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axcreations1
New user
12 Posts
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Posted: May 23, 2012 10:35am
I know that this question is most likely impossible to answer, but is there any educated guesses or unofficial lists to the top ten SELLING effects by each year? I was curious, whether the effect was "good" or not, what effects actually sold the most product the last few years. (debating whether they were worthy of being so, or just due to marketing efforts, could be intersting as well).
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brehaut
Inner circle
kentucky
1907 Posts
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Posted: May 23, 2012 12:10pm
I know Penguin Magic list their current top 10 selling effects. I have noticed over the years that the best effects have staying power on the Café. In other words, they are still talked about 6 months or longer after they have been released
Twitter: @GSBKY and Author of "Inspired"
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axcreations1
New user
12 Posts
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Posted: May 26, 2012 5:58pm
Thanks for the info brehaut, that's a good start, but I was wondering if there anywhere you can get approximate numbers of to how many of the best selling effects actually sell? I'm just curious what numbers are selling these days for the most popular effects - 500 units, 1K, 10K, etc. I know this gets into the catagory of "none-of-your-business", but I'm just looking for ballpark figures. Anyone have any guesses?
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Decomposed
Eternal Order
High Desert
10649 Posts
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Posted: May 27, 2012 12:08am
Quote:
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On 2012-05-26 17:58, axcreations1 wrote:
Thanks for the info brehaut, that's a good start, but I was wondering if there anywhere you can get approximate numbers of to how many of the best selling effects actually sell? I'm just curious what numbers are selling these days for the most popular effects - 500 units, 1K, 10K, etc. I know this gets into the catagory of "none-of-your-business", but I'm just looking for ballpark figures. Anyone have any guesses?
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That would be very nice!
90 seconds of pure laughs without a standing ovation!
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J-Mac
Inner circle
Ridley Park, PA
3099 Posts
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Posted: May 27, 2012 1:13am
You would need a company or organization willing to try and collect this information from so many different sources, it would be a very difficult task. No one performs this service now that I can determine.
Thanks!
Jim
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MuscleMagic
Elite user
425 Posts
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Posted: May 27, 2012 5:22am
Selling doesn't mean people use it, question is what product do people get and make use of
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Nicolino
Inner circle
2026 Posts
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Posted: May 27, 2012 6:17am
Quote:
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On 2012-05-27 05:22, MuscleMagic wrote:
Selling doesn't mean people use it, question is what product do people get and make use of
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Correct. I'm always hesitant and sceptical with "bestsellers" (not only in magic). What pleases the crowd often doesn't work for me.
The Mati Envelope
A brandnew peek device for the working mentalist!
Chance's Token
Tarot cards in a scenic piece of mystery.....
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MaxfieldsMagic
Inner circle
Instead of practicing, I made
1973 Posts
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Posted: May 27, 2012 2:33pm
Assuming you're not talking about public domain props such as stripper deck, invisible deck, linking rings, etc, I'd bet that NFW is up towards the top. It has been out for years, but nothing has really topped it in its category (gaffed packet trick), and it remains very popular today.
I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
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eatonmagic
Elite user
Orlando, FL
420 Posts
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Posted: May 28, 2012 9:44am
Quote:
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On 2012-05-27 14:33, MaxfieldsMagic wrote:
Assuming you're not talking about public domain props such as stripper deck, invisible deck, linking rings, etc, I'd bet that NFW is up towards the top. It has been out for years, but nothing has really topped it in its category (gaffed packet trick), and it remains very popular today.
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I'm not sure about that. I know that Twisted Sisters and Color Monte have been around longer than NFW. Also, I heard that Emerson and West had between them sent all their kids to college plus bought two homes just off the money that Color Monte had made since its release.
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D Byrd
Veteran user
Virginia
370 Posts
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Posted: May 28, 2012 11:05am
May I offer a bit of unwanted advice. Don't do it! It sounds like you are trying to open a magic store. You will rue the day you do it. It will end your marriage, make you lose your hair, and send you to the proverbial poor house. Take it from someone who has literally destroyed his life financially. The heartache you will gain (and that is all you will gain) will crush your soul and take away any joy you have ever had for magic.
JUST DON'T DO IT!
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Bill Hegbli
Eternal Order
Bill and Bill in Fort Wayne Indiana
13072 Posts
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Posted: May 28, 2012 11:44am
Quote:
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On 2012-05-26 17:58, axcreations1 wrote:
Thanks for the info brehaut, that's a good start, but I was wondering if there anywhere you can get approximate numbers of to how many of the best selling effects actually sell? I'm just curious what numbers are selling these days for the most popular effects - 500 units, 1K, 10K, etc. I know this gets into the catagory of "none-of-your-business", but I'm just looking for ballpark figures. Anyone have any guesses?
