talkmagic.co.uk

The title says it all really.

I have used the search function and can't find a similar thread, so sorry if this has been asked before. Just wandered where people go who don't live near an actual real shop of magic supplies.

Check the advertisers on each page - they support TM financially and are all of excellent repute.

I have thoroughly enjoyed browsing through all the advertisers! I was just wandering about favourites, or is wandering these sorts of things out loud not really the done sort of thing to do when there are adverts at the bottoms of the pages?

I also like the look of a few stores that aren't advertised down the bottom of the page and was wanting to see if other people mentioned them or not.

Latly iv been purchasing from peter nardi's website "alakazam" i find it very good and has a wide range of products

stardust wrote:is wandering these sorts of things out loud not really the done sort of thing to do

Not at all! There have been a few instances of online stores failing to give proper service, or even failing to actually deliver, but the advertisers are all well worth checking out. Others such as Alakazam, Magic Tao, Cards4Magic have all proved to be trusty and reliable.

There are other, possibly less well known, sites such as Unleash Your Dreams, Alchemy Moon, Lebanon Circle and so on who specialise in particluar, individual types of magic and are leading the field in the darker stuff.

There's always a balancing act between lower prices, quality of service and actual availibilty of stock so any decision will be full of ifs and buts!

I just shop around any I can find for the best price. I've not had any problems yet.

My own instinctive go-to sites (in no particular order) are Magicbox, Alakazam, and Merchant of Magic. They all stock a wide selection of goodies and have a very high quality of service. Each has its own range of exclusives, too.

I'm not saying others aren't equally good, just that these are the general shops I'm personally in the habit of buying from. As mentioned, there are also specialists around, depending on what you're into.

Prices vary considerably, and the same supplier can be cheap for one thing (or one category) and expensive in another. So if you want something in particular, it pays to shop around. If you know the actual name of the item, Google is your friend!

Cards4magic has always been great for me.

Thank you very much for your replies. I will now go and mentally spend more money than I am ever likely to have!

Can I ask if anyone has used magicnevin before? I have seen a lot of things I like there and was wandering if anyone can tell me how it compares for prices, etc?

I've bought happily from Magic Nevin once or twice, and have heard plenty of good things from others. The shop's as good as any of the others mentioned here.

I have bought from magicworld, the service and prices have been good. Even though it is an online business I try and support it because it is local and based in Manchester (Try to support local businesses). The guy who runs it is a professional magician who is very helpful.

Nic

I have used all these sites and they're all good: Magicbox, Merchant of Magic, Magic Nevin, Cards4Magic, Magic Books By Post, Magic Magic, Free Post Magic.

I tend to avoid Alakazam these days, mainly because of their policy of not refunding your money if an order gets lost in the post. They really want you to use special delivery for the added protection, but this doesn't make sense for small-ish orders. I don't know of any other shop that won't refund your cash if an order goes astray in the post. (Come to think of it, is what they're doing even legal?) Oh well, I guess they have their reasons.

Magic Nevin and Magicbox in particular are very good because they have a price match policy. Nothing like a bit of healthy competition to get the old CUPS juices flowing, eh?

For something a little off the beaten track, try Black Hart and Lebanon Circle for some dark but excellent quality stuff. Keith and Dan will look after you.

As well as the other excellent dealers mentioned, Dude That's Cool Magic, despite the name, are excellent and provide a top notch service.
They also have some real bargains from time to time. I use them a lot and their service is always superb.

http://www.vanishingrabbit.com
http://www.hocus-pocus.com/

I really try to go to the local shops first before shopping online. Depending on what I'm looking for will depend on where I go online. I have no favorite.
Tim