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I have just done a 2 hour job, in front of about 15 people. I was asked to do this a while in advance. It was for the "Catholic Mother's Union" of York. Not a huge group, but big enough.

I didn't specify a price, but I didn't know how much to expect to earn. I am, after all, 15.

I was handed an envelope at the end, and not knowing how much to expect, I opened it with an open mind.

I was still slightly disappointed to find £12. For 2 hours of magic? I don't know much about standard pay rates for close up (this is what I would class what I do as) magicians, but I was still disappointed.

I was wondering how much I should be expecting to earn. I would be happy to do it for nothing, as I, like most of us here, enjoy doing what I do. But I feel, if I'm going to be paid for it, I would like to be paid properly.

I also suck at asking people for money - let alone MORE money!

Any ideas please people?

You cant ask for more if you did't specify a price im afraid, the £12 was more of a tip. So next time it you should agree a price beforehand i think.

well mate you can look at it this way its minimum wage ie £6 hr.
or its 40p each per hour per person, or beer money as you like.

next time agree on a fee or an hourly rate, i usualy start off by saying my usual rate is £50 per hour or part thereof........ but I'm not going to charge you that rate, asumeing there still standing that is.

samstorey wrote:You cant ask for more if you did't specify a price im afraid

Oh, no. You misunderstand. I am looking for more money on future jobs, but I have a hard time asking people for money. When people ask me how much I charge, I dont know what to say. I mean I want money, but if I give them too high a price, then I might scare them away.

oh i see, okay well do what magicdiscoman suggested, and if someone says thats too expensive, expain how magicdiscoman did and they should see the logic, the wont find cheaper many magicians so if they want one enough they'll pay... i geuss as i've not done paid work before, but have charged for other things.

It's experience nonetheless.

Ive got another, longer job on Sunday, but thats for charity. Like I said, I will do it for the love of magic. Is it still alright to suggest I accept tips? Its an open day sort of thing. Many things going on. Bands playing. Dancers dancing. And me. I stand out a bit. But it is for charity. Yet a few quid in hand wouldn't go amiss. What do you think? Should I suggest that I accept tips most graciously, and if so, how should I do it?

dont mention tips thats not the way to get them, go out of your way to be charming, maybe do some magic with borrowed money maybe they'll let you keep it dont act like thats your goal though. Derren Brown wrote or said some were to mention a tip in a diffrent way, i think it was like 'heres a tip' or something to that effect

I think it was him anyway

What you mean like subliminal stuff, cos I'm not large with the mentalism.

sort of i geuss maybe just try the first bit then?

OK, Thanks.

the most important thing with charity gigs is to have an understnding with the bosses that you will be handing out business cards and if people want to book you through them they can have a 10% discount on your regular fee.
also it dosn't hurt to let the local rag know that a talented young magician is working the venue, thats you by the way.

some throw away lines like "I'm avalable for parties and all night bookings" will help the day go by and allow you to keep the fun going along too.

my favourate one i use a lot apart from the one above is "I'm reasuringly expensive".

I know exactly where you are coming from crozboz - I have been working paid gigs for around 3 years now, and I still sense the feelings of shock from some of the people who ask me how much I charge. The reason being, is it's a fantastic hourly rate - if you go and work for a couple of hours at a ball/dinner etc. you get a great amount of money for those two hours, but what you have to remember is a) it's a very skilled profession - if you called out a plumber to fix something you would expect to pay through the roof because there is noone except a plumber who can fix your plumbing and b) they aren't really just paying you for the 2 hours that you perform for - they are also effectively paying you for the hours of practice that you do every day/in particular for a certain event. I hope that this helps.

Yeah, but it still scares them away though.

How much do you think I should be asking for when people ask how much I charge?

Getting a straight answer to how much to charge is a pretty hard thing to do here. Previous threads have covered this and (probably for good reason?) most full time pros don't like actually saying how much they charge per hour.
What I would say though is only you can put a value on your time.

As a guide I have generally found that the price per hour for a full time working pro to be £125 + an hour. This obviously depends on where in the country, how experienced they are etc.
As a part timer doing the odd thing here and there and with little experience I charge a lot less....2 bags of crisps and a pat on the *rse