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Your answer may be in the wholesalers and jobbers market. There is only a handful of wholesales that supply the whole magic market. If and that is a big if, they track their inventory, they would be able to supply such information. But I don't believe they would, even if they could.
If you are thinking of putting an item out on the market, it is more a matter of what is the smallest amount you can produce for the least cost.
If it is a card trick, most playing card manufactures, require a minimum order of 10,000. So test marketing the item 1st would be a wise idea.
When I worked at a magic shop, they only ordered 3 items at a times. Tricks like Color Monte, they soon started ordering a dozen at a time.
The Rising Card decks is constant seller, but the most that is sold by an average magic shop is 48 decks a year, and that is if you demo it, and do what is known as pitching the tricks to many that come in the shop to browse.
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Geoff Weber
Inner circle
Washington DC
1298 Posts
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Posted: May 28, 2012 1:53pm
Mainstream magic releases will surely dominate this list... Marshal Brodien's TV magic cards, Criss Angel's Platinum Magic Set, Marvin's Mindblowing Magic, Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic, Melissa and Doug magic set, Fantasma magic set, any Tenyo item that was sold in toy stores, Rocco's D'lites.
If you are just talking about magic sold to the specialty market your talking about the tricks that have sold 10k or more copies. Color Monte, NFW, Sidewalk Shuffle, Cardtoon, Sinful, to name a few...
Here's what Dan Harlan has to say about it:
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I'll give you some numbers, all approximate. Your mileage may vary. Any reasonably good effect can expect to sell about 1000 pieces in a year. If you have a great effect, it may sell 2000. A hit can make it all the way to 5000 pieces worldwide over a couple of years. A smash-hit will continue to sell and reach about 10,000 pieces in 5 years. A run-away, blockbuster, hella good trick may do 10,000 pieces in the first year alone, maybe more. Some effects continue to sell 1000/year reliably for 10 years or more.
Now, multiply those numbers by your profit margin. Don't know what your profit margin is? Again, this is approximate since some effects will cost a little more or less, but a good guess is about 25% of retail. In other words, you'd make about $2.50 for every $10 trick sold.
You can get a bigger profit margin by selling direct (not through dealers) but it's harder to move as much quantity so it pretty much balances unless you have a hella good trick. That's really the major variable in the equation -- how good is the trick. No-one knows until the effect is on the market. As you might expect, most effects sell 1000 pieces and no more.
Run the numbers based on that fact to find the retail to profit results:
$10.00 item = $2500.00 profit
$20.00 item = $5000.00 profit
$100.00 item = $25,000.00 profit
It's possible to make money, but by no means easy. Coming up with a product is a lot of work. Getting it made is a lot of work. Also, if you try to sell a floating turd it will be much more difficult to get anyone interested in your next idea. If I have decyphered the R****** Deck properly, then we are talking about a smash-hit that continues to sell. I'd guess that he did at least 70,000 in the first five years and 5,000 each year following that. So it is possible to build a house.
--Dan Harlan |
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Planning a lecture tour in the Mid-Atlantic region... if you have a group that's interested, let me know.
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Bill Hegbli
Eternal Order
Bill and Bill in Fort Wayne Indiana
13072 Posts
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Posted: May 29, 2012 7:47am
No trick sells itself, magic tricks have to shown/demonstrated with enthusiasm and creativity. Otherwise, they set there doing nothing. Not even selling. No one sees a plastic bag with something inside and says, I will buy that.
Just like axcreations1, the trick quickly disappears.
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axcreations1
New user
12 Posts
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Posted: May 30, 2012 5:28am
Thanks for all the responses! Geoff, Your Dan Harlan quote is the closet for what I was looking for. I have just seen so many products come out these days,I was curious to the numbers of how many "Latest & Greatest" products sell (not mainstream department store stuff). I know the old stand bys (color monte, etc.) have been selling forever & a ton, I just wondered how much of the newer stuff approximately sells if it's considered a "hit" these days.
D Byrd, no I have no desire to open a magic shop for profit (though I would love to design a cool one someday if my disposable income ever gets plentiful), but I am working on a cool gimmick that I may market in the future. Haven't seen the effect done before, or any mention of it so far in my research, so I got my fingers crossed I get it going before I get beat to the punch. 
wmhegbli - I only "disappeared" for 3 days! It was memorial day weekend afterall...
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magicHart
Elite user
Las Vegas, Nevada
471 Posts
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Posted: Jul 17, 2012 8:07pm
The dealers are eager to show the top selling items hoping that many of the readers will jump on the bandwagon.
If actual sales were shown by the numbers, results could be way different!
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