What do you think is a reasonable fee to learn a trick?

As some of you know, the fees range from $15 to $25 a trick (some even for $50) if learning from local sources.

If somebody wants to learn from me, how much should I charge?

Technically I don't tink there's a fixed rule or in this matter price that should govern over various tricks.

I do think one of a magician's goal is to introduce this art to willing people who are seriously interested to pick it up but not really sure where to start.

My advice to you is to see what vibes you get from the person asking to learn from you. Is he a close friend or just someone acquainted? I have some friends who are keen and out of goodwill charge them at a lower price, to keep their interests alive. As for others, a good way is to see how much others teach the same trick and peg your pricing to theirs.

I feel simple tricks should maybe be priced between $15 - $20.

More complicated one's, especially those that require specific sleights (eg elmsley count, jordan count, etc...) may be priced say $5 - $10 more depending on the skill level of the learner

For so called 'impact' tricks, say like Stigmata, recommend them the DVD if not charge them at a slight discount from what you paid. Just use your own discretion.

Hope this helps :D

Well, you shouldn't be teaching. :lol: But anyway, I believe any price is reasonable. There isn't a "fixed price" on magic, from what I know. This is probably due to the fact that...

... It depends on a lot of factors. There's difficulty, of course. People usually charge more when they have to teach more, see?
Some people might even take into consideration "How long the routine lasts" or "What are the reactions" and so on.

But the pricing is really vague. If you take a $70 DVD, for example, and split the cost among the number of effects inside... Is that what you want to charge? Would you teach the Erdnase colour change and an Ace assembly for the same price? ... :off:

My bad. To answer your question, I suppose $20 for a decent routine is pretty worth it. :g: Just ignore my first few paragraphs~

Are you referring to an effect that you created yourself? Or something that is being sold by someone else?

Well, if it's something that you created, it would mainly depend on who you are selling the effect to I guess. The main factor in pricing the effect would be your motive in selling the effect. If you are trying to make money, then set a higher price, like $20. If you are helping a friend just starting out, then maybe a lower price would be more encouraging.

If it's something that someone else created, then you shouldn't be teaching it.

EDIT: To reply to the original question, I think that charging more than $20 for just 1 trick is a bit too much.

Hi everyone,
This is a new topic to me. Is it common for local magicians to sell tricks to another?

Just curious about it.

If like a routine like Acr or triumph i think 10 to 15 should be okay. :g: :g:

N for me, if someone asked me to teach some effect that i wouldnt want to teach them then i say well ok, if u want me to teach it pay me like 80 to 90 sure they will shut up. -_-

Somehow I've seen that coming, and I foresee that in the future posts of this thread, there'll be more and more comments like that.

Honestly speaking, if I know inside my heart that this guy is an asshole and is rich, I'd rip him; like how I got ripped in the past when I just started out. (although I'm not an asshole nor am I rich)

But if he's someone whom you've known for a long time and you believe he's a great person to do magic/teach magic to, it'll be different..

How much is a trick worth? Dont overprice it (unless you're selling to assholes), and dont UNDERPRICE it.. :)

mm.. Mentalism :D

Yes, Here comes the post that dtjk foresee.

Personally, we shouldnt teach. What makes you think that you are good enough to teach someone to learn the effect you doing? You may know the trick doesnt mean you can teach the trick.

Some people are just good at learning, but they just cannot teach, in the end, it will bring side effect to the effect.

Secondly, if you teach them and they din perform well, it will bring bad image to the effect and you as a magician, then you are no longer a magician, but a trickster le.

So, Juz dont teach, if they are interested, tell them that you learn it from a book and ask them to buy the book to learn, if they are really interested, they will source the book out and learn, if they are not, they wont move an inch to it. :)

I think it is ok to teach materials that are in public domain. For eg. things like linking paper clips.

But if it is some commercial effects that your friends wants to learn, if you think that they are passionate about it and not just curious, direct them to a source to purchase it. By doing it this way, you help your friend and at the same time help the creator of the effect.

Hmm... Ok, first of all, the person wanting to learn is not an asshole and not very rich (I think..).

Anyway, she only want to learn how to vanish a coin and reproduce it from the ear. I can tell she is not someone who would want to read Bobo's Coin book or buy David Roth's dvd just to learn that, and of course, I wouldn't want to give it to her free. So how?

I agree with Magicdow that we can teach those tricks that are quite publicly known (eg Crazyman's Handcuffs, I mean who should we credit that trick to?) Then maybe for those like Stigmata, we will refer them to the sources.

To LarryDK: Eh... actually I feel I am qualified to teach those tricks there I am well-versed in (eg 2 card monte). Of course, I wouldn't just teach those tricks that I only "know" and not "mastered".
And we can't really help it if the student can't performed the trick well. It's not something we can control. It's their responsiblity to perfect their art.

