Penguin

Customer service is very important to me and of course range and price have to be considered.
To that end my choices would have to be:

Taylor's Magic here in Australia - friendly, prompt and professional service.
and
Penguin in the US (thier delivery and response to queries is just like they were here in Aus (except for the time difference)

Hands down my vote goes to..........

The Magic Warehouse .... Howard and his team are amazing ..

I've called them about products and they are totally there to help, hell even just converse about magic LOL....

Second to that is Penguin Magic....

love their promos, lectures, shipping and overall quality ...

Both receive an A++ from me...

-Bobby

Penguin. Real fast shipping (They shipped "Stitched" on Tuesday; I got it today- and I'm 3,000 miles away from them), decent prices, and excellent customer service. They even used some of my negative product reviews on their website- no other magic dealer EVER printed one of my negative reviews in their ad copy. I'll call that INTEGRITY!

I have to go with Magic Warehouse. They have it all...large selection which is actually in stock, great service, inexpensive & fast shipping, & the best prices around.

They do have good prices but I think Pengiun and Madhatter Magic shops have better pricing.

Whilst each magic store or company has its own unique qualities, I would have to say that the best to talk with or deal with have been Gary at The Magic Emporium, Tomas with Fun Inc, and Sebashtion at Subdividedstudios.

RNK got me to thinking, so I ran a price check between Magic Warehouse, Penguin & Madhatter. I chose 10 random & very popular items such as Color Monte, Scotch & Soda, Hot Rod, etc. I also made sure that they were identical makers, versions, etc. The results are 5 wins for Magic Warehouse & 5 wins for Madhatter. Penguin may have won 1 for a special price on the Euro version of Color Monte, but if I remember right (wife chucked my list while cleaning up around the place), Madhatter won this 1 too. So, I've learned something...to try out Madhatter some time soon. All this doesn't, of course, take into account customer service, inventory, speed & cost of shipping, etc. All important factors. It was a fun & enlightening experience. Try it yourself & see.

Madhatter has excellant customer service.
shipping is fast and reasonable.

My 3 options:

1.- Penguin Magic
The Good: Price and low shipping fee (USA and overseas)
The Bad: Takes a lot of time to restocking.

2.- Madhatter Magic
The Good: Store has a lot of inventory and magic items.
The Bad: No many discount sales.

3.- Hocus Pocus
The Good: Exclusive items, frequenly discounts sales.
The Bad: high shipping fee.

All of them have good customer service.

Madhatter has very fast shipping for a very reasonable price. Also Mind Magic- Madhatter has TONS of specials. Just click the SPECIALS tab.

RNK

First and foremost, I try to purchase directly from the magic creators themselves. IMO that is the best way to keep good magic coming at us - and not necessarily looking for the "cheapest" dealer out there.

If something not available direct from the creator I usually look to Penguin Magic in California with Acar Altinsel, The Magic Warehouse with Howard in Maryland, Trick Shop Magic previously of Temecula, CA but soon to be in San Diego AFAIK (!!) with Sam Blankenship, and Elmwood Magic with Paul Richards. Not necessarily in that order; all are great shops run by super people.

Thank you.

Jim

I like Elmwood Magic. Paul Richards is always on top of things and goes out of his way to make something right.

You can't beat Denny & Lee for top notch customer service and knowledge of product.
I try to support the brick and mortar whenever possible. Good lectures, unfortunately more in Baltimore than in Las Vegas!

Penguin has continued to improve and has also become very innovative with their lectures on line. Acar is wonderful to deal with.

Hocus-Pocus carries a huge inventory, very promotional, quick shipments.

Mark Mason and Paul Richards are in another world for me on dealers that I have seen demoing products. Customer service may be different but they are completely on another level when it comes to performing their products. Both great magicians in their own right too .

Mark Mason is rapidly approaching (arguably reached and/or surpassed) the great Al Cohen as far as masterful and memorable magic demonstrators are concerned. I would contest that this is a very special niche that few can aspire to. You need to have an incredible memory for routines going back years and years, and the chops and audience management skills to pair up with the hundreds of routines you've demonstrated in times gone by.

Imagine being a comedian, and being asked to tell the joke about "the guy who walked into the bar." That's what these guys must face at every convention..."hey, show me the one with the card that changes." Doing this kind of magic must be improvisation at its best.

I once told Mark that he was the second best demonstrator that I had ever seen, surpassed only by Al. Mark took that as a compliment, and it was intended as one.

Zane

I'm going to add Paul Harris Presents to my personal list. I own several of their products, although I did not buy them directly from PHP. I had a problem with one of their items, and after mentioning it here on the Café, I received a personal reply from Janet. She more than did right by me, even though I was not asking for help from them. I just want to mention that I am a fan of PHP and Alexander Kolle's recent release, "Stitched", and I am here on the Café saying excellent things about it, but the two things have nothing to do with each other, and I am not letting their fine customer service influence my review of "Stitched". It is an EXCELLENT product! And PHP and Janet are at the top of the heap in my book!

Are we talking guns or drugs?