What Does Saving Money Cost You?

I’m willing to bet most of us have done it.

We become enamored with a given magic trick or routine and set out to learn it. Maybe we research props. Or if it’s a sleight of hand method, we look at different books or videos to acquire the information.

Then it happens.

We find more than one version of the exact same prop. Take Multiplying Bottles, for instance.

My first set of Multiplying Bottles was a chintzy set of MAK Magic bottles. While they served me well for a few years (and even fried the minds of a few of my earliest corporate audiences) after a while their shoddy design and noticeably different sizes really began to bug me.

So, I leveled up to a really nice set. The name of them escapes me, but I recall the company went under at least a decade ago. I dropped those bottles a few too many times so they eventually quit ‘doing their thing’ properly. (Not gonna tip that here.)

I loved those bottles. They are still my fav.

When it was time to replace them. I looked at a set of $1600 bottles. These were beauties. My friend Paul Romhany raved about them. Even up close, they looked like real bottles. I wanted them but ultimately chose instead to invest in a set of bottles Paul released for $500.

Ten years later, that’s the set I use for adult shows. They held up great and look fantastic from just a few feet away. Would the $1600 set have been worth it? To this day I wonder.

But I also know that I’m rough on props. Unless a prop has its own travel case, it lives in any number of my Trunk of Horrors. Every themed show I do has its own trunk. And sometimes if I’m putting things back into a trunk after a show, or if I’m digging through a trunk to rehearse something, I’m not too gentle with the occupants of that particular Trunk of Horrors.

So, I stuck with the mid-range priced set.

For context, my MAK bottles were around $90. My second German set was around $300. The Romhany-sponsored bottles were $500.

I have found that in professional work, the cheapest option will almost always come back to bite me. Even if I’m looking at learning a specific routine or technique, I might find the routine on a single-routine $10 eBook., But the same routine is available as part of a $30 or $50 DVD.

Years ago, I bought just such an eBook to learn a specific mentalism routine. I wasn’t disappointed – it was easily worth the price A year or so later, I wound up buying the same creator’s 2-DVD set at (I think) $50. The set covered 5 or 6 routines and including the one I had already bought. In hindsight, if I had known in advance, I would have saved myself $10 and just grabbed the DVD set which was filled with additional terrific material.

Too often, I feel we magicians look for the cheapest option. And the results often show.

Now to be fair, there are times when there is only one option. For my Spirit show, I have a lovely wooden jewelry box with the Ouija board symbols carved into the top. The thing is a work of art. A bell placed on to its surface will ring at my command, no threads or anything to see. It will also cause a planchette to fly off the surface in the same way. It’s one of my prized possessions.

But it’s the only one of its kind available. To my knowledge, there are no other makers of this prop. So, I’m kind of stuck, hoping it never quits working.

But for many of our props, that may not be a problem., There will be multiple versions of the same prop. If your budget can stand it, and you want to use the prop in professional paid shows continuously, I recommend getting the mid-range priced prop.

In all my experiences, I’ve had more problems with a cheap version of a prop as opposed to a higher-priced prop. Now while magic is riddled with overpriced nonsense, with thorough research and experience, you’ll eventually find dealers and makers who create good quality props.

And this applies to your business, too. If you need software to run your business, get good quality software that will do its job.

I’ll use this newsletter as an example.

Last week’s newsletter’s subject line ended in “…” In other words, the subject line trailed off with an ellipsis, three little dots. It’s a simple copywriting technique. It spurs the reader to pick up on the fact there’s more to read.

Supposedly it increases click-through rates. While I’ve never split-tested it, I like the technique and use it.

But when I had my newsletter delivered to myself, I saw the three little dots were changed to the number “226” or whatever it was.

I was livid.

Instantly I knew what the problem was. The software I was using did not recognize an ellipsis, at least not for the field where you add a subject line for an email. So, it translated it as best it could.

The result?

My subscribers were greeted with a subject line that looked like I sent it out with a big fat typo.

For context, I bought this software for a very reasonable one-time fee, far cheaper than the monthly subscriptions available for similar software. It’s also the same software that allowed me to build the website offering you the free information in exchange for signing up for my (now weekly) newsletter.

And I won’t even get into the dumpster fire that was involved in creating that website.

To make a long story longer, when I realized what had happened and why, I thought it would make for a great newsletter lesson on cheap props for magicians.

Next week’s newsletter will be the promised start of my 5-week series on goalsetting. And very shortly, I plan to offer some very cool and worthy resources to you, dear reader. You’ll hear from me again next week, and some weeks, maybe even more than once when I have something fun to share.

P.S. By the way…whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help you grow your magic business to book more shows at higher fees:


1. Grab my FREE report for professional working magicians.



This report reveals a strategy that almost NO magicians are using (and the ones who are don’t use it correctly). Get your free copy by clicking HERE.


2. Get my website video training for under $10:


In this 2-hour video training, I’ll reveal exactly what your website needs if you want to succeed as a professional entertainer in the 21st century. Get all the details by clicking HERE.


3. Get a complete business-building plan handed to you on a silver platter.


Not sure how to move your magic business forward? I’ll analyze your complete magic business (website, market, competition, and more) and give you a complete game plan for getting your performing business to the next level. Find out how by clicking HERE.


4. Work with me privately.


Need help in multiple areas? I can help you with your website, direct mail, email, or other marketing strategies. I also offer consulting services for crafting magic routines or even entire shows. Want to find out more? Shoot me an email at cris@theprofessionalmagicianclubpro.com.

To find out more how I can help you book more shows at higher fees, click the button below to see my list of services.

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