talkmagic.co.uk

I hate seeing questions like this on talkmagic, because I feel it denotes laziness on the poster's part, but please hear me out...

With the exchange rate the way it is at the moment, where is it best to buy magic downloads in the US at the moment? Magic downloads are not something I've ever really been into, but knowing that a rate of $2 to every £1 is currently available, it's probably something I should be looking at, if it fits whatever purpose I have in mind.

Are Ellusionist worth a look? What other websites are there where I can take this advantage?

I've heard some good things about The Magic Depot, but never ordered from them myself. They have 39 instant downloads in PDF format. Worth a look I reckon.

Penguinmagic does a load of instant downloads alot of which are rather good. I especially like the ones taught by Oz Pearlman as I personally find him an engaging performer and and excellent teacher.

I also like Oz but some of the stuff that Penguin gets him to promote and churn out is embarrasing! Not the stuff that I suspect he would perform himself!

Magic Depot and Magic Warehouse offer some good deals but I tend to deal directly with Stevens Magic and Viking more than any other source... though some changes of habit are afoot in that my buddy Michael Paul just opened a Brick & Mortar about 20 minutes up the road from me.

i vote for stevens magic emporium, purely cos they have a nice little clearance section, good breadth of stock, and if you pay the extra, you can get it door to door in 3 days...

AND! you don't have to pay any ahem ahem wink wink either..

Hank lee MIGHT be worth a look, they can be a little iffy at times, you put in a big order and they don't have half of it...at least with steven's you get an e-mail asking what you want to do..

Gotta go with Craig and Abraxus on this one. Steven's has some of the harder to find stuff - I just like hunting through the store to see what pops up.

Craig - where is Marc Paul's store? I'm not familiar with your area, but I'd love to check the place out.

Another decent online shop is Elmwood Magic - which has a decent selection. Also, if you sign up, you get the occasional free shipping offers and things like that.

Bicycle808 wrote:I've heard some good things about The Magic Depot, but never ordered from them myself. They have 39 instant downloads in PDF format. Worth a look I reckon.

The magic depot is really a great store. I don't know about instant downloads though, because I've only bought hard copies of things. They arrived extremely quickly though, and the service is great, sending you e-mails every step of the way.

I'd go with them, the prices are pretty good too.

Demitri wrote:Gotta go with Craig and Abraxus on this one. Steven's has some of the harder to find stuff - I just like hunting through the store to see what pops up.

Craig - where is Marc Paul's store? I'm not familiar with your area, but I'd love to check the place out.

Another decent online shop is Elmwood Magic - which has a decent selection. Also, if you sign up, you get the occasional free shipping offers and things like that.

Michael Paul... I've yet to visit it so I can't give you any particulars just yet... I know he's heading over to the UK soon for a lecture tour however...

Well perhaps i can help you. I`ve ordered from penguinmagic.com a few times. They have some very nice things there, but beware the comments. Read them first. Penguin has some really great items for a nice price (STS, The Raven, The Bat just to name a few), however they have been known to also have a few crappy things. If you are a stage performer or want some really nice card tricks, go to MasterMentalism.com. Warning: I am a street man & walk around mentalist myself & I was unhappy with the purchase because most are for stage. The "hypnosis" section is actually Pseudo-Hypnosis, pseudo meaning fake. It's not really hypnotism. Don't worry; if you decide you don't like it, Mr. Even will give you a full refund. he did for me. Magicproshop.com is also another place to check out. They don't have everything, but quite a large emporium indeed. I ordered from them once, the occasion being The Bat, & it turned out quite nice. you can choose next-day delivery from them to where it arrives before the afternoon, which is quite nice if you need something in a hurry for whatever reason. I plan on ordering from them again & I recommend them to anyone. I have not tried Ellusionist.com yet, but I hear they do have a few nice things. A little note on King Rising if you don't know how to do it & have not bought it if I may: don't. I found the video quite misleading & was disapointed with the method. I hope this has helped you & thanks for reading my comment though it was so long. Good luck.

Replicant wrote:I've heard some good things about The Magic Depot, but never ordered from them myself.

The Magic Depot is one of the very few specialist shops I've ordered from so far, and I have no complaints, but because of my inexperience I have little to compare them with.

Some of their routine emails can be over-the top in the implication that you are a super special customer who is to be treated like royalty. One email claimed, "the boss asked me to be extra careful with your order, making sure everything was perfect", to which I reacted with an amused "yeah, right". The item I had ordered was a book - which hardly has any fragile parts at all - and the notion that they would take extra care over packing it was comical.

It really depends on what kind of effects you are looking for? Any more info?

Abraxus is right on with Stevens; the only problem is they tend to deal in high-end items.

I've had considerable success with Harry Allen at Daytona Magic, too.

I've bought from the Magic Depot and found their transatlantic service is very good.

I'd certainly recommend them for this and also because they appear to have loads of varied items.

I find the best place to buy is Penguin Magic because you can get free shipping.