I was not sure what the best place for this thread was, hope it is okay here. Has anyone ever purchased anything from The Magic Attic store in the UK? (The website would be themagicattic dot co dot uk). I just came across it and can not find to much about them.

Has anyone even heard of them?...

I only ask as I bought a "collectible" for them, got a receipt upon purchase and was told they would ship it out within two business days. its been 3 business days and two non-business days, I tried emailing them and I have still not heard anything back form them.

Luckily I paid with PayPal, so worst comes to worst, I can open up a case and get my money back. But I'd much rather get what I bought! (:

..so I was just trying to see if anyone has had success ordering from them?

Sorry ThSecret. Never heard of them. I hope they come through for you.

I just thought I'd update, as I do not want to give a bad review if they do come through. It has updated on my account page and says they are processing it! (A litttleee late, but I'm not complaining..I'll take it.) When I see a tracking number I'll be at ease haha. Until then, I will keep you guys posted as well.

ps. Thanks Wizard! (:

With the exception of a few of the "big boys" (like Penguin), many magic shops are fairly small operations without a lot of excess capacity when it comes to staffing. If somebody is sick, or goes on vacation, or if there's a flood of orders, it can take a while to hear back. These days we're used to the high-tech efficiency of a retailer like Amazon, but in the magic biz a lot of folks move a tiny bit slower.

Ahh yes, that makes sense Doug! That is what I sort of figured, but then I started considering other possibilities haha. I take it, if they were a large chain/web shop they would not have had what I purchased. (It sold out on Penguin ages ago.) But yeah that's fine, I'll give them some more time and see how it goes!

Just another update, as unfortunately, something seems sketchy as beeeeeep*.... I may have to open an issue for my money back very soon unfortunately. I get they are a "small" or "mom and pop" shop, but even self-run eBay-ers get their products out within the week and at least reply back. These guy have yet to respond to any of my emails. Tomorrow would be the end of week TWO, and they have not shipping out anything, nor have they responded to me?

Now they've put up on their website; Please note that we are closed from Weds 15th Fed until Mon 20th Feb to attend the Blackpool Magic Convention..... so if I don't get it within the next two days, it looks like I'll be waiting another week minimum. There are only three google reviews all leaving bad feedback. So if you are purchasing anything from here, so far it looks like I would be very, VERY cautious from further purchases from this place. I may buy a calling card, and actually call them to see if they even pick up.

Again I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and give them a little more time. I really do hope they come through. Am I just being over jealous or is it starting to verge towards looking like I may not be receiving anything.

ThSecret...although trying on your patience, two weeks is still not horrible when we are talking about small business. I do believe PayPal has a pretty long period in which you can file a complaint, but double-check their policy and see how much time you have.

If I were you, I would give Magic Attic a month, and then file a complaint. That is MORE than enough time to ship an order, and you would be a very understanding customer in giving them that. Sometimes the message they'll get from PayPal is all that they'll need to wake up. And then buy from them again with caution.

It does amaze me in this day and age, that small businesses don't get that people talk about them, and that's how word spreads...good, or bad. 233 views for this post already. While not unique views necessarily, let's assume 100 people have seen this thread. OK...let's say 50. Those 50 will never order from Magic Attic. And you can be sure they will tell others not to as well. And so on...

Ah, the power of the web.

From my past experience of online purchases the longest I've ever have to wait was probably 6-8weeks for an item, and that would be from China, but they still will contact you back within a few days (via email)! I thought a month would be a reasonable time to give them, so once the four weeks are up, I will see if they can offer any advice or if I need to give them more time before just jumping into a 'complaint'-situation. (As that would be the least ideal situation imo.)
I asked my sister who frequently makes online purchases, who said she has waited up to 5 months on something before, but agreed I should give them at least one month.

(In regards to your last paragraph) This is partially the reason I posted on here. This seems to be a large community in the magic world and I figured at the very least, others can see this and make their own judgement before making a purchase. There were only three google reviews I could find and all three were one stars? I still took the gamble. And at the very best, they would possibly see this and give me some type of response.

I believe PayPal has a three month claim period. (Part of the reason I was not so reluctant towards purchasing regardless of the negative reviews toward them.)

I sent them another email today and although they did not directly email me back, the order page on my account was once again update, this time with a more personal response directly relating to my issue. (The first time it just updating saying one word, "processing".) This time I was actually told what is happening with the item and that they will supply a tracking number once it is actually shipped out. That is enough to put me at ease, at least I know there is someone doing something, and that my money didn't go to a lost cause. I don't mind waiting at all. As long as I know I didn't throw over $100 into the air.

I was told they order the item direct so they are still waiting. I guess.... I presumed they would have the item in stock already, considering it is a "Limited Edition" "collectors" item. So I don't quite understand the "we order them direct" part. But I suppose time will tell. At least I received some kind of feedback from them. Maybe I can write their first positive review .

I make the majority of my magic purchases from either eBay or one of the major online magic stores in the US. If I pay for an item, I expect it to be shipped within a day or two of payment. Sometimes I receive notification that the item is out of stock or that they are out at a convention and shipping will be delayed. That's fine and I will patiently wait, as they have been courteous enough to write me and let me know what the situation is. However, not receiving any replies to your emails, confirmation of payment or shipping details after 2-weeks is unacceptable in this day and age.

Glad to hear that you got some response from them though. Let us know how this tale ends.

I was just about to purchase from this shop also, when I decided to some research (always), and discovered this thread. I was going to buy stuff worth nearly £200 from them but I think I'll be cautious now and leave it.
A pity, but thanks for sharing your experience of The Magic Attic with us.

All the best,
Francis

They refunded me after a month, saying they do not have it. At least that part went smoothly.

I also have a bad experience with this shop. Six months ago I ordered a set of Morgar Knives for £94 (incl. pp).
I recieved an order confirmation and the money was drawn immediately.
After a coupple of weeks I mailed for an explanation and at July 21. they answered they would send the knives when they recieved them in a week or two.
Since thne I have sent a mail every second month but not even got an answer.

If I do not get my money back in a few days I am going to open a PayPas case.

Well, another one that asks for this store "The Magic Attic" and the product does not arrive and the seller does not respond.
15 days waiting and the product appears as in process.
I ask for a tracking number and know if it has been sent and the only response I receive is "be patient".
Claims open to Paypal. What little seriousness ...

You probably wish you'd seen the thread here before you bought anything from the site!
Thank you for letting us know. Your post brought this to my attention - I may never have known otherwise!
Good luck. I hope it is resolved easily.

Never heard of it.

I spent a year working part time for a gentleman processing carnivorous plant order. No maybe I should say apprenticing, I got pays with meals, plants, beer and knowledge. Anyway his web store software had this nifty feature. Each item he added to the site he could input how much time it would take for him to process. If he got to the point with back orders that it would take him 8 hours a day for 7 days to process the orders then the site would not take more until he input an order was shipped. I thought his 8 hours a day for processing by himself was unreasonable because he had more to do than clean, pack and ship plants.
Maybe there is a lesson in that for other online retailers, never allow your software to take on more work than you can perform in a reasonable amount of time.

I've ordered stuff from these small sites before and most of the times I was not happy with the service. Either they take your money and say they're out of stock and refund it or they send a defective item. That's why now I stick to buying from Penguin, Theory11 or Ellusionist only.