We have always tried to use Creative Magic as a platform for things we feel passionate about. Of course creativity but also customer service, attention to detail, supporting youth in magic, and last but not least, encouraging club activity.

Our local club is a HUGE reason Creative Magic was able to succeed. Too often magicians do not collaborate or help one another out of fear of being ripped off or “helping the competition.” I disagree with that mentality. I am a firm believer that rising tides lift all ships. We should increase the circle of people we trust and help as wide as we can and we will ALL be better off.

We think this is a GREAT opportunity for clubs to work together and share a portion.

There are many ways a club could use a portion to boost attendance and membership.

Contact your local magic club and consider your options:

Using a portion as a fundraiser by having an auction for the 1 of each illusion you know you will get. Everyone bids on the items they want and then pays that amount upfront and gets their items as they show up. All doubles are auctioned again or raffled or used as welcome items for new members or a combination of all three. And any proceeds go to a club fund for refreshments, road trips, your video library, or a new website to attract more members.

You might also consider setting up a rental group where members can rent the illusions for shows for $25 a week or whatever price you like. Those that chipped in to get the pile have free rentals (for example if you put in $100 you may get 8 free rentals) plus some free raffle tickets into a big raffle of doubles.
Then, as the illusions are rented, use the new money to add to the illusions in the rental pool – maybe have the person that houses the props and coordinates the rentals always get free rentals.
A prop rental pool is a great thing to add value to being a dues-paying member of your club.

Another way to get a portion as a group would be to find people who want different items and have each person contribute 50% of the amount of the items they will keep. So, if you are reserving a Shadow Tent you contribute $725. If you are reserving a B Screens it is $625. If you find homes for most of the major products, that will get you to the $3600 mark easy. Then everything else is pure gravy. You can auction it off and split earnings based on the percentage you paid, raffle some off, donate it to a young magician, or some of each. We would not be surprised if some people keep a few illusions and then actually make a profit on this deal by selling the things they don’t want.

NOTE: If you are buying a portion purely as an investment, we recommend you plan on it being a long term investment. Odds are the people that wanted a good deal on a Shadow Tent got a portion for themselves, so if 10 people put their Shadow Tents on eBay the day they get that package, the law of supply and demand says they won’t get as much for them as if they’d waited another 18 months. So if you wait and then are the only one with a Shadow Tent up on eBay, you just might get more than retail value for the things you sell.

So get your friends together and start figuring out who wants what before it’s too late.

As an added bonus, if you are a registered Ring of the IBM or Assembly of the SAM and you pay upfront, we will send you a bonus box of items to raffle off at your next club meeting in the month of July.