How to Import Magic Tricks from the US or China – Cost/Tax – Problems

Rebecca wants to know about the costs of importing magic tricks into the UK.

Rebecca asks:

'I've been looking at magic shops online and notice that many US magic shops seem a lot cheaper than UK shops. I like to buy my magic from The Merchant of Magic as the service is great, but some tricks are only available in other countries. As you order magic tricks internationally, could you give me some advice, please?'

Buying magic tricks from magic shops outside the UK can look like an amazing deal. Sometimes the items appear to be a lot cheaper, or simply are not available in UK magic shops. Let's look at the process and give you some tips for ordering magic from magic shops outside of the UK.

The ordering process.

Most websites are pretty much the same, although there are design differences which can make the shopping experience different. However, essentially, you browse the site, add items into your shopping cart and fill in a shipping section and payment section.

The main differences will be that the prices are not shown in UK Currency, and measurements may be different.

Payment.

If you purchase an item using your card outside the UK, you will be performing a transaction in the currency of the country the shop is based within. Paypal, Visa, Mastercard make this very easy, but it's important to understand that you are also performing a currency conversion when you make the transaction.

Your bank/card company will convert the payment into UK currency and change you a fee. Each bank charges a different fee for international transactions, this can be around 2-3% of the transaction, so it's wise to check with your bank to see exactly how much the international payment will cost you.

VAT.

International magic shops don't show sales tax for the UK as this is payable later. Unlike shops in the UK, you won't be shown the full cost of the order including tax. This is because the UK tax is added to the value of the order once it arrives in the UK and Customs and Excise value the order and add the UK VAT element. When looking at prices of magic tricks in magic shops outside of the UK, you need to add an additional 20% to the price as this is the current VAT charge in the UK (correct as of 2013).

Import Duty.

The UK government doesn't like its citizens sending their money to another country. That's a fair point as it weakens the UK economy and builds up the coffers of the other country. To help balance this, the government charges an import duty fee. This is added to the total of the order after the VAT is added so you pay import duty on the value of the goods, the shipping cost and the VAT. Import duty in 2013 for magic tricks is currently 2.7%.

The import duty tax rate for importing Magic tricks into United Kingdom is 2.7%, the import VAT is 20%, when classified under Toys & Games → Other Toys & Games → Playing Cards with HS commodity code 9504.40.0000

Customs Clearance fees.

When your order arrives to the UK, it passes through customs and the VAT and Import Duty tax are added. The courier that will deliver the package pays this tax in advance for you, then will either write to you or phone you, to ask you to pay the tax fees, before they can deliver the package to you. They will also charge you a fee for the customs clearance process. This ranges from £10 – £25 per shipment.

Shipping Fees.

International shipping is much more expensive than domestic shipping, so check that the shipping fees shown on the magic website are fixed and cover delivery to your country. If the dealer offers free international shipping, double check that you will be getting all the goods as some dealers will remove the packaging, DVD boxes and additional bonus items to reduce the shipping weight. Make sure you will be getting exactly the same item or items as a customer from the websites own country, and if not, that you are made fully aware of this.

Some dealers will contact you after you place the order and ask for additional shipping due to the final weight of the order, or they may tell you that the order will have to ship by a different method that can take a few days or even a few weeks longer to arrive. Make sure you check this in advance, so there are surprises

Shipping delays.

Importing internationally will result in a much longer delivery time. The items have to travel a huge distance, then pass through the customs process. Once this is done, your import fees and taxes need to be paid, so there is a delay whist you are contacted to arrange this payment. It's important to remember this when you look at projected delivery times given by international magic shops. They have no control over the time it takes to clear customs, or routing delays, so allow extra time for this process to take place.

Damage in Transit.

Your goods will be traveling a long distance, often by plane or ship. It's vital that you make sure that additional care is taken to package the goods for a rough journey. Damage in transit will be hard to address if something goes wrong. It will cost you a great deal to return items internationally if that is possible at all. Your UK consumer rights probably won't cover you for transactions outside of the UK, so you will be relying on the trust and goodwill of the magic shop you are ordering from.

Returns.

Sometimes things go wrong, DVD's arrive broken or don't play, tricks are misdescribed or not useable in the UK. You will not have the same consumer rights that you do when buying magic tricks from a UK shop. Returning goods can be expensive and often will be at your cost. Good magic shops will try to look after you, but there are no guarantees. Make sure the shop you use is an established reputable magic dealer with good customer service reviews, and check on their returns policy before you purchase. If you use a credit card, rather than a debit card you may have some limited protection, but it's worth checking with your bank first.

Card Security.

Be sure to only use established magic shops you trust. Anyone can set up a website in a few hours, and by placing an order you are giving them full access to your card details. Ensure that the site has a secure checkout, ideally run by a third party, trusted payment gateway.

Summary of costs.

Prices and import laws change all the time, but currently you should expect to pay the following costs in addition to the prices shown on international magic shop websites:

Currency Conversion Fee	2.5%
VAT	20%
Import Duty	2.7%
Customs Clearance Fee	£15

So for example, imagine you placed an order for $100 worth of magic tricks

US$100 = £65 (as of 15/8/13 google currency conversion)

Currency Conversion Fee 2.5%	£1.62
VAT 20%	£13
Import Duty 2.7% of goods and VAT	£2.10
Clearance fees	£15

Total additional import costs £31.72

Sneaking through the system.

