Hi,
I ordered a set of TA Pens off ebay. When I got them they came in a beat up zip lock plastic bag and one of the pens was damaged. the black plastic that covers the outer pen was creased and the piece does not fit on the pen like it should. I just wonder if anyone else has ordered a set and if they came in a zip lock bag? I think the guy sent me his set that he played with for a while.

Any Ideas on how to fix the one that is damaged? think I could peel it off and cut it and re-glue it? the crease is right where it is attached to the pen, just an idea.

the guy I got it from is a real flake and after I won it, I saw his feedback go from good to nightmare.
Thanks for any reply at all.

If I recall correctly, the TA dvd tells you to be extremely careful with that part of the pens since if it gets damaged, you can`t fix it. The original TA pens come in a sealed up plastic baggie (not a ziplock bag) that`s just the size of the two pens. There is a second division at the bottom that holds the bulldog clip and beads. You definitely received his beat up TA Pen, which is just wrong. It`s not useable. He shouldn`t have sold it.

PM sent......


Respectfully,
rochaz

Ebay has a buyer protection scheme, if you paid through paypal you can usually get your money back.

Speaking about the TA pens, anyone use this? I haven't done any of the animations but I've done the switching signatures. Too afraid to try the animations as it seems all the heat is on the pen. Maybe some real world performances from you guys will sway my decision to use this.

The pen is a bit loud for me so I haven't really worked with it too much.

To be honest, mine haven't even come out of the package. Before I received mine I had an idea in my head of what it was going to be, and my idea is better (or least more practical, if perhaps harder to design) than what it actually turned out to be. It just seems like there are better or more elegant aways to accomplish the switching effects than to use the pen. The animation effects are cool, but, again, require a kind of fiddly handling. Some day when I have to little to do (well, not that that day will ever come), I'll try to make one up. But, for the most part, the pen was one of the set's big disappointments.

Hmm okay thanks guys. I guess I'll stick to switching signatures with this pen.

I don`t think there are any fidgety moves with the pen and I think it is VERY practical. Instant reset, easy to use, borrowed bills. Doesn`t get any more practical than that. I don`t think someone would suspect the pen since it`s the ink on the bill that seems to be animating. They`ll want to check out the bill if anything. Just like Pen through Bill. They NEVER want to see the pen, they always want to see the bill. That`s that. That being said, I have not yet had the chance to try this out yet because I haven`t gotten around to practicing with it and deciding which effect I prefer to use it for.

Hi all, new guy, first post... I just bought the TA Box set and would like to agree with everyone on what a fantastic collection it is. Incredible production and what a great setting; creates quite the mood while covering the material.
I was searching for some information on a number of things and was wondering if others had found the same. One, was the wooden box I recieved was not quite what I expected from other reviews... maybe the newer versions aren't quite as nice (thin finish lifting in a few areas, slight gaps, and no puzzle box here). And quite interestingly my pens came in the same fashion as our member who got his on ebay; in a ziplock bag loose with the other artifacts in the bag. Those and the other items were in a small burlap bag that fit in the box with the DVD's. It also appears that the jostling from shipping must have "marred" the pens up some what. Im no where near that section in the DVDS though, so I will cross that bridge when I get there. I am pleased though in the sense that the DVD content so far, is absoluteley wonderful, and obviously Paul's nature really shines on this project. I bet he is quite the character to hang with. Well done!

Posted: Nov 11, 2009 1:56pm
Well how 'bout that get to follow up my own first post... looks like I should have ordered this directly from Paul... received a reply from Janet that the "limited collectors edition box" is only available from their site. Kind of surprised I didn't find that info anywhere else. oh well..

Oh ya ... Welcome to forum and all that... oh thanks! Great to be here.... guy could get lost around here.

Paul Harris interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utxlrbLSd_w

2 parts by Magic Geek.

Last week I started to watch the set again from the beginning. As typical, I forgot what was on it, so I'm fooled all over again. I don't know how people remmeber all their tricks.

Amen Brother! Makes you feel kinda...dim!

Just wanted to thank Janet for her exceptional great customer service!
She is super fast and helpful with her replies (had some DVD problems) and takes quick action!

Many many thanks to you Janet!
I will definitely shop again directly from Pauls website!!

Eric

Wow, thanks for posting that youtube interview with PH. Didn't know MagicGeek was so big in the industry.

I can only confirm!
The customer service is great, easy, fast and very nice!
Janet makes a great work!
I also buy there again!
Nowhere else can you get a better service!

The service is simply magical!

Marc

I performed the Big Tiny the other night. WOW. What reactions. It's a great way to get rid of old decks. Rubber band it and let them keep it.

While snowed in for a few days, I threw the discs in the DVD and had totally forgot about Angel Cake. Performed it at a party a couple nights later (not a gig)...had to stop after I did it. I saw there was no way I was going to top it.

