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magicnewswire Inner circle 1947 Posts |
Brian Daniel of CreativeMagic.net has already surprised everyone by announcing that he's closing his virtual doors. What other surprises are in store and what gifts might you receive if you listen to this episode of the Magic Newswire's "Magic Newscast"? http://bit.ly/kZYc3C
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Futureal Inner circle 1695 Posts |
Is this news or a paid advertorial?
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magicnewswire Inner circle 1947 Posts |
News
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ricker Special user Tampa, FL 914 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-06-24 08:36, Futureal wrote: nunya |
Ron Reid Inner circle Phoenix, Arizona 2732 Posts |
Dodd:
I listened to the podcast today, and it was an excellent interview. I also went back and listend to the Christopher Hart podcast from a year or so ago...so interesting! Thanks so much! Ron |
Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Actually, it is a going out of business sale announcement.
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magicnewswire Inner circle 1947 Posts |
That and so much more. You might even get a free pass to the EMC if you know what to do!
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sickmagic Special user 528 Posts |
Far from going out of business a clever ruse to sell a lot of product at a much reduced price for a monthly payment plan of 150 a month. To be honest its a disgrace they are doing that and just shows me there product was way overpriced for what it was, while clever ideas the material of the illusions were definitely for a target market, now this new payment plan which comes out to 3600 bucks basically means half off retail over a two year period. DEFINITELY A MARKETING PLAN! AND NOT BEING HONEST IF YOU ASK ME!
Lets do some math.....150 a month at 24 months is 3600 dollars or 1800 a year....lets just say you get 100 people that did that you got either 180 grand a year or 360 grand in two years. Now sure you have cost on your products and you for sure should be compensated for overhead and the cost of material and hourly rates ect..... Sickmagic! |
Domino Magic Special user 999 Posts |
It's confusing actually. They're going out of business, but for the next two years they're committed to sending you products every 3 months. If they're out of business, what if they don't honor that commitment? What do you do then? It seems like they're going to need a lot of people to sign up for this in order to make it worth their while.
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BtheDreamer Loyal user 246 Posts |
Hey guys, Brian from Creative Magic here.
Please allow me to give just a little more insight into what we are doing and why. But first I want to thank Dodd for the opportunity to be on the Newswire he does a great job and it was lots of fun. Secondly I stand behind what I said in this very interview when Dodd asked some of the things I learned over the years. #1 was you can never please everyone. We got off to a really rough start and I felt like I was constantly saying “Just because a tent illusion is not the right fit for you show doesn’t mean it doesn’t mean it is not perfect fit for someone else” Luckily for us over time we rallied some of THE BEST customers out there. I was constantly shocked at how customers would come to our defense as people would bash what were doing in the early years. One of my favorite was here on the Café when we released our third product. I think and someone said “I really want to say something bad about this prop but I have learned my lesson that I might be wrong – I have been wrong about the Shadow Tent and Victory cubes so I will hold back this time.” That third trick was a turning point where we had peoples support. Still we weren’t a good fit for everyone but people could at least see we were a good fit for others and stopped feeling the need to say how wrong we were for making illusions out of fabric. I am not going to lie we have received a few emails saying how wrong we are for closing up our business this way. (not many but a few) and I totally respect that opinion but what they mean to say is “you are doing it in such a way that it is not a good fit for me” At the time that I type this we have sold nearly 75% of the portions that we have. I am not going to lie – I knew what we were doing was risky and I thought there was a real chance we would only sell a dozen or maybe less. But I could not be more thrilled with the way this has turned out. If you are one of the doubters I invite you to check out our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Creative-Magic/122010027809041 This really is a party - we are all celebrating and I couldn’t ask for a better way to end such a fun life journey. Ok now on to the specific questions and concerns: Paid ad or News: I hope this is ok for me to say but the interview was very much not paid for. I have been a sponsor of podcasts with no other agreement. I didn’t even approach Dodd about the news. He is very in touch with what is going on in our industry and he somehow found out before it was public info and he called me and asked if we could do an interview and break the news. I was thrilled to do it. Sick magic’s comments Clever ruse to sell product /overpriced items. I am not going to argue that it is clever I hoped it would be - a lot of thought went into how we wanted to close up shop. But I give you my word this format is not all about profits. We would have made way more money just selling at a small discount saying “last call” we wouldn’t have to ship near as much and we would have leftovers that we could then sell under the table to other dealers. And make even more money. This truly was a sincere attempt to sell our company back to our customers. Dissolve the brand so that no one person has manufacturing rights and guarantee that all the manufactured items are distributed to those new owners. When people ask now if they can buy anything from a Change cap to a Shadow Tent we explain that it is no longer ours to sell and they should find a portion holder to buy it from. If this where about the money we would be selling a lot of single items right now. But instead we are inviting people to team up on facebook and buy stuff for as much as a 70% discount or more and in most cases less than what we paid for it. Again we would not encourage people to team up on buying portions if it were about the money. Overpriced