I want to start off this by saying that I am not looking to get into a philosophical debate about right and wrong with this thread I want it taken for granted that we know right from wrong.

That said!

I'm curious if anyone has done, seen, or heard of anyone doing the Soapy Smith idea with Svengali decks?

I thought that perhaps maybe out there some might toss a ten'r into the box and sold them as a "lottery" style sale where one buyer got thier money back at random.

Maybe it's not needed if you sell them and are able to make killing.



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Interesting idea but I don't think its needed.I remember the old "candy pitch" in burlesque houses.The pitchman would come out and sell box's of candy for $1.00 and tell the audience that there were prize's in some of the box's,bulova watches,$100 bills,Cert. to pick up a mink coat,etc.Of course none of the box's had anything in them.The pitchman would stand on stage after some box's were sold and point out into the audience and say..."there is a bulova watches in that mans box...back there that man just found $100 bill.It worked back in the day.I had an old pitchman friend that pitched candy and also dice.Thats right DICE.He came out on stage with a box of dice.The pitch went kinda like this."hold the dice on snake eyes and hold them up to the light...look into the snake eyes and you'll see the honeymoon couple etc.I'm sure you get the idea.
I asked him if any of the guys that bought the dice ever came back to say they didn't work.Sure he said...I would ask them if they soaked them in vinger over night like I said.(of course he never said that)so they would take them back.He said most would never bring them back in the first place and none of them would bring them back the second time.Oh the good o'l days... Don

Bigfoot another reason its a bad idea is svengail pitchman sell to kids 85% of the time.Coning kids is just wrong.

Don

Wow that is something else. I guess if there was a large enough group there would be no way to tell the truth.
It's amazing how some of these things worked. It's amazing that they did work at all.
I fully agree that ripping off a kid, or anyone for that matter, is terrible I guess I just thought that the old soap scam might still be out there alive somewhere.
It is just such an iconic legend and almost seems "fairy tale" like. Apparently it is far from being the only one of it's type.




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Bigfoot said: "I fully agree that ripping off a kid, or anyone for that matter is terrible"
Its only wrong to rip off kids....everybody else,its open season.

Don

Is that the old saying "a sucker and thier money were lucky to get together in the first place?"

LOL! That's the mindset of a True Pitchman!

Soapy just wanted his piece of the pie. Can you blame him? 🤣 I jest, of course, but con games are fascinating.

Has anyone tried putting together a soapbox pitch? There is one in Tarbell that I think could be altered into something pretty fun.