So what justifies the price of a secret?

Just because we all get the Homer Simpsons' Reaction a.k.a "D'oh!" feeling after knowing the secret to a trick does not mean that it is not worth the money.

In reference to the "Selling Ethics" thread, 30 bucks to mark a deck, you better thank the heavens that you can get a method for this cheap. If you want to learn a method way back last time, most probably you'll need to climb a couple of hills, serve lots of tea, give lots of Chicken Essence and of course pay lots of money to learn such methods.

With the magic market at its state now, not that I am in favour of it, secrets are already being sold at rock bottom prices. I was watching "Pressure" from T11 and I think even though the method was rather obvious (D'oh! Why didn't I think o f that?!), but hey, I made the choice to pay.

It totally makes no sense whatsoever if you pay for something you want to know and then later complain that it is overpriced. If you think it is overpriced, why buy it in the first place?

Secrets are meant to disappoint if you don't process it intelligiently. Simply because sometimes, it is so plain obvious that it slips past us doesn't mean you are not getting your money's worth.

Stop complaining. Buy smartly. Don't pounce on every piece of junk out there.

My 2 cents,
Kenneth

PS. Ok, I bought "Pressure", and I told you not to pounce on every piece of junk, that you'll have to figure out for yourself. :)

Haha, that is my first purchase from T11. I am very satisfied with it.

My take is that the 'Effect' is what worth the price ^_^

Mostly i will buy if i think i can use the effect, and it will play well (guessing on the demo), then it will be worth it, provided you already commit to spend some time on it ;)

That's why nowadays you will often heard, 'this one effect alone is worth the price of the book/dvd/etc.'

Bottom line, as Kenneth says, buy smart ^_^

Yes, Buy smart is the tool.

Research on the effect, ask realistic questions to the person selling it. Like angle issues, requirements of the effect etc. Then ask yourself, does it work for you?

There are many many effects that are stunning but does not apply to everyone. Example is the coin vanish called Dream Vanish. It is a stunning piece of work, but for people that doesn't like sleeve work, this is out of the way. Or any Dove effect, ya, producing animals are great, but if you doesn't like to keep them or pack them in the first place, don't ever try it.

So ask yourself before buying an effect, what could be the method of doing it? Not in the sense of exposing it, but when you ask yourself that, you can visualize yourself doing the effect, then ask yourself, will I go to the trouble of it? Will I ever get the chance to put it into my show?

So once its done, and you feel that you will need it to boast your show, look at the price now. Is $300 US coin bender plus the above point worth the amount? If you are just getting the pen just to impress your friends, then forget about it. If you are getting it for your shows, let your audience keep as souvenirs, etc and you might end up having more shows coming in, get it then.

So in the end, weight everything with the price. Not all cheap things are good, but same goes to not all expensive things are good. For you for me, its totally different, what works for me won't necessary work for you. Same goes around.

So here goes to the bottom line of the thread, the secret is not just the cost of the price, but also a price that represent what the seller feels about his or her magic. Well of course, there will be people that sell their so call miracle effect for 100s of dollar but it is really a piece of junk. So take note and look out for genuine effects that work for you. Don't trust the youtube, ask the person, throw him questions that concern you. If he can answer your questions in the way you wanted, then its what you need. If not, don't bother twisting your mind saying its worth it.

$30 dollar for a marked deck can be so good that I will only need this deck for the whole show. People know nothing about it, but yet, i performing miracles 1 after another. So $30 for a 1-hr close up show and you have a return of over 200 percent. Why not?

So sit back relax, and talk to yourself.