talkmagic.co.uk

Much has been said, here, there and everywhere of the virtues of the strange and mysterious objects produced by Rick Roth and his associates. As a relative newcomer, I would like to add my voice to the praise.

Well, it all started with a wallet. Digging deeper, I found a new world of complexity and an attention to the effect that turned my approach to magic to a new and astounding direction. These artifacts evoke the memory of past lives, of the world of the carnie and sideshow fortuneteller. They are relics of an unknown and disturbing past.

The work is exceptional. Every piece is unique. Those of us lucky enough to have stumbled into this world are treated to things built only for us. The techniques given are but a starting point for further exploration. Each item has but a bare routine written, a not so subtle way of forcing the adept to build and shape their own story, turning about an axis of their own creation. Soon, I was fast into developing several tales to tell. Tales of common memory and and shared imagery. In it, a relationship with the audience. These tools will stretch the mind and support a powerful sequence of newer images and trials that will leave the audience truely believing.

Yes, the wait may seem unpredictable. Rick does a heroic job keeping his world turning, while providing and encouraging a fertile growth medium for new developments. He tends his flock with great care, answering messages into the night, and cooling out impatient followers. Believe me, whatever your desire, the wait is worth it. Give 'em a look.

corvus

The quality of the effects and the work involved is beyond dispute, certainly all first class products. However there are several on the forum who have experienced the same sort of delays and 'lost' deliveries, tracking numbers which don't relate and so on. In one case the badly delayed payment to someone who had supplied the firm but had to wait months and only received due remittance after the situation was made public. These are the facets which have sometimes made matters a little less than certain.

As a first post, your comments are very welcome but it would be appreciated if you visited the Introductions section and told us all a little more about yourself, it makes it so much easier to respond in accordance with your skill and experience level.

I'm seriously resisting speaking up on that point (having to wait on things). There are many reasons for the tardiness that Rick is not directly responsible for; having worked in a prop building situation I can more than vouch to the fact that construction delays happen, especially when there's a high demand for a given piece. Too, in order to reduce manufacturing costs on a high demand item many makers of magic will deliberately wait for a full month before beginning the work so that they can assembly line the manufacturing process. . . it's far less expensive and practical to make-up a dozen units at once than it is one at a time by the order. Those that have never worked in this world fail to understand this and most come off with an arrogant state of expectation, believing themselves more important and worthy of faster service. . . and I'm as guilty of this as anyone else.

Rick has some backward management practices, I can't completely forgive him or deflect things on his behalf when the facts are self-evident. Hopefully this will begin to change as we move into the next couple of years. . . I can only say that a transition seems to be afoot, but it's going to take time. Nonetheless OUTLAW remains one of the top rated suppliers of Bizarre Magick out there (aside from certain underground sources), with Lebanon Circle coming in at a very close second. . . then again, Dan has had some back order issues as well; it's the nature of things when you are a manufacturer as well as innovator.

Try ordering a big illusion brand new from someone like Owens or Bill Smith and see how long it takes to get the final product . . . you'll learn to not be so anxious.

As one of the people who's been on the receiving end of some bad service, I did understand that delays might arise. That is not an excuse for misleading people, giving inaccurate information or (in my case) never sending the product at all.

I don't mind waiting for things (I am still waiting for a book that was due to be sent by someone else in December), but if it's going to be two months, tell the person it's two months' wait, not two weeks. Hell, maybe tell them it will be three and then you look a hero if it's only two!

Some Outlaw products are being sold in the mainstream now (through Murphy's, I think, and maybe others) and these items shouldn't have any delays.

Thanks for all your comments, the last thing we want to see is any ganging up on someone who hasn't visited or posted for over 3 years. The point about this thread was to answer the OP who seems to have arrived purely to extol the virtues of Outlaw, more like a sales promo than a genuine post. Bear in mind that we get to know a lot more than we pass on.