacturer. Or you may get permission from the originator to make one yourself. When John Cornelius made the first Pen thru Bills, I made several of them from genuine Mont Blanc ballpoint pens. I was working for people who were accustomed to these pens. John gave me permission to do this. Part of the reason he did was that I had to purchase one of his pens every time I made one of these things. So John didn't lose any sales. But I asked first. That's important. Sweat equity is another component of perfect performance. Put in the practice and rehearsal time necessary to make your routines flawless. They should be as natural as breathing. Once a routine is so natural you don't have to think about the mechanics of it, you can concentrate on the presentation. And once you reach the point that the presentation is "inside you," you don't need to concentrate on it, either. Instead, the magic flows out of you to your audience. They will feel an entirely different show when you reach this point.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
One of the dangers in cheap tricks, is that often a really good item will be pushed off the market by a cheap knockoff, but not because the knockoff is good. It may happen because the knockoff doesn't work.
People who are "in the business," that is, professional performers, builders, inventors, etc., generally search for the best items to use in their act. I alluded to this in the previous post. Sometimes we go to people who have a proven track record for making good products and ask them to make a custom item for us. Usually, this item will be somewhat more costly than the normal version of it. But once it is perfected, it will be a small work of art. So what do you need to look for in a prop? Well, it has to be sturdy enough to last through professional use. It has to be roadworthy. If not roadworthy, it will need to be protectible. So you will not only need the prop, you may need a case for it. Close-up props are usually protected by your close-up case. And, of course, it must work every time. If you are doing road work with an illusion show, chances are that you don't break your props down to transport them, choosing to do what David Copperfield and Fred Story do, instead. They leave their props already set, so they can roll them out of the truck and onto the stage. Imagine all of the work necessary to set up all the illusions in a Copperfield show. Doing it this way costs space, but it saves time. That's one reason he troupes with three semis! So, where do guys like Copperfield go for their illusions? They go to Charles Reynolds, John Gaughan, Wellington, Bill Smith, Owen, Blaney and sometimes, Chalet. They know that by going to the guys who build them solid, that they will have material that works every time they do their shows. And that is part of professionalism. Professionals cannot afford cheap props.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Today, I received in the mail an item that I have been awaiting for a couple of weeks. I had heard about these a couple of months ago, and was curious to see if they lived up to the normal quality of this knockoff merchant. I'll tell you the whole story.
I have a set of the School For Scoundrels Trade Show Shells. These are really big shells that are molded from a stiff resin. They look like huge walnut shells. They come complete with a routine by Chef Anton. This is on DVD, and it leaves nothing to the imagination. You also get four of the special peas, and you get the extra something that is required to make the special gimmick. It takes some practice, but it's a viable routine and an excellent prop. These huge shells do not work the way a normal shell works. I won't explain the clever gimmick. Let me just say that it works beautifully. Because of the size of the shells, they have to be made in such a way that you can grip them without their slipping from your fingers. This is very important. The work has been done very subtly in the texture of the shells. They are also rather expensive -- $450 a set. But they work, and they are definitely not for the tyro or the dilletante. If you do trade shows, they will gather a crowd for you. So, if you are a pro, these will be worth the money to you. A huge amount of money went into the development of these shells. About a year ago, there were rumors that someone in competition with S4S had sent one of the shells to Magic Makers with the idea that they could be copied in China and made for a much lower price. I don't know whether these rumors are true. If they are, shame on the person who did this. In any case, the folks at MM decided to issue their "Monster Three Shell Game." It sells for less than 1/10 of the cost of the School For Scoundrels product. And it doesn't work. The shells look like very large Vernet shells. They are slightly smaller than the School for Scoundrels shells. They are also very flexible. They are almost impossible to pick up one-handed. If you are fortunate enough to get a set of instructions with yours, they will say to get a green sponge ball and use that for a pea. They don't even provide the sponge ball. You actually might be able to get the ball to do its trick with these big shells, but here's the rub. There is no practical way to steal the pea once it has made its exit. And you won't get a routine with this set. And it won't work with the gimmick and pea from S4S, either. They aren't totally useless, though. If you turn them over, you can use them for a nut dish. Or you can pose for a photograph with them. But I would rather pose with my S4S Trade Show Shells. Steve Pellegrino has also given these knockoff shells a very low rating. I concur with him that the danger of this kind of material is that the young, inexperienced magician may see these as a chance to get a very valuable item for a very low price. Then he will be disappointed. I stated this before -- professionals can't afford cheap props. This will be my last post to the Café for a while. I'm heading off to Nashville for the International Bluegrass Music Association Convention, then coming back to get everything ready for the first of the year. I'll drop by from time to time, though. Take care, everyone!
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
One of the most interesting things about this forum is the number of experts who are on it. Some of them are apparently psychic. These fellows are able to look at the description of a trick or a routine and determine instantly, just from the description, exactly how it is done. Not only that, they are willing to share their expertise with us by reviewing the trick without actually having seen it in performance.
