by Jeremy Thompsson

Created on: March 05, 2010

Say you're an aspiring magician, and you want to start really doing some magic. You walk into your local magic shop and see the "perfect" trick, advertised to be easy and effective. You are about to grab the box off the shelf when you see another one right next to it. A different trick, but still the #1 of all time! You start looking around and it begins to dawn on you that... they're ALL the best trick in the world-!

This is about the moment where students of magic realize they shouldn't believe everything they read. Think about it: wouldn't you, if you wanted to sell your effect, make it sound great? Do you ever see "extremely hard to do" or "cheap piece of plastic" written in a product description? No, of course not. That's why you must look beyond the trick/DVD/accessory and see what others think of it. This guide is designed to teach you, dear reader, the basics of magic shopping.

1. What to Buy?

Finding out hat to buy is probably the most difficult step in the process. Do you like coin magic? Card magic? Rope magic? Mentalism? Mental Magic? PK effects? There are always so many choices, and beginners might not have a clear idea of which magic tricks they want to buy. A great way to find out what suits you is to see if there is a magic store in your town. If you can, head on down there and tell the owner what you're looking for, or ask him to show you some good effects for starting magicians. This will usually help you decide. Here is some basic terminology to get acquainted with:

PK- psychokinesis: the ability to move objects with the power of your mind

Mentalism: thought reading, metal bending (PK could be considered a sub-branch of this)

Card Magic: any magic using cards

Coin Magic: magic using coins

Street Magic: magic that can be done (seemingly) "impromptu", or without preparation,  to random people on the street. Think David Blaine.

Sleight of Hand- subtleties using the hands. This can be quite challenging. Examples: hiding a coin in the palm of the hand, crook of the finger, etc.  Palming a card, secretly flipping the deck, etc.

Now that you know some of the basic wording, let's get on with buying magic.

2. Evaluating the Effect

Looking in the fine print, you may see something like "Deck cannot be examined," even if the trick description leads you to expect that. Read the info on the effect, and you will learn if it is the right thing for you, or not. If you are just starting out, make sure the trick is not too difficult or

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