Items. – You got us there if what you meant was we have incredibly high mark ups. We do./did. As I said in the interview we dealt in super high volume so that we could bring the price way down. HUGE upfront costs but with big risks come big payoffs. Had we made victory cubes in small number here in the US our price would have been close to $150 a set. Giving us a normal mark up. but magic shops buy them from us for anywhere between $125 and $200 depending on how many they get. So at that price we would not have been able to sell through shops. Hope that makes sense – there is a lot more cost to running a company than just price of product. But we wont get into that here As for overpriced that is where my classic comment comes in “If it is too expensive for you that it is.” We had plenty of customers that found the value in what we offered and in many cases thanked us for making the props affordable. Those that claimed that they where just too expensive were right and those that claimed they were way to underpriced were right as well. This goes into a big lesson on economics and perceived value. (A bottle of water in the dessert is worth more than a bottle of water in theme part that is worth more than a bottle of water next to a drinking fountain. - If you are a good builder or are not a traveling magician then either of those things will make our product line less valuable to you. But if you are a high end corporate performer making $3,000 to $10,000 a show and you need an illusion that will fly with you as a carry-on to make a CEO appear. Than suddenly our prop is incredibly valuable and underpriced Domino – going out of business but still around for 2 years - confusing? This is actually a great question/concern in my opinion. We address this in some of our videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVH9LfaNCzg The best thing we can offer is our reputation, but we do also have a signed terms of agreement with each portion holder (after all you are buying a piece of a company) and lastly we will have a living will that directs people to three local magicians who are willing to take over the distribution of the portions – if heaven forbid something happens to us. Lastly you could always dispute the charges with PayPal or your credit card. We will be shipping every three months so if you ever miss one you have that option as well. Bottom line is this was designed to show our customers our sincere appreciation for making the last 7 years possible and do something totally different, fun, and dare I say creative. We also wanted to use it as one last chance to encourage people to work together, and to help each other succeed. As for Rebekah and me, we are focusing on other projects including starting a family. 24 has always been a special number for us (we started our company on the 24th of June, we got married on the 24th of April, we met on the 24th of November (not all in the same year) so 24 more months of magic leading up to the final surprise illusion just seemed like the last perfect piece of the puzzle – not to mention it spread out the work load to a healthy amount each month so we could move forward on other projects at the same time. And don’t worry we are not having 24 kids. But we may have 4 so there is 2 of us and 4 of them Hope this helps B
Teach By Magic - Lessons with a magical twist
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Kevinr Inner circle 1854 Posts |
Wait two years after you made over 300k and then come up with a new name and great new ideas and tell everyone your customers demanded you come back in business! So many people wanted new creative magic things from you.... Change your name to stand by your word of not coming back in business.
Brilliant! If it is you are super smart.. I bet you make a lot off this idea!! I love the: "If you act now payment plan of only "x" a month..." My favorite part was the "mystery secret item valued at $700" Whoever does your marketing and writing is fantastic! If its you "B" that does the marketing and writing you should be working for a huge firm making big bucks! |
BtheDreamer Loyal user 246 Posts |
Normally I ignore these things but in this case we have too many poeple who our trusting us for our word and supporting what we are doing to let a rotten apple spoil the fun. I would hate for anyone that was super excited to get their portion start to question things for no reason at all.
I can’t help but wonder what Kevinr is trying to accomplish myself. It feels like he is trying to protect the world from evil Brian and Rebekah. Surely there are bigger threats out there. but meanwhile we are all in titled to our opinions but allow me to throw in some facts with his theory's. The bottom line is we have a reputation of honesty and treating people fairly - we are pretty upfront about our intentions. In fact we have been promoting our new/next company already http://www.TeachByMagic.Com this is one of the big reasons we are closing Creative Magic. Because I already have a new direction. And if truth be known I would bet that in 7 years I sell that company as well. But I have far too many ambitions in life to go back and do the same thing again. I have lots of things I want to do. I can check this one off and I can't imagine EVER doing anything even like it ever again. as other have said watch the videos and you can learn even more about our hopes to start a family and all that. but hopefully that helps. Thanks to all those that are supporting us sand extra thanks to those that aren't incredibly thrilled with what we are doing but are keeping it to themselves. I know not everyone is going to be happy about what we are doing. I totally understand this deal is not for everyone and some people are frustrated. But enough of us are having fun with it that we appreciate you letting us celebrate and reminisce. Contrary to Kevnir's theory this is a once in a lifetime experience for us and we appreciate everyone that is going out of their way to make it so amazing for us. Heck one person sent us flowers!!! B
Teach By Magic - Lessons with a magical twist
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PCoreyB Regular user 139 Posts |
I just reserved my portion and I couldn't be more excited! I'm a part time performer that does stage shows so this type of equipment is right up my alley! I'm one of the most impatient people you'll ever meet and waiting two years to get the complete deal is gonna kill me but I also know that two years from now, I'd be kicking myself if I missed out on this opportunity.
