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The effect/They say:
Don Driver's Svengali Pitch DVD
No Frills, Short, To The Point, Proven, Easy To Learn, Homemade, Cheap, Money-Making

DVD special: The Legendary S.David Walker pitching at the 2005 Wisconsin state fair!

Bonus: Magic Fuzzle Pitch
You'll learn :

* The Pitch and psychology of the Pitch
* How to gather a crowd
* How to build a Pitch stand
* Where to buy stock wholesale
* AND MUCH MORE . . .

Don Driver gave me more than a video for twenty dollars.
He gave me an opportunity to run my own business on weekends.
- Reed McClintock

http://www.dondriver.com

Cost:
$29.95 + S/H

Difficulty
Easy (in concept) so long as you...
Do: Be able to handle a Svengali and a DL. Don't: Be shy.

Review
This is not a flashy production shipped in flashy packaging, nor is Don Driver a flashy man. This DVD is intended to provide information on pitching the Svengali, 2 Card Monte and/or the Fuzzle (Squirmels). It does just that and gets straight to the point.

Pluses:
Don does a great job of explaining how to build a crowd and work it based partly on script and partly on feedback from the crowd. The way that the script is setup is so that you have the initial demonstration, if that doesn't have 'em reaching for the wallet, then you move to plan B and if that fails a plan C. It's a brilliant display of how to control a crowd by letting them think they are making free choices and interacting when in fact they are just following along as planned. A printed script is provided and easy to follow along as Don does the presentation for the camera and then in a real world setting.

Negatives:
Not much attention is given on how to build a pitch stand. There's a hand sketch in the paperwork and a brief mention on hinges in the DVD as well as some common sense "tips" like... don't let your canopy blow away.

The ad nor the DVD mention that you have to obtain a State Tax ID/Resale License in order to buy from the recommended suppliers. The suppliers rates aren't all that great consider the volume that must be ordered in addition to the initial ID fee. A little searching around and I was able to find them for a little cheaper with a minimum order of only a dozen. Of course you'll need more than a dozen but it beats having to make a minimum order of 288 decks.

Overall:
8/10

Don has demonstrated the US method of selling svengali decks. I don't like it and never have. He explains it well and it has been used in the US for decades.

It just plain isn't nearly as effective as the British way of doing it which was developed by a combination of Joe Stuthard (a Canadian!) Ron Macmillan and most importantly of all me.

In the US method you expose the short card to the punters and I don't like that one bit. You also lie to people and say the cards have a magnetic finish when they don't.

I have told Don I don't like his method and I have also told him that he shouldn't be educating wannabee magicians on how to sell them anyway. He is highly irritated with me because of that and I am highly irritated with him for encouraging twits to interfere with my business. Quite frankly I hope anyone who tries to sell them starves. And of course they usually do.

I don't like to hear of anyone selling svengali decks and even if I find out about somebody in Bangladesh working them I get upset.

I suppose I shouldn't worry because Don's method is so ineffective anyway. He STILL can't get more than a lousy $5 for the decks when I have been getting $10 for years and years. The reason I am able to do this is simply because my way of selling them is far superior and my routine is far more spectacular.

Incidentally if you can't afford to buy a minimum order of 288 decks you shouldn't even be in the business. I have sold 478 decks in one day. If you are any good you should be able to get rid of 288 decks in less than a week.

lol mark, dont beat around the bush, lol

hope ur well

I agree with most of your points Mark. While he did not say it outright, I got the impression that he chooses to explain the short card as part of the selling point that anyone can do it. His theory to keep it short and sweet is most definitely the right approach to take with the average American wandering around a flea market or county fair. I also agree with you about the outright lying of the magnetic/static and I don't think that I'll use that line. I honestly don't know why it's used in the first place when the pitchman has already explained the short card. As for the pricing, I imagine that would be a YMMV thing depending on where you were set up.

Aside from the topic, your Long and Short of It is freakin' brilliant. Never did I think it possible to spread a Svengali face up in front of a spectator without revealing anything, let alone to do it confidently... never thinking twice about it.

The length of the demonstration depends on where you are. It should also be remembered that the longer the demo the bigger the crowd although long is not necessarily the correct way. But short is not necessarily the correct way either. It all depends on the circumstances and how strong you are at holding people.

The original US svengali pitch took forever. Around 12 minutes in fact. My own pitch takes around 5 minutes if I am demonstrating svengali decks alone. However if I work a "lump up" then it takes me around 7 minutes. If you don't know what a "lump up" is then you are a "mushroom". If you know what a "mushroom" is that means that you aren't one.

The short card thing and the magnetic card c*** (not the best) has been used for decades in the US and I don't like it one bit. It really is about time America came under British rule once again and learned how to do things properly.

