I am going to NYC either this afternoon or Monday.
I am planning on visiting Tannen's, Fantasma, and Abracadabra magic stores.
It's not far but the parking in NY is horrendous & expensive.
If I am able to only visit one of these, which would be the most worthwhile (in your opinion)
I am looking for a few things such as:
TT's (color & size match) as much as practical
Cotton wad
D'lite
other misc stuff

I don't want to order TTs online. Like a good tuxedo, you have to try it on first.

Tannens and Fantasma are near each other so going to both stores wouldn't be a problem.

My last visit to New York was a couple of years ago. I found the two guys at Tannens to be totally disinterested in me and more interested in filling some Internet orders while I tried to ask questions and ask to see different products. They really didn't seem to want to sell me anything. Fantasma was the exact opposite - a large, clean, modern store with Magick Balay behind the counter and he is the ultimate salesman trying to sell anything and everything. He is very entertaining and is quite happy to demo and explain trick after trick. They seemed to be very well stocked.

Well I finally made my trip to Fantasma'a in NYC yesterday.

One thing I look for when going to a magic shop is "COST"

Between the tunnel tolls, and parking, I paid $45. $12 for tolls & $33 for parking.
Parking is impossible in that area of NYC. I drove around for 45 minutes and finally gave up & decided to pay for it.
Fantasma is a nice magic shop but quite expensive.
$80 for Hoppin Halves.
It's hard for me to visit a magic shop and come out empty handed. I spent $150 for very little.

It's back to Internet shopping for me.

Ihor

I went to New York a few months ago.

Fantasma was more like a joke shop, full of kids and plastic magic. There were some decent bits and pieces behind the counter but I was put off by one of the kids who was serving. He told me that what I was asking for was rubbish (Joshua Jay's Prism Deck)! He didn't have a clue but obviously had an ego unfortunately.

On the other hand Tannens was brilliant, a proper magic shop with staff who really knew their stuff and made some fantastic recommendations. They were happy to dem anything. I also had a good browse of their extensive library.

So, for the serious magician Tannens gets my vote.

I just visited Fantasma two weeks ago to visit the Houdini museum and to look around. I was prepared to purchase a Mikame Photo Frame for 176.00 plus tax, but the salemans seemed to be more interested in talking to his friends. I had been standing around for over 20 minutes and he was discussing slights with 2 people whom did not appear to be purchasing anything. Then another "friend" or person in his "click" came in and he dropped everything to go talk to him (while I waited around for another 15 minutes). I finally gave up. I won't be going back to Fantasma any time soon. Sorta a shame, had high hopes for the place.

In February, I had the opportunity to visit both Tannens and Fantasma magic shops. As someone else noted, they are really quite close to each other. Fantasma has moved to another floor and has a smaller shop but now seems more dedicated to magic vs novelties. However, I have been very pleased with Tannens. I find that they generally have a lot in stock and they usually have better prices than Fantasma. Although I'm sure you can get things cheaper on the internet, there is something to be said for supporting brick & mortar stores. I would generally prefer Tannens to Fantasma but as they are so close, why not visit them both and decide for yourself.

It should be noted that there is no need to park near these stores.
Tannens and Fantasma are both an easy walk from Penn Station.

I wasn't aware that you can park at Penn Station.
Are you saying to take a train in to Manhattan or to park at Penn station?

Seformen Unfortunatly this is why brick and mortars are going away. Kids behind the counters that know more than anyone. There needs to be salespeople behind the counter to make these places survive. The customers should be visiting with each other and the counter man should be selling, oh yeah and not texting

When I lived near NYC, I often went to Tannen's. They were always nice to me as a young magician, but once I started hanging out with the New York magic guys, I became one of the gang. They would demo anything. Anything! The phrase "Out of Stock" was rarely heard. And they really knew magic.

I also went to the Flosso-Hornmman shop a few times, which no longer exists. It barely existed then. Lots of junk, but it was a cool place to be. I did, after all, have a nice conversation with Senor Wences there one time.

I haven't been back there in over two decades. I'm in the mood to make the trip right now, but I wonder if it would be disappointing.