I know I’m going to get some stick for this but after watching the last 5 live launches with anticipation we have yet another 0k product from them, and that’s the problem imho they all seem to be just ok, why have they settled for mediocre? I love buying tricks and have bought many from Alakazam but nothing lately to tempt me to buy ! Tonight’s effort is a packet trick??? I
Oh and where’s Dave gone I really liked the “lives” when it was Peter and Dave.

Dave Loosely left Alakazam along time ago by mutual consent so I was told by Facebook fanatics. Dave has gone 100% I guarantee you that , regards Gaz 😊

That would suck! I loved Dave! I agree that Alakazam’s last 4-6 releases have all been weak and/or rehashes of prior ideas. Hopefully things will pick up...but I agree that a basic packet trick that is a very minor tweak to multiple other old tricks is a rough start to 2021.

CB- are you talking about. The queen trick? I'm usually not big on NFW variants(why bother trying to improve perfection?). But this is a fun presentation, and I like the patter. A tad pricey though.

I agree Alakazam has gone downhill I stopped ordering from them and won't buy anymore of their products because Peter Nardi himself screwed up my last order and I was upset but looking back on it now that was the best thing to ever happen cause now I won't waste my time with them. RIP Alakazam!!!

Dave Loosely is a big loss for Alakazaam. He was a very creative (and simpathic) human being.
Where is he now ?

I noticed the Alakazam recent released items mostly repeating the old method. So if you have some of their previous items, probably you will figure out how they work by seeing its trailer. The latest example you can see on the Clued Up and Executive Suites. So I have to agree the new items are so weak.

Thanks Gaz, that’s such a shame! Hope Dave is doing well during these times.

Harry replaced Dave. Blood is thicker than water. As for the releases, there have been some great ones and some not so great ones. Not always easy to have a string of consistent winners.

Alakazam are trying hard in difficult times and deserve our support

Well I wonder what Dave is up to now? That’s a great shame he’s left.

Agree with all the comments.
Sorry to hear Mr Loosely has left Alakazam and seems a lot of the latest releases are very samey.
Just dressed up differently,
Killers, Esp cards, movies, hotel cards etc.not saying there good/bad but just not much variety.

Really sorry Dave has left Alakazam. His input was very much appreciated.

Although not all of Alakazam's recent releases have appealed, there have been several very good ones among them, notably Clued Up which, for me, was a huge success for Zoom Christmas gatherings, and The Collector which was considered one of the best releases of last year.

Neil

I thought Dave’s absence was down to the current pandemic situation, I’m also really sorry to hear he has left Alakazam, he was great to watch.

I agree with much of the criticism of recent releases, but it must be hard to keep a business like this going strong. There is not a lot of profit in selling other people’s products or the Murphy’s catalogue, especially if you have overheads in the way of a brick and mortar shop. Dave at Propdog has overtly and honestly stated this many times. I think this is certainly a contributing factor in wanting to release your own products, and regularly. I would imagine there is a surge in sales when something is first released and my guess is that sales tail off dramatically thereafter. Unfortunately there is only so much you can bang out week in week out before the quality starts to shift. Now one thing I will say is that Alakazam’s production quality and service has always been excellent in my opinion but it just can’t save a lukewarm effect. Some of these effects would make great cheaper downloads for people who haven’t seen the principles, but if you chuck in some dice or a wallet or some printed cards you can charge more right!! It’s a business.

I will still support Alakazam and more so recently Propdog, because I think to lose brick and mortar shops like these altogether would be extremely sad. Unfortunately though It’s a sign of the times that they are becoming rarer all the time.

Sorry Dave has gone

Strange it has only come to light

Hope he is OK

Everybody has different tastes and opinions. That is what makes the world an interesting place I guess but, having worked closely with Alakazam throughout 2020 I can honestly say that love or hate their releases, the team have been working tirelessly to release new products in one of the hardest times ever faced by small business let alone magic shops. I have had the privilege of seeing some of the effects they have released before they come out and helped work on some of them. The amount of time and effort that goes into each one would surprise most. Clued Up for example took 6 months just in prop development to get right. We went through at least 5 different prototypes to make sure they looked exactly as we wanted them too. Mix in the time we spend going through routine idea's and spending days over the course of the development talking about different routines and idea's. This year they have some absolutely brilliant effects coming out and I received a prototype of one yesterday which is absolutely killer! There's no clever gimmick or grand apparatus but it is incredibly clever, well thought out and the prop is perfectly designed. It is an effect that I promise, ill always have on me from this point on (or until the prop developed and gets even better) Another they have been working on since last summer using Tarot Cards but again, the amount of effort gone into the design work means, they have tons of prototypes to get the props looking perfect. I dunno. I think sometimes, and I'm guilty of it too with other non magic related things, it's easy to see the end product and think it looks simple or not much effort has gone into it when in reality people are working incredibly hard to create something they are proud of. I'm not too fascinated with packet tricks, they're not my jam to be honest but Doodle Queens is something hundreds of magicians will see a lot of value in and I appreciate that. I appreciate all of the work that dealers are putting in at the moment and I'm so grateful to be in an industry that are finding new ways to work. Alakazam and their products, lives and Academies, Vanishing Inc, their books and Masterclass Series, Penguin and their downloads and their Acts as well as highlighting some killer Virtual Magic, The Magic Circle for their Wonderfull MCTV series and all of the content they have given last year and everyone else who is still pushing forwards, adapting and supporting each other. So, I for one am so thankful for all of the hardworking everyone has put in this past year!

Jamie Daws

Great post Jamie but it didn't answer the main question on everyone's lips.

Wow...I Loved watching Dave and Peter in all those VLOGS over the years.
Was wondering what happened to him :-( just thought we were not seeing him due to this
crap the world is going through.

I hope Dave continues to release his ideas because he’s had a ton of great ideas/handlings that have made existing tricks much better.

His work on "Deep Clear" transformed the routine from awkward to brilliant.

Evan

Exactly