As for my book I do agree with you on how marvellous it is. I know the author personally and can confirm that he is a genius. He wrote another book entitled "Wit and Wisdom of Mark Lewis" and it is one of those horrible e-book things. It does however give quite a few hints on selling the decks. It doesn't exactly show you the ropes but it will show you a few strings.

mark lewis wrote: However if I work a "lump up" then it takes me around 7 minutes.

You can get pills for that. I'll forward you some emails.

Don Driver phoned me because some busybody told him about my comments on this thread. He was screaming and shouting which I didn't think was good for his emphysema. However I promised not to mention his product again. Instead I shall give a hint or two about how to draw a crowd in selling svengali decks. This is one of the methods I use to pull a crowd out of nowhere even when there is not much traffic about. It is a little excerpt from my recent book "Wit and Wisdom of Mark Lewis.
..........................................................................................................

I know a Svengali pitchman (me!) who draws a crowd in the following manner.
I have a penetrating voice which, when combined with the following procedure, can make a crowd appear like magic out of nowhere, no matter how dead the venue is.
This system works better indoors because the voice carries better. While the following patter is going on, I am stacking the cased decks in a pile in my hand in a criss-cross fashion until there are too many to balance like this. I can usually get up to about a dozen in a criss-cross tower-like formation before they start to sway precariously and I have to steady them with both hands.
This “tower” draws attention and helps gather the crowd.
“All right now here we go again, the famous magic cards! For those of you that didn’t have the great honor, and the great privilege, and the great pleasure of seeing me demonstrate this, I am going to consider showing you now.
Now whenever I demonstrate this, someone always says that the pack I am using is not the same as the one that I am selling. So to show you that it’s honest, to show you that it’s genuine, this is what we’ll do.”
At this point quite a few people will have gathered out of nowhere, yet they have not moved in close yet. However, I need to build the crowd still further before I start the actual pitch. By now the stack of cards is at its height and will be balanced rather precariously.
Now comes a very important part of drawing in more people. I think it can be adapted somehow for anyone that wants to build a crowd. Counting out loud, for some weird reason, draws people. If a street magician were to find some excuse to count “One, two, three…” up to, say 10, with pauses between each number, many people will crawl out of nowhere to see why he is counting. He has to count very loud, though.
I throw a deck down on the table as I count. I will remove any softness on the table temporarily such as a close up mat because I want the crowd to hear the noise each deck makes as it slams onto the table. I take each deck one by one from the top of the stack I am holding.
“Now here’s number one! Here’s number two! Number three! Here’s number four! Number five! Number six! Number seven! Number eight!”
By now a massive crowd will have arrived but they still haven’t moved in close enough. At this point he will throw whatever card decks are left in the tower onto the table in a great untidy mess and say, “ I don’t know how many there are! Which one are we going to use? Point to one, please!”
The spectator complies.
A very large crowd has now gathered. However they have to be pulled in and controlled. Here is how it is done: “Now I ask you all to do me two favors before we start the demonstration. Favor number one is very, very important. Can you all move in to the table as close as you possibly can? That’s it. If you move your legs forward you will find that your body will follow automatically. Take your time but hurry up. That’s it sir, one foot after the other. It’s known as walking. You’re very slow dear; do you work for the post office?”
The crowd is now packed in as tightly as possible to the table with no gaps. I should mention that it is essential for a Svengali pitchman to have the crowds tight against the table so that they cannot escape. This does not apply to a street entertainer who may not even have a table in the first place and, even if he does, the requirements of pulling people in close are not the same.
Another area that is different to a degree is that a pitchman does not allow anyone to walk away if he can help it. They can disrupt a tight crowd. A street magician has more leeway for people leaving even though I expect he is not that excited about it.
Here is how I handle it.
“Favor number two is also very important. I don’t mind if you don’t buy anything. That is your privilege. What you do with your money is your own affair. But whatever you do please do not walk away in the middle of my demonstration. When one person walks away everybody walks away. Wait till I finish. Don’t worry; I won’t be more than an hour and a half!”
The last sentence is a joke to take the sting out of the fact that you have given them orders.
The crowd is now ripe for the picking. Like a stage hypnotist giving initial suggestions and getting people to obey, the same psychology exists here. If they do as they are told at the beginning, they may well do as they are told at the end. What are they told at the end? To get their money out, of course!
Although all the above is relevant to a pitchman rather than a street magician there may possibly some things that can be adapted. I hope you found it interesting. It is the very first time the procedure has been described.

mark lewis wrote:"It’s known as walking. You’re very slow dear; do you work for the post office?”

This made me laugh a lot
Provided the dem had some dexterity with cards and wasn't rude when he used this line, I'd buy off someone that cheekly!