talkmagic.co.uk

I was walking through my local dollar store the other day and I saw four different boxes of magic tricks...fifteen tricks in a box for one dollar. Out of curiousity I purchased two of the boxes. They were very cheap tricks, but they are still quite fun to perform. For example, if you've even see the clear tube you wrap a paper towel around and make a bill inside the tube disappear, that was in one of the boxes. Also one box had a little stand where you put a cap on top of it and lift the cap and there's a coin on the stand. Lots of variations you can do with that little device. All the devices are cheap, and you feel cheap pulling one out of your pocket, and they're definitely not examinable, but they're still fun to perform and I think they'd be great for birthday party magic and the likes. Anyone have an opinion about these cheap dollar-style tricks? I think they're neat and fun to perform.

JAlexBrown

I think they are exactly that, cheap, cheesy, done-so-many-times-they're-not-magic-anymore type tricks that have no place in the type of magic that I try to perform. Though if they work for you then sure, go for it.

They are very cheesy, but if you try to see it from the eyes of a five or six year old kid, you wouldn't see how cheap and obvious they are. Kids that age haven't yet been exposed to most of these tricks, no matter how often the parents have seen the tricks. The reason I like these tricks is because they're fairly self-working and kids seem to love them. I love seeing the child's face light up when that coin appears or disappears. I know tons and tons of people use the French Drop to vanish a coin or other object, and even though I can almost always spot a French Drop, kids and even a lot of adults never seem to spot the Drop. It's important when thinking about and looking at magic that you look at it as a layperson and *not* as a magician. That's just my two cents.

JAlexBrown

Sure for small children they would be great. I assume they are just the short, visual type of thing that works well with younger kids. But I was thinking more about the age bracket I perform for, about 17-24 or so.

I'm with you, JAlex - I love those cheesy little effects. I don't use them for actual performances, but they're fun to tinker with.

I'll quite often buy these cheepo cheesy tricks, I find they're great for getting ideas from. I'd never actually use the gadget that I've bought but have many times taken the idea and used it for something else.