In that case, I guess it depends on what's her purpose? For instance, if she's sincere and is for example, working with cancer kids, I would teach her that single effect she requested for... but make her promise first that she would abide to the magician's code and never expose how it's done.

She may develop more interest in magic as time passes and might want to learn more :) Whether or not you want to charge a fee because you think you're qualified enough to teach, is totally up to you.

The politically correct way would be to use Magicdow's suggestion. Get her the relevant book or DVD and guide her through the contents because you have the right knowledge on the subject.

My 2 cents,
ning ^_^

I'm sure many of us are familiar to such situations. You cant charge the person you're teaching to, and if you dont teach the person, its.. very weird. I dunno how to say, but I'm sure you know this feeling. :wacko:

One example? Its like your girlfriend/boyfriend asking you how a trick is done. :wub:

"Eh darling, how to do the one where my card rises to the top arh?? :wub: :wub: "

How are you going to reply this?

1) "Sorry arh dear, I cannot teach you any magic tricks, I have to respect the magician's code.. :angry: "

2) "I can teach you but you must pay me $12.50.. Cos I learnt that trick for $25 at a magic shop.. :g: "

3) "Go and buy Daryl's Ambitious Card Routine DVD.."

4) "Erm, okay lor, can teach you, but you mustnt teach anyone ok.. And you cannot expose me when I do trick next time! :P *jokingly way* :D "

---

Is the person whom you're teaching to going to perform that trick? Most likely, no. You should be able to roughly tell if that person will perform that trick, or he/she is just simply curious and really wants to find out how it is done, because magic is simply sooooo impossible.

Like Larry said:

quote
"Secondly, if you teach them and they din perform well, it will bring bad image to the effect and you as a magician, then you are no longer a magician, but a trickster le.

So, Juz dont teach, if they are interested, tell them that you learn it from a book and ask them to buy the book to learn, if they are really interested, they will source the book out and learn, if they are not, they wont move an inch to it. "

The thing is, the reality in the world now is that EVERYONE knows that magic is not REAL. We're just people trying our best to make it seem real. Everyone knows that magic is not real. I dont know how to say this, but lets just say.. Example, when you see David Copperfield fly so gracefully 10 years ago when you're even a magician yet, did you really believe it was real magic? No, you did not. You probably thought that it is some wires or camera effect or magnets or whatsoever. :wacko:

That is. Unless you're a kid, deep down inside your heart, EVEN if you're just a LAYMAN, magic is not real. You know that there's a secret behind every trick, every illusion.

Then why do people react with such amazement when they see David Copperfield fly? Why do they react as if we REALLY did magic? That best answer is probably that we did a great job.

I'm think I'm going :off: here, but at the end of the day, we're magicians, not tricksters. If people judge you as a trickster, it is because you did a terrible job entertaining the people with magic. You made them feel that they got tricked. :ph43r:

If someone exposes a trick that you casually taught them, it doesnt cause us to have a bad image, but it instead shows that we can do magic, but that asshole cannot. :lol:

Honestly speaking, I myself have met many many of such situations, where really close friends have asked me how and how is that trick done. Of course, I do my best to avoid such situations, but at worse cases (its like peer pressure?) I'll casually show them how it is done. I teach and reveal the trick so quickly and casually, that it is practically impossible for them to learn and perform it. At the end of the day, it is no surprise that I'm still able to fool them with the same trick. :rolleyes:

Lastly, back to axl, if you cant ask for money, ask for a kiss or something. :!!: Hahaha, just kidding. Maybe you can try this, teach her how do vanish a coin, and reproducing it, like she requested. Use for instance, the palm that you use the LEAST. :D

After that, show her something different, eg. add a hand-wash after you vanished the coin, and reproduce it by grabbing some "dust" from the air. (no more producing from the ear) This way, your friend will sooner or later forget the one that you teach her. Why? Simply because she now has something NEW to look for, and no doubt she'll bug you even more to teach. But you can always say, "I taught you one the other day! You promised you wont ask me anymore! :P"

Trust me, it works.. But do remember to make them promise you not to bug you in future x10..

Ha... ok, thanks for your opinions.

i shall ask for 25 kisses instead...

Actually, if a person is really interested, he/ she will put in effort to learn it from a proper source. If they don't bother to read from a book, get a dvd, if not why bother teaching them?

Anyway, I wouldn't teach them crazyman handcuffs. As for credit, its Arthur Setterington.

A person who actually take time to learn from the proper souce may not be truly be interested, but just a persistent "secret-searcher".

If you want to teach someone something, do it at your own discretion. I believe you will know the "golden" rules in magic are, and how to apply them when you teach.

- harapan ong