I was wondering just how succesful pitching the Hummingbird Card or Floating Bill type products might be? - obviously it would have to be indoor venues like busy shopping malls.
- I am in the UK but have previously seen this product being demonstrated / pitched when I visited Las Vegas, and the sellers seem to do very well with it.
There must be a reason why the large Vegas sellers don't bother pitching Svengali decks but prefer to sell the Humingbird card instead.

Does anyone here have any thoughts ideas or suggestions?

Thanks,
Steve.

Because magicians in las vegas try to sell the the public( laymen) not just magicians, and every laymen is interestedin the idea of floating or levitating an object-chris

I have talked about the hummer card on here before.I think its way too hard to do.

Geno who owns all the shops out in Vegas is getting $20.00 for it with a DVD.So think how much of a rip-off that is.The kid gets a piece of string and one playing card for $20.00...oh and a DVD that he'll never understand.

How many kids do you think that drove away from magic forever.My conscience won't let me do this.

My two cents on the matter...
Don

Don,Thank you for your comment.

Is your friend Geno selling lots of them? do you mean the Houdini shops?

My idea is to put three very visual tricks together as a combo deal, TT with silk for vanish, IT for a bill levitation, a Hummingbird card, with our own produced DVD instructions, all in proffesional nice shiny black box. Selling for UK £20, from several very busy high footfall mall locations, we plan to employ other magicians to do the demonstrations/selling so that many locations can be covered the same weekend day.

I may also split the items up and sell individualy.


that's the bare bones of the idea and all comments or suggestions are welcome.


Steve

I don't recommend the TT in America, maybe in the UK. I used to pitch a lot of them 15 years ago, but lately there are a lot more blacks and Mexicans shopping in my area ... and there is the color-match problem with different colored flesh.

I know there are solutions to this problem, but it ends up being something you have to explain and a lot of them don't care - they just expect it to match. And different colored ones that match cost more money and then your dividing the product out into different piles and creating more questions "why is this one different than that one" and bla bla bla bla bla.

It just becomes a lot of hassle - especially considering you also have to sort by size (child, small, large, etc). Easier to just sell something else you don't have to sort out.

As to your original question ... the best use for IT is to stop people. Then you need a trick to pull them in ... and finally you need a trick to "close". That's the three-trick formula that I use.

The problem I see you encountering is that it is difficult to teach someone how to work thread ... thus, you will be limiting the number of demonstrators you can employ. In other words, it would be easier to train someone to stop people with a worm than with the hummer card. Something to think about.

-JoeJoe

I have had great success with the three item pitch I sell, Float This (my own version of the hummer card), TT (the one by magic makers) and the Svengali.

I agree with Don, I don't believe most kids have the patience to handle IT, let alone take the time to understand how to work it properly (lighting, angles, hookups, etc.) Everyone wants to levitate something, but few are willing to put in the time and the practice to do it correctly. Why sell a kid something that will only frustrate him/her, and get the parents who bought it ticked off to boot?

The worms I sell have a thin clear nylon gimmick which is very strong, so it doesn't self-destruct as the kids figure out how to work the worm. But it is a bit shiny and does reflect light. My instructions explain that after you learn the moves and become comfortable with the method, you can substitute a thin black thread in place of the nylon. That's as far as I'll go with it. SETH

Yes Geno owns all the Houdini shops.I know Geno but not good enough to call him a friend.Hes been laying off help so I guess things are bad all over.

Don't know how the malls in England are but over here they are dead even around Christmas last year...and I'm talking DEAD!

Later,Don

Will,do you find that the Svengali Deck is still a big seller?
I think your biggest seller is probally "Float This".
What do you do about the size and colour problem on your TT?

Seth, I beleive the levitation is so visual that it stops people in there tracks, but if kids buy it and then don't have the patience to practice it, that is not my fault, - its so good, it deserves a little practice.
Yes the worms look good, I'm considering them as well, - just having a problem with locating a UK supplier.

JoeJoe, that's all good advice, especialy when you say about training enough people to work with IT, yes that might be a problem.
Regarding TT the ones I use will be a one size fits all! big on kids but will still fit most adults, colour wise, I intend to have spare coloured ones, extra large ones for all adults and small ones for kids to swap as nesacary.

Don, the Malls I am considering are all VERY busy,(80,000 + people a day), transient, much like the Vegas malls, except that the owners will rent out small pitches.
Its because of the recession that the mall owners are looking at other methods to generate revenue.

Steve, I sent you an email to share private thoughts, but here are some other answers.

The magic makers TT set comes with two sizes. The Svengali rarely sells by itself, it usally is just included in the package deal I do.

I have found the worm and the hummer card not to be a good combination together. I have stopped selling the worm for various reasons. (But I have noticed that people who have bought the worm or Geno's UFO are also very likely to buy Float This from me.) Splat balls and floating card together works good though. Did some record days with that combo.

Selling the hummer card or float this is still ripping off kids and you that sell them know it.How you can not have a conscience is beyond me.

Don

Most of the kids that I sell it to who are willing to practice a little are able to learn it in one night from my DVD. 20% of my business is from other vendors and their kids and they are very happy with my product. I have people thanking me for selling it to them the following year.

Some people tell me they could never figure out the worm, but they could learn the floating from my DVD.

You keep saying that enough and you might start believing it yourself.

I don't say it, other people do:

http://www.wtstoyreview.com/REVIEWS/Floa......view.htm

Thoses reviews are so phony.I wouldn't be susprised if you wrote and mailed it in yourself or you are a member and they write a good review for all members. You know it as well as I do.Nice try.

I can't fool you Don, your just too smart for me I guess. Happy Thanksgiving!

It's really a question of what's appropriate. I agree that IT is not really appropriate for a kid's pitch, for all the reasons I already listed. But FUN, Inc., Murphy's and other wholesalers sell Floating Bill DVD's with a hank of IT and a sliver of magician's wax. Whether you should sell it or want to sell it, is up to you.

Kids also love Silly String and Cherry Bombs, but I wouldn't sell either of those at a street festival, either. SETH