Just wondered if anyone has tried to pitch the Multiplying Rabbits, and what their experience was with them.

I wanted to add a trick to my Svengali Pitch, and the Rabbits seem like a good candidate. They are inexpensive to stock, are light and pack small. You can present a short, snappy and impressive routine, and the reset is fast and easy.

On the downside, it is not a "self-working" trick like the Svengali Deck, and does require some elementary sleight-of-hand (Finger Palm). On the other hand, I don't think it is any more difficult to perform than the Money Paddle or Magic Worm, both of which I currently sell as well.

Anybody have any thoughts on this? Thanks! SETH

Seth,
I think its too hard a trick for kids to learn.I'm guessing they will be coming back all day saying "teach me" But I could be wrong.

Later,Don

Don, I agree with you, that is one of my concerns.

But my thought was to make up my own expanded instruction sheet, that teaches the sleight on one side and the routine on the other side. It will cost me about 9 cents for each double-sided copy, but since the bunnies are pretty cheap to start with, the cost is not a big concern.

I made up a similar detailed instruction sheet for the Magic Worm; I just fold and staple it to each worm as they are sold. When the kids come back and say they can't figure out how to do it, I tell them they need to go back and read the instructions. [They are usually so excited about it, they can't be bothered to read the instructions!] If they come back with a parent, I will usually spend a minute or two showing them a simple "through-the-fingers" or a "back-of-the-hands" (paddling) move, and tell them to go work on it some more with Mom or Dad. This not only gets them out of my hair, it also proves to the parent that the worm actually does work.

I already have good instructions for the Svengali Deck and Money Paddle, so I just sell them "as is." I'm also thinking that the Rabbits are probably not appropriate for kids younger than about 11 or 12, so if I limit sales to older kids, that might help. I do the same thing now with the Cups & Balls, I don't sell that to the younger kids; there's no way they would be able to appreciate or perform that trick, but a teenager will be fine with it. SETH

Well, I'm going to give the Multiplying Rabbits a try this weekend at a big craft show/flea market. I have a snappy little routine with a couple of good lines about "genuine imitation rabbits," and we'll see if we can't move a few dozen boxes of foam rubber!

BTW, I didn’t want to use a pants pocket or a body load for the baby bunnies finale, so I came up with a “matchbox load” instead. I claim absolutely no originality for this; in fact, I’m sure I’ve seen it elsewhere in numerous other applications, but I just can’t remember where.

I use a small cardboard box of the little wooden matches, they sell for about $1 a dozen. To prepare it, I pull the sliding inner match tray out about halfway. Now I push the sponge baby bunnies behind the open tray, into the empty space provided by the sliding cover. The baby bunnies expand slightly, which helps to prevent them from inadvertently falling out of the box. With the open matchbox on the table and the open drawer pointing away from you, the baby bunnies are hidden from just about every angle.

When it’s time for the baby bunnies to make their appearance, I will say that because the rabbits are smaller than usual, I need a magic wand that’s a little smaller than usual, too. I pick up the matchbox between my left thumb and first finger, with my palm facing down. After I take a match out with my right hand, I use the same hand to casually push the matchbox drawer closed. That action automatically loads the baby bunnies into the palm of my left hand, to be finger palmed.

Both sponge rabbits are then poked into my left hand, and the whole shebang is placed into a spectator’s closed fist. Then I show my empty left hand and announce that one of the rabbits in the spec’s hand will hop invisibly back to my left hand, which is now closed into a fist. Of course, that doesn’t happen, and it looks like the trick is a failure –- until the spec opens his/her hand and discovers that the entire family has suddenly appeared!

This way, I can start clean and end clean. It’s surefire and there’s no fumbling in the pocket; it only takes ten seconds to reset, and I can buy a lot of spare matchboxes for a couple of dollars! SETH

Well, my rabbits have not been "multiplying" into profits as I had expected; I have sold a few, but they aren't exactly "hopping" off the pitch table. That's a shame because I think they could be a really strong item. The packaging is good, the price is right, and they pack small and could play big if done right.

In reviewing the situation, I believe the routine simply is not strong enough. So I have revised it into a 3-phase routine -- first they jump apart in my hands, then they jump together into the spec's hand, then the babies appear in the spec's hand. I think it will be better than the current routine, with a little more action but still short enough so that people don't get bored. And it gives me a little more cover for the false transfers, too, because of the sequences involved.

With the Fall festival season coming up in a couple of weeks, I have some time to practice, smooth things out and give it another shot. We'll see what happens! SETH

Good luck with the bunnies! Have no idea what they are but good luck anyway.

Jon

Hey Jon -- the Multiplying Rabbits are a CLASSIC pocket trick and a great way to learn a basic false transfer, a steal and a load.

The rabbits are a variation of the sponge balls. Many magicians like it because it "packs small & plays big," and the magic happens right in the spec's hand, which is always a very strong effect. When most people open their hand and the four little bunnies appear, they always say "Wow, but I didn't feel anything!" It's a classic "one-ahead" trick (like the Cups & Balls).

Click HERE for more info on the basic item, and HERE for the deluxe 3-D version, with instructions written by Michael Ammar, who should know a good trick when he sees one. SETH

I know this is an old post, but I wondered if your three phase routine worked for pitching the bunnies?

Cheers!
Matt M.

Magic Makers has a set of multiplying rabbits that has video instructions.

Matt M. -- to answer your question, the bunnies never quite made the grade, for two reasons. Primarily, they became a pain in the neck to demo outdoors, where the slightest breeze would blow the darn things off the pitch table. I spent more time picking them up than I did demoing them.

Secondly, there was just too much sleight-of-hand involved for the kids to handle (which was Don Driver's concern in the first place, see his post earlier in this thread). I got way too many walkbacks, and in that situation, you're darned if you do and darned if you don't. If you don't show the kid how to do the false transfer, he complains to his parents that the trick doesn't work. Then they complain to me, which disrupts my business and also discourages any potential new customers. And if I don't give them a refund, they complain to the show organizer, which just makes more trouble for me. But on the other hand, if I do spend time giving lots of free magic lessons, then I can't be pitching and I'm losing money that way.

So the bunnies went into the garage, and I went back to Svengali Decks and Magic Worms. I have since added a Coin Slide, which has worked out fairly well. But the bunnies just didn't cut the mustard for my particular situation. Another case where I should have listened to Don Driver and saved myself some money and aggravation! But sometimes lessons learned the hard way are learned the best. SETH

I never had any luck moving them that well. People love them, but not to buy them. I have a couple gross of sponge balls and am dreading having to eventually sell those. The traffic light trick is a good mover for me. Sometimes I substitute that instead of the thumb tip in my three item pitch.

One of the things I have been doing with the Sven deck is to tell the marks who bought it to goto youtube and type in Svengali deck tutorial if they have trouble with the directions. I don't tip it during the demo and don't give a lesson if it is busy or some is waiting for the demo.