Well, first post for me, and first post of 2010 on this old topic (having now read every post on this board about TA). I started studying card magic in 1968 as a young hobbyist. I had read just about everything previous when I came across The Magic of Paul Harris in 1976. Joker Poker alone, blew my mind, and I do it to this day with a great response.

I bought every Paul Harris book and video for many years, but slowed down after the Close-Up Fantasies books, as I was getting busy with other things. Now, my magic obsession comes and goes in waves, but a few weeks ago, I decided to treat myself to the TA set from Janet's (and Paul's) website. I wanted to see what had become of Paul and his magic, and I thought some new and updated effects would be great as well.

At first, like some others, I was disappointed not to see Paul performing, especially as a kind of historical document, but soon, after watching everything, I began to understand Paul's life and magic journey in its full context (as much as one can through this little window anyway), and I came to realize what a true treasure this set is, and what a great glimpse it is into the mind and life-course of a genius.

I also agree with folks that Bro does an amazing job of performing just the way I think close-up should be performed these days - open, accessible, and spectator-centric. It's great to watch, and the audience reactions are for real - I have gotten those too, as much as I am able, anyway. There was not one other performer on the set that I didn't also like, amazingly enough.

From a purely practical perspective, there is more usable material here than most would know what to do with. I have read, bought, and performed a lot of magic in my day, but the Paul Harris effects are always over-represented in my repertoire, exactly because they get the best truly astonished responses.

I don't think I ever did Color Stunner from The Magic of Paul Harris, but Son of Stunner on TA is also almost exactly Joker Poker too, but with fewer moves, and more climaxes! So, I adopted that one first, and I have gotten utter astonishment from everyone I have performed it for. While I emphasize the "marked cards" and "secret deck switch" as gambler's secrets, I stick with Bro's efforts at both attribution and at non-ego magic, by emphasizing the intuitive ability of the spectator to "feel" which is the marked card, and also saying "this guy, Paul Harris, came up with a way to do the deck switch where it just happens" and sometimes I catch myself even saying "this is crazy" like Bro.

The next one I adopted was Pack of Lies. We all know that "no man is a hero to his valet" but my own dear family was absolutely stunned by Pack of Lies, and they long ago ceased being stunned in any good way by anything I ever do, magical or otherwise ;-) So that thing is an absolute winner.

On that subject, I made a napkin rose for my wife at a restaurant, after the first afternoon I spent watching the DVD's. I had not known how to do it. She immediately said, "I can do that" and tried, but the result was very unartistic. She and my daughter loved the proper rose in the end, and that alone is worth the price of the set.

I'm with Paul on Extraordinary Proof - I just couldn't believe it would fool anybody, but I have been doing it regularly, and it blows people's minds, just like in the TA performances. So, that's another adoption into the repertoire.

Dr. Fun knocks 'em dead too, though I made the mistake at first of not spending enough time really getting the spectators involved in the idea and the story. That was laziness on my part, and people were still amazed by the effect, but when you take your time and elicit memories from the spectator in an easy and open way, it just kills!

Jeff's jump is a cool utility flourish I had never seen, and Shuffling Lesson is a joy to perform compared to another old thing that I used to do using the same principle.

I can't wait to work on Conjunction and I even got back to practicing my card boomeranging. Back in the 80's I had an opportunity to sit at a bar with John Cornelius, another genius, of course, and he was able to fly a card halfway down the bar, over the liquor bottles at the back and back and catch it in the deck at the selection with utter reliability. I bought about ten decks and took them to my apartment where I practiced incessantly from the couch - when I moved out several years later, I still found cards behind furniture and stuck in light fixtures! But, Paul's little twist got me to trying to master this once again.

I haven't even started on the other gaffs and various tearing and folding effects on TA, but I can't wait to. Not to mention Tensegrity, which is about as cool a thing as I have ever seen.

Even being as late as I am to this, it has rekindled my love of magic, and changed the way I do it. I didn't mean to go on and on, but I wanted to be sure to post some recent real-world reaction to this set for those still wondering whether to buy one. For us older people, who have outgrown, or at least given up on the "I'm an amazing person and you're not" approach to magic, this whole set is a lesson in maturity and in bringing real joy to people with magic. It is also an incredible tribute to the national treasure that is Paul Harris, especially for those of us who have grown up with his genius.

Well said Oscarf, and great 1st post!
I feel the same way today, about TA, that I did way back on February 4th of last year, when it first landed in my hands.

Jason, Paul, Bro, Wayne, Patrick, Andrew, Charlie and everyone else involved... all amazing to watch and learn from.

I'm currently on a fairly rocky road in my life, and although I am not certain of much from minute to minute these days, I am certain that I will never part with my TA set