This is very clever, indeed. Look at the posts about the Icarus effect. The criticisms of this item range from the "I don't want to have to wear just one pair of pants to do the trick" to "it's too expensive." People -- this isn't the Balducci levitation. It's an actual professional piece of magic. What if you have to pay the price for it? If you are a pro, and you are going to use it in your act, then it's worth it. If you aren't, why are you even considering it? It's not a toy. Out of all of the questions I have seen posted about Icarus, only one made any sense at all. This was the one from Richard Lucas. He asked if his knee surgery would make this effect impossible. I know Richard. He isn't going to drop that kind of money on something frivolously. So he asked the right question. Another case in point is the thread about the $4500 D'Lites. The choice of the name of the trick was really poor. It's not really a D'Lite routine. It takes the D'Lite concept and runs with it. I've seen Kerry perform this on stage. It's very strong. The description on the Hocus Pocus web site tells you what you actually get. Knowing Kerry, and having seen the act, I can tell you that the D'Lites are a very minor part of it. What you are paying for is all of the high tech stuff that gives you the effect of swallowing the "D'Lites," watching them travel down your gullet, and come out your other end. You also get a lot of other stuff. If all you got were two or three D'Lites, this would be a ripoff. But you get a lot of tried, tested, professional equipment. This is not a trick for you to wear to the office so you can make your fellow employees snort part of their tuna sandwiches through their nose when you catch them off guard during the lunch break. Ted Lesley's Bending Wine Glass is another example of this kind of thing. If you have Paramiracles, you can build a very simple version of it. If you were lucky enough to get one last year, you could have gotten the electronic version. But it is not an item for every show. It is an item with a seriously limited range of performance conditions. However, in those specific conditions, it is a very strong piece of magic. Let's consider gaffed coins. There are levels of these. You can buy cheap, and you can buy expensive. I have lots of coins from Johnson and Sterling. These are good, medium priced coins. Recently, I have purchased a couple of items from Todd Lassen. One was his gravity flipper coin. I have a flipper half from Tango. It cost me about 20% of what the Lassen flipper dollar did. Was it worth it? Darn right! The Lassen coin actuall worked right out of the box. I still need to break in the Tango flipper. It doesn't flip as well as the Lassen. Here's a fact. Nobody makes you buy anything. There are clearly varying levels of magic props available. Some are inexpensive. Some are expensive. Some cost an arm and a leg. If you have a place and purpose for an expensive prop, and you will get use from it, then it is money well spent. But if you aren't going to use it, then maybe you should think about purchasing something else. Finally, consider this. If you want really impressive magic, why don't you learn how to do sleight of hand well? I know it takes time. You don't get the instant gratification that you can from doing some simple mechanical trick for your coworkers. But in the end, you have something that most of the other magicians can't do, because they haven't put in the time and trouble.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
I have posted about this one in "The Good, the Bad and the Garbage," but I want this post to stay around for a while, so I'm posting it here, too.
THE HAND OF CLEOPATRA -- CHEAP VERSION ON EBAY -- WARNING!!! A couple of weeks ago, I was surfing eBay, and I noticed that one of the sellers was offering the Hand of Cleopatra with a buy it now price of $115. This is awfully cheap for this trick these days. The photos on the listing looked pretty good, but I was certain that this could not be an original. Part of the listing had me worried. He said "THIS IS THE TRICK WHICH HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME THERE ARE MANY VERSIONS OF THIS ON THE NET. SOME GOOD SOME BAD I JUST PICKED UP 30 SETS AND AND PLEASE WITH THE MAKE AND THE QUALITY OF THIS ITEM." Now here are some important points. 1) Harold Voit owns the rights to the trick. 2) Joe Stevens has an exclusive arrangement with Harold to distribute them in the U.S. 3) I wrote the instructions Joe used with these when he was selling them. 4) No legitimate copies of this trick have been manufactured in over a decade. Harold was not certain whether these were some of his old stock that had somehow gotten over here. But he was doubtful. Joe was very concerned about this, too. So, I ordred one of them. It arrived this morning. It is junk. PURE. D. JUNK. I have three of the originals. I perform this routine on a regular basis. It's one of my favorites. To see this cheesy simulacrum of a good prop is almost blasphemous. Someone made a mold from an original and then tried to copy it. One of the key points to the trick is that you are supposed to be able to set the hand to point at any of the six sides of the pyramid. You can't do that. As soon as you try to set the thing, it goes all wobbly. The instructions are a two-paragraph terse description of the ending of the trick. They state that you need to figure out where the hand will point, and then, by practice, you can do the routine. Ironically, all of the necessary wherewithal is inside the trick, but the workmanship is so crude that it cannot function properly. I don't know who is actually making them. If they are being imported, there is no indication on the prop, the instructions or the packaging. Avoid this one like a bad case of the nettle rash. A genuine set will cost you at least four times what this one does.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » From The Wizards Cave - by Bill Palmer » » How to buy magic tricks -- basic things you need to know (0 Likes) |
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