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MagicGib New user 92 Posts |
Hi guys,
Does anyone here sell merchandise after a show been offered a show and they asked me if I wanted to sell products at the foyer. I am looking into it and thought I would ask you wise people for advice. Firstly what would you sell as far as magic items? Where to get them from? Any other suggestions? Let me know please if you don't want to post shop names, etc., message me. Thanks |
Chezaday Inner circle Naperville, IL 1673 Posts |
There is plenty to learn about merchandising and the pitch. I'll give you a few things I've learned over the years.
1. Keep it simple, if you've got one item to sell .. you'll sell more. Many times I've seen a dozen items for sale and it just gets confusing. 2. Keep it cheap, you're lucky they came out to see the show .. don't get greedy. Right now we're selling a wand and a small set of instructions for only a dollar. I've sold just about everything .. from T-Shirts to Chezaday Sunglasses. Money is tight these days .. so, you have to plan accordingly. Steve |
Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
MagicGib -
What you sell, should depend partly on who you are as a performer, what you do in your show, your personality, your intention behind doing BOR sales, etc. Here are some other threads on BOR sales: --> Magic Kits as handout --> BOR sales --> BOR Sales at Paid Event??? --> Intermission Time - Donald P.S. I respectfully disagree with Steve about prices. I sell a magic wand and instruction sheet for $5. I've had a few events where I've sold 80 to 100 of them, this year. I simply cannot afford to sell them for only $1 each.
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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Chezaday Inner circle Naperville, IL 1673 Posts |
Of course you have to consider exactly what you're selling. I found and inexpensive wand that sells really well. If you're selling a quality piece of merchandise .. of course you have to sell it for more. I'm just saying keep the price point low and you'll sell more.
The venue you're working is also something to consider. If its a fair or festival .. it's got to be cheap. If you're working a theater .. then of course you can ask for more. Steve |
Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
One other approach is to have 3 to 4 items. One can be $1 or $2, one can be $5, one can be $10, and another can be $20. I've heard that a price point to avoid is $15.
I have tried this a few times, and the $5 items sold best for me. - Donald P.S. As a rule of thumb, the typical raw cost for your BOR item should be about 1/4 what you are selling it for.
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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Eldon Inner circle Virden, IL 1137 Posts |
As far as pricing goes, Donald is in Canada and Steve is in the U.S. It does make a difference. All the other countries are looking at Canada right now and trying to learn. Canada did dodge the recession bullet somewhat.
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MagicGib New user 92 Posts |
What the magic wand ?
could I have more info on it please |
Blair Marshall Inner circle Montreal, Canada 3660 Posts |
The wand package that many use is the Eddie Wade artwork (very reasonable price) with an 10" or 11" plastic wand (from Robbins and other places), this is in a long plastic sleeve (envelope - Staples or Chiswick). They are fun to put together watching t.v. - LOL
Cost in Canada to put the package together is between .60 and .75 cents per unit for me. (You buy everything in bulk - wands by the gross, envelopes by the 1000 etc.) When I sell them I have done so at $4.00. Some folks I believe have gotten as much as $5.00. In this case the wand is the type you would buy in a magic store, for a couple of $$$ so $4-5 with the 6 tricks is not out of line. Eddie's art work is pretty good, and I've had success with them. A good show program, with some "easy to do" magic tricks can be a great high end product for sale. Magic light items are also a very good selling item if you are "into it". Check out Ringling and Disney with regards to the markeitng of these items. Blair
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Sam Sandler Inner circle 2487 Posts |
The best stuff to sell after a magic show and before is NOT magic.
I sell 90% more of my secret item then I do my magic items. its not pricing that creates a problem or gets them to buy its having the right items. at least for me it anyway. oh and I would never sell a wand with a piece of paper with some tricks listed on it! I sell a mini magic set and my full blown big magic set. both sell well but I find the mini at $10 seems to be the magic number and sells well. we offer a free poster with each mini magic set - posters sell separate for $3 so to answer your question of what to sell magic sets are good but think outside the box where to buy try to get a whole sale liscense or looking to places like US toy they offer great prices and better stuff then places like oriental trading co. you will have to experiment with differnt items to see what is best. you will also find that differnt venuse sell better then others. good luck
sam sandler- America's only full-time DEAF Illusionist
http://www.samsandler.com http://www.deafinitelymagic.com |
Blair Marshall Inner circle Montreal, Canada 3660 Posts |
"oh and I would never sell a wand with a piece of paper with some tricks listed on it!"
Hmmmmm....better not go into your local magic store with that attitude.....LOL To clarify, for those that originally asked, the magic tricks on Eddy's wand insert are explained, not listed. Sort of the way when you buy a magic trick at a dealers! B
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
I see little difference between selling several items with instructions (a magic kit) vs. one item with instructions (a magic wand, or a single magic trick), except for the price you charge.
So, I don't see why selling a magic wand is such a terrible thing. In fact, one thing I like about the wand is that it is ungimmicked, and yet you can do several tricks with it. It gets people to think outside of the notion of a magician having gimmicked props that do all the work. Aside from doing tricks, kids play with the magic wand, using their imagination. Many people could offer both a magic kit, and individual tricks (or a wand). My magic kit has several tricks, a magic wand, an activity book, and an autographed photo (or poster). They can buy some of those items individually. I haven't tried selling a DVD yet. BTW, someone commented about Canadians doing BOR, as opposed to Americans. I'm aware of several U.S. magicians who do just fine at BOR, who sell items for more than $1. - Donald P.S. MagicGib - Read through the threads that I gave you links to. There are good resource links on those threads for a variety of items.
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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briansmagic Special user USA 507 Posts |
Here is what I do with great success.
I order from Loftus their Ball and Vase, Coin Slide, and Jumping Gems OR Svengali Deck. Each of these items costs me .50-.60/ea. I sell them for $5/ea or buy 2 get the third free. It's a huge markup, but a quality looking and feeling product with very attractive packaging...and, with the buy 2 get 1 free bargain, I most often sell three at a time, meaning every transaction I net about $8.50 It's important to get these items from Loftus. They are the only I've found who have packaging that nice -- that's important for the impulse buy. And, their items are pretty nice. I've seen a lot of really terrible Ball and Vases and Coin Slides available from novelty dealers. |
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