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Hypnotic Winter Special user Ireland 720 Posts |
Something that I've started wondering about lately is the price of books, DVDs, and materials in general.
What do you guys feel under-priced or over-priced? Thing's like Mr. Lesley's Informatico principle seems a very high price, but maybe it's worth it going on his other products I have purchased which are all excellent. Then there are some excellent DVDs that a lot of us would feel are under-priced. So what's worth it and what's not? And what price would you give it?
When your only reality is an illusion, then illusion is reality.
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Dr_Stephen_Midnight Inner circle SW Ohio, USA 1555 Posts |
Videos are often overpriced.
Five effects in a video for $55, vs. those 5 effects and 8-50 more in a book for $14. Hmmm... Steve
Dr. Lao: "Do you know what wisdom is?"
Mike: "No." Dr. Lao: "Wise answer." |
shrink Inner circle 2609 Posts |
If something gives you a great principle but is sold cheaply then its worth diminishes. It means everyone in your patch will be using it. Not only that, some will be using it badly without good presentation. This means its worth to you is diminished.
However, if it is sold at a premium price you are paying for the exclusivity. The effects are now more valuable since everyman and his dog do not own or know of it. What is the principle? How powerful is it? How will it improve your show? These are the questions I would ask and how I would value something. If everyone is doing something I don't want it. |
Sven Rygh Inner circle Oslo, Norway. 1945 Posts |
With all due respect, we don't buy effects or routines by the pound, do we?
I would pay ten times $55 for a video, even if it contained just one single effect I could use, if this single one was just right for me. There are some amazing books out there with lots of effects in them. It would be worthwhile, though, to ask one self how many of the total number of effects in one book one really would use before a live audience. How many of the effects are just with an added twist? How many of the effects are nothing but fillers? Here, as everywhere else in this world, Real Value for Money is the central point, not HOW MANY effects you got for your dollar. Sven
WWW.SVENRYGH.NO
"Keep it as simple as possible, - but no simpler" http://www.svenrygh.no/sven-rygh/presse/nrk-forst-og-sist/ http://www.svenrygh.no/video.html |
Dr_Stephen_Midnight Inner circle SW Ohio, USA 1555 Posts |
Well, then we're getting into the quandary of whether any effect in a video OR book is of worth to you. Since we're buying secrets, it's something of a gamble.
My point is that if you have five in a high-priced source, and 55 (including those 5) in a lower-priced source, which is more economical? If you have a one-of-a-kind source with a high price tag, you have only the choice to buy or pass. Will it be worth it? You probably won't know until the secret is in your hands. Steve
Dr. Lao: "Do you know what wisdom is?"
Mike: "No." Dr. Lao: "Wise answer." |
shrink Inner circle 2609 Posts |
Yes, it is a quandary.
For me I spent quite a few hundred pounds before I even started to get material I would use. Now I have a better idea of what is worth to me. I still make mistakes. If you make living doing shows, then three expensive effects that you can use that give you credibility are more economical than a hundred run-of-the-mill cheap effects/books. If you do not perform for a living then expensive effects are a waste of resources unless the pleasure you might gain from collecting them is greater than the cost to you. There is no one way. Everyone is different and has different needs and opinions. The only thing we all have in common is that we will all make mistakes on purchases. We will feel we have wasted our money at some point. But that seems to be part of the learning. Hey, it's much better now we have the Internet than before when you really were buying in the dark. Cost me hundreds of pounds. |
mattisdx Inner circle 1614 Posts |
If you can use it and amaze people with it, then it is in some sense 'Priceless'. However, things like John Kennedy's Card Thru Window for $245 is just nutty
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Graymatter_Fireworks Veteran user Atlanta, GA 357 Posts |
Here, here, Shrink. I'm a most grateful for the ability to contact others so easily when it comes to opinions on material. But like many things, this can be a double edged sword.
I suppose this topic is rather subjective, as anything that one will use effectively to entertain their audience and start to earn a income with, will essentially be worth the price you spent on learning the effect or principle. There are also a lot of variables that can play into the whole outcome of this. For instance, I can learn how to do a trick much faster by watching a video. But is this always a good thing? I think Richard Osterlind wrote a wonderful essay on this topic on the L and L publishing boards around the time his DVD's first came out. It's also included in one of this Ebooks. Do excuse the current memory lapse, as I can't remember which it is. They are both have similar names and I don't wish to confuse them. I enjoy videos simply because it's nice to see others perform and to get inspiration as well as a visual concept of what a trick looks like being performed for real. But I find that sometimes with DVD's (at least for myself), since things are so concise, it can stunt my imagination. What I mean is, if I'm reading how a trick is done, I might work out something different in my mind for how the effect looks. Which in turn can be a effect I wish to than work out for myself. Books just take more of your time and energy, and for me, that can be more rewarding overall. Brandon
"The social world in which we live, determines our experience of what is real." - John Gager
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discjockey Elite user 451 Posts |
Its all relevant. I bought stunners plus for $100. my friends think I'm nuts when they ask me how much some of this stuff costs. but it was worth every penny. I can see myself performing a bunch of these in the near future.
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atrudo Regular user New Hampshire 190 Posts |
Most DVD's seem over priced to me. the ones I don't mind are the ones that contain tons of great stuff like the Richard Osterlind and Max Maven ones.
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