Thanks Brian for your contribution to magic. My first Creative Magic purchase was Flash Cards and I was amazed that overnight I was able to memorize the system. From that point on I was hooked on Creative Magic. I toured for 15 years full-time but came to a point where I had to put my family first so now we've settled down and I do magic part time. Not to say some people can't do both, it just wasn't working for my family. I admire you for sharing your priorities with all of us and my prayers are with you and Rebekah for your future family and whatever business ventures you find yourself in. Just my two cents. Corey Black |
Brendan Byrne New user Ireland 44 Posts |
Brian & Rebekah,
Best of luck to you both. I was chatting to you Rebekah earlier on the phone and can't understand the negative comments on this thread from some. People are entitled to be skeptical I guess but jees, you guys have offered nothing but full disclosure on the subject. I'm delighted for those of us who already have your products and/or see the value in buying a portion. Your decision has obviously made them even more unique. Perhaps the 'nay sayers' are just ****ed they didn't purchase before now. Best of luck to you both and thanks for amazing service and products over the years. Brian I listened to your bit with Dodd earlier. Superb listening and thanks for being so open and transparent. Kudos to you both. Brendan |
BtheDreamer Loyal user 246 Posts |
Thanks Brendan and Corey, your positive comments and support for what we are doing is greatly appreciated.
As for the few (and there really have only been about 6 people vocally upset with us) that are frustrated we can't be too surprised or concerned about that - it is a shame they feel the need to be so vocal when the rest of us are having so much fun. But the truth is we knew it would happen one way or another no matter what we did. and quite honestly we had prepared ourselves for much much much much worse. We are thrilled with the reception of our news and even overwhelmed with emotion at times at the kind things people are saying in emails and phone calls and of course publicly as well. I am the first to admit this industry can be, unethical, inconsiderate, and down right cutthroat and mean sometimes. but that is just a small small group of people. The vast majority of magicians really are super cool, friendly caring, shirt off their back people. I can't tell you how many times people (sometimes total strangers) bent over backwards for us just becasue they wanted to help us succeed. We of course wish success beyond imagination for you guys as well. B
Teach By Magic - Lessons with a magical twist
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Mr. Mystoffelees Inner circle I haven't changed anyone's opinion in 3623 Posts |
I really do not understand the negativity regarding this topic. If you do not think it a good deal- pass it by!
I find both Dodd and Brian to be refreshingly "good people" and this a straight-up deal. As for me, I think it is a great idea, creative as it were. My only problem is already owning a number of Creative products and having no space for more. Still, I am considering it as it is a very good deal. Every item I have from Creative is well thought out, works well on stage and is made to last. I am sad to see Brian moving on. Good luck in your future endeavors, Brian! Jim
Also known, when doing rope magic, as "Cordini"
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Matt Adams Special user Harvest, AL 827 Posts |
I'm actually surprised by all the "surprise" over the negativity! This is a forum people! People are NATURALLY snarky on forums...it doesn't matter if B and R were GIVING away Creative Magic. There'd still be people being snarky. lol.
I wasn't sure CM would be a good fit for me as all I ever bought from them was Bruised and a change cap which I customized even further. (So I wasn't a big spender.) But I got "suckered in" to all the hype and convinced my wife to let me buy a portion. ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS I MADE ALL YEAR!! After receiving box 1 of 8, I couldn't be happier. I'm THRILLED to be a part of the magic and THRILLED with B/R's customer service. They are super nice (in spite of all you snarky nay-sayers out there) and they have a quality product (in spite of the fact it's made from fabric!). What they said was true...they don't have any complaints from actual customers. They aren't selling to everyone - they sell a tool and it's up to US to decide if that tool will work for us or not. No sense in bashing the product or the company when it isn't a good fit for YOU. Some of us will find CM products are worth their weight in gold! Wait...that wouldn't actually be worth much since they are virtually weig...oh nevermind. We love you B and R and I wish I could have known you on the front end of these 7 years instead of at the back!
Website: www.MattAdamsMinistries.com
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