talkmagic.co.uk

Hi,

I wonder if anyone could help me with some general information please.

Does anyone have any experience of buying (DVDs in particular but anything in general) from ellusionist?

I was wondering what the service and shipping is like from this company. Also, what are the downloads like?

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Phil.

some people love it some don't...
Was that any help ???

I think that the people who DON'T like Ellusionist are of this opinion because of their content rather than their service - if that helps too.

Most people don't like them as they do tend to 'over-hype' their products which causes disapointment and also because they remove any negative posts about their products from their online forum.

I have a few titles from 'E' myself and it is dependant on what you're looking to buy and importantly, what your skill level is.

I loved them when I got back in to card magic when they first released their Ninja series. I hated them a few months later after buying another product I won't name.

Some of their stuff is good, but over priced. The rest is over priced and over hyped.

This is my opinion. They are GOOD learning materials for the most part. Depending on what it is you want to learn. I would kinda stay away from the single tricks they sell.

From personal experience, their service is first class. Their follow up on any questions you may have about your shipment also excellent.

In so far as downloads are concerned, I dont know although I believe they are NOT Mac compatible.

Thanks for the replies. Very useful.

Now that this is opening up a little......I was thinking of purchasing some DVDs:

The System by Dan and Dave Buck
Crash Course 1 - Card (Brad Christian)

Anyway - I need to save some pennies first

I don't know about the system but I've read good things about it on TM. Check out the reviews section using the search function at the top of the page.

I've got Crash Course and it's OK if you're a relative newbie at cards or magic in general, otherwise you may be disapointed. However, if you ARE a newbie then you may wish to consider Born to Perform by Oz Pearlman as an alternative. Overall, I would rate Born To Perform as a better DVD for the beginner. Born To Perform is also reviewed on TM.

The system is a brilliant dvd, first class. HOWEVER.. you need to be relatively good with flourishes before you can do most of the moves

Xtreme Beginnerz is the best place to start..

To perform the majority of moves in The System you will need to learn the on hand revolution cut, taught in showoff by brian Tudor.. I dont know anywhere else that teaches this cut and Brians explanation of it is diablolical!!! The Dvd though is THE ONLY dvd of Brian Tudors you will be able to sit through such is his poor style of teaching!!

So extreme beginners, Showoff ( unfortunately you will need this ).. and then go for The System when you have mastered the moves taught in the first two dvds..

I, too, have purchased several tricks from E. I like them all. I recommend Crash Course 1 and 2. Ninja 1 and 2. And, as someone else mentioned, Xtreme BeginnerZ. I was a newbie (and may still be so) but I've a LOT from those 5 DVDs. I just started out with E and stuck with it. I'm going further and further into debt, but I look at it as an investment.

One good thing to remember, though. The less E shows on their video previews, the more hype and subsequently, the higher possibility for disappointment.

Still, I knew nothing when I started out with them and now, in two weeks, I've come pretty far with my first routine.

On books, I HIGHLY suggest 'Card College' by Roberto Giobbi. I went ahead and purchased all five books and they are the motherload of card handling/manipulation instruction. Still, it is best to watch a pro handle them, too. To see the steps in Card College performed. It would be awesome to have a video follow-up to these books. (If there aren't already).

I'm also a huge fan of Darren Brown. It's just so hard to come by his books these days.

I must admit, I like Ellusionist. I have some of my own reasons for liking them however.

In as much of an unbiased view as possible, they have very good customer service, great delivery service (although a little pricey to the UK), and lots of theyre products are good quality and some quite cheaper than elsewhere. The only thing i can think of is the hype. It can be over the top, but i have been known to fall for it before. They were great items though!

Thanks for that. It is interesting to read your comments - all comments very much appreciated.

I was just a little unsure as to whether or not it was going to be a good investment to have The System and Crash Cards DVDs shipped all the way from the USA to the UK. From the comments thus far I am now quite happy to spend the cash and get the DVDs shipped across. Once I've saved up in the first place that is - my spending is over for this month

Oh well.....something to look forward to next month

perhaps write to I.D, he most likely already owns both and can give you some feedback on the content of DVD's you're looking at. maybe also check with some of your local suppliers in the UK to see if they stock these lines. i know a number of them run ellusionist product, not sure if that includes these DVD's but worth checking.

I would certainly not advocate downloading a lot of their stuff from torrent sites. You just can't find it on those for a start. Don't even look for it.

Notting

notting wrote:I would certainly not advocate downloading a lot of their stuff from torrent sites. You just can't find it on those for a start. Don't even look for it.

Notting

What was the point of this post? I didnt see any one even mention that. It sounds like something you have done or at least tried.