Sometimes packages that have a small order value will get through the system without charges. However, it's your legal duty to report any import to customs and pay the duty. Failing to declare imports, and paying incorrect import duty and VAT on imports could be regarded as smuggling, and tax avoidance.

It can still be a good idea.

Ordering magic tricks from magic shops outside of the UK can still be a great idea. If a magic trick is not available in the UK, and you fully understand the extra costs and delays, you can find some amazing items and rare tricks being sold all over the world. You don't need to be scared of ordering magic tricks internationally, just make sure you find out the full costs, so you can be delighted when the package arrives rather than shocked by the hidden costs.

How to Get an Agent – Magicians Approaching Entertainment Agencies

by Dominic Reyes 1 Comment

Mark asked for help finding an agent or entertainment agency that provides work for magicians.

Mark writes:

'I am trying to get an agent. I have a pretty good website, but I don't know how to go about making a magicians show reel. I have a resume that my magic teacher made for me, and I think it looks pretty good. I really don't have much experience performing professionally, but I have performed magic at several weddings. Please can you give me some advice and guidelines to contacting entertainment agents or getting discovered.'

Well done on building up your magic training to the point where you want to make the next big step and start performing magic for the public on a commercial basis!

The next step is to start building relationships with either a single 'management agent' or a collection of entertainment agents. Let's look at some ways to get started:

Create a list

A quick Google search should be your starting point. Start compiling a list of agencies that list acts similar to your own. This is a perfect time to make a note of the average fees for magicians working in your area. Many sites don't show prices, some show a range, and others will give you the specific fees for each performer. This is very useful information, to that you charge the right level of fee for the market you wish to work within.

The difference between and agent and a website advert.

You should note that there is a difference between an agent that will find you work, and a commercial website that charges you a fee for listing an advert on their site. Look for an agent that do not charge you a fee to be included in their artists list. The goal is to be promoted by the agent in return for a cut of the performing fee, rather than simply being charged for a listing on their website.

Walk before you run

Many of the large management companies may be more suitable later on in your magic career. The goal initially is simply to create a list of agencies and get listed on a few. The more prestigious companies may not be interested in working with you right away until they notice you and approach you themselves. Don't worry about aiming at the most prestigious agencies at first. Instead, we will work on getting you noticed by a few general agencies, so you can build up a reputation.

Make it a daily project.

To find a reputable agent in your area, talk to some other magician friends, and research on Google. Most areas of the country have agents that can get you gigs.

Contact an agent each day via email or by post. Give a brief outline of your services, experience, and an invitation to look at your website, showreel and testimonials. Follow up with each agency 7 days after you have made initial contact, to check that they have received your introduction letter and to ask if they have any questions. Don't be a pest, or take up too much of their time. Simply make initial contact, then follow up a week later.

Systematically contacting agents in this way will give you the best chance of one agreeing to discuss giving you work. Basically, it's a numbers game until you hit once that has need of a magician to fill in a gap in your work diary, or that connects with you and decides to give you a go.

Do you need a magicians showreel?

You don't have to have a showreel to be signed by an agent, as long as you have built up some experience and testimonials that prove you 'deliver the goods'.

'I didn't have a showreel for many years, but that didn't stop me getting work. If your website is professional, and you have plenty of performing photographs showing your audience having a great time, that can be enough to start getting work. Over time your reputation becomes far more powerful for getting noticed. Whilst agents do LIKE watching a showreel, it's not going to necessarily break your chances if you don't have one.' – Dominic Reyes

A good showreel can really help you, but a bad showreel can work against you too. You will be judged on the quality of the editing, presentation and footage, just as much as the magic. If you do invest your time and money into making a magicians showreel, make sure it's the best you can make.

Keep getting experience.

Whilst you approach agents in this way, try and get as much experience performing magic as possible. Approach local venues to see if they have need of a magician for an upcoming event. Perform at local community events. Contact local Student film societies or media departments and offer your services to student film makers. Magic is an interesting topic for them, and a great way to build up some footage for a showreel. The more experience you can gain as a magician, the more attractive you'll be to an agent.

Good luck, keep at it, and sooner or later you will get a break and start getting regular work from agencies.

What Does a Good Double Lift Look Like – How to do Card Magic Tricks

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Zoby writes:

What makes a good double lift, and how do I perform it?

That's a good question which has an annoying answer. The reason it's annoying is because the answer is different for each person.

Everyone develops their own style of technique, so each move performed should blend into your existing styleof card magic. If you tend to handle playing cards in a way that looks like you don't have any card skills (See the card magic of Lennart Green as an example of this), it will look very odd to suddenly perform a complex flourish as you turn a playing card over. Each move you perform should be invisible. Making every action look natural, and in keeping with all your previous actions with the playing cards, helps achieve this overall impression.

What to do:

Pick up a deck of cards and turn a single playing card over. Don't think about how you will turn the card over, just do it.

A good double lift should look EXACTLY like that.

Anything you add to the action, weakens your technique. Film yourself performing the simple action of turning over a playing card. You want to record your natural method, before you start playing with that action. Refer back to it as you learn the double lift. The closer you can get the sleight to resemble your natural action, the better your double lift will become.

How to learn the double lift:

If you are looking for expert tuition on a double lift, including a range of magic tricks that use the move as their core technique, these sources may be ideal for you:

Double Take By Gregory Wilson

Advanced Card Control Series

It's important that you choose a source of instruction that gives you some card magic tricks that use the double lift. Once you drill the technique in isolation, you need to be able to rehearse the move within the context of a full magic trick or routine, This will help you to develop the timing and flow of the move.