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 do a Deck Change or Deck Switch with Playing Cards – Magic Tips

by Merchant of Magic 1 Comment

Struan asked for help performing a deck change or deck switch to introduce gimmicked playing cards: 

‘I’m struggling to get ready for my first performance in public. There’s a cafe near me which asks for volunteers to go in and do acts, which I’m going to try.But I’m new to magic, and I’m having trouble stitching together a coherent routine – a few of the tricks I use gimmicked playing cards, so I need to somehow introduce them. What’s my best bet? Should I just be open about the deck change? Or should I do a secret deck change, or palm or cop the gimmicked cards in?’

Firstly Struan, well done for finding a venue where you can practice your magic in a live situation- the best way to improve your magic is to perform regularly for real people, so you are on the right track with what you are doing.

Keep It Simple Stupid!

It is great that you are thinking about how you will transition from one trick to the next, and the fact that you have identified a potential problem at this early stage is a real positive. You may find yourself in a position similar to a lot of other magicians whereby in trying to come up with a perfect solution to your problem you end up over-complicating the deck switch, to the point where your solution is completely impractical for real world performance.

Whatever method you use to achieve the deck switch, your focus should be simplicity. By keeping it simple, there will be less for you to worry about when you perform- and the less you have to worry about the more relaxed you will be. The more relaxed you are, the smoother your performance will be.

Being Direct.

Perhaps the simplest way of switching decks is to be open, and draw attention to the fact that you are using a new deck. It sounds obvious, but sometimes we overlook such straight-forward methods because we don’t feel like we are being deceptive enough.

There are a number of ways you can justify openly switching decks depending on your style and the magic tricks you are performing. If, for example, you begin your act with a regular deck of Bicycle playing cards then you could introduce an old-looking deck of playing cards and tell your audience that the magic trick you are going to show them was first performed by the original owner of these cards years ago (if you have a magic trick which lends itself to a story presentation). You could even bring out playing cards with a different colour back design and cite ‘superstitious’ reasons for the change. As long as you come up with some kind of covering line and deliver it confidently, this kind of deck switch will not be questioned.

‘Bringing In’ Individual Playing Cards.

A simple way of either adding gimmicked playing cards or removing them from a deck ready for your next trick is to put the whole deck of cards into your pocket whilst you show the audience that there is nothing ‘tricky’ with your hands and nothing up your sleeves. You remove the deck of cards from your pocket to continue performing along with any extra gimmicks from your pocket, or without gimmicks from your previous trick that are left behind in your pocket.

Palming or ‘copping’ playing cards to and from the deck whilst it is in play is a very useful technique to have, and if you have mastered these sleights then undoubtedly you are well equipped to switch playing cards in and out without any fancy gimmicks or apparatus. Having said that, if you are at all uncomfortable with the technique then you may wish to consider some easier alternatives for your first time in the new venue so you are not putting yourself under unnecessary pressure…

     Considering Your Options.

Your concern about deck switching is something that some of the best minds in magic have given a lot of thought to- so you are not alone!

Former FISM world champion Henry Evans has devised a truly elegant and simple way of switching decks without actually switching decks! In his excellent trick Modern Times, Henry causes a red and a blue deck of cards to visually switch places. Because this trick requires 2 decks of cards to be used, you can simply put one deck away when you are finished and continue to use the second deck of cards that is already in view. The great thing about this approach is that the method for introducing a new deck of cards forms part of a stunning magic trick on its own!

The great magician Tommy Wonder came up with an extremely straight-forward method for a deck change which a lot of professional magicians still swear by. You can watch Tommy teach this in-depth on his DVD Wonderized or you can read about it in the phenomenal BOOKS OF WONDER    .

Gimmicks.

Sleight of hand or misdirection may not be the way you prefer to perform your deck switch. Sometimes, using a gimmick to do the work for you can speed things up and give you one less thing to work on. Ultimately, we created this blog to help you and your fellow magicians by giving you tips and advice about performing in the real world. This is not just another selling platform, so we won’t bombard you with products because that is not what this magic blog is about. However, this is such a great topic that will be relevant to a lot of people who regularly read the blog so for the sake of completeness we would also draw your attention to 2 relatively new gimmicks from Jeff Kaylor and Christian Engblom respectively called TKO 2.0 and THE COOLER, which are both extremely deceptive and unique sleight of hand free solutions to performing a deck switch.

What You Should Do.

There is no right or wrong answer here. Every magician is different- has their own way of thinking about magic and their own level of capability. Hopefully this article has been able to bring you closer to the answer you seek by highlighting some of the options that are currently available to you, so that you can consider what is right for you as an individual.

DON’T FORGET- whatever you decide, KEEP IT SIMPLE! Don’t try anything on your first night in this new venue that is going to put excess pressure on yourself. Relax, have fun, and BE GREAT.

Best of Luck!

Did you find this post useful? What’s your preferred method for doing a deck switch or switching playing cards? Have you ever been caught out? What tips could you pass on to help? Please leave a comment in the section below:

Magicians Repeating Magic Tricks – Video Blog From Dominic Reyes

by Merchant of Magic Leave a Comment

Sometimes magicians are asked to repeat a magic tricks for people that have seen it performed before. It’s great to have regular clients, and that our friends and family enjoy watching our magic, but this can cause a problem.
What should you do if you are asked to repeat a magic trick that you have already shown that person in the past?

Dominic Reyes filmed a few quick tips about this situation:

It’s usually not a good idea for magicians to repeat a magic trick to the same person. The expression goes ‘Once a trick, twice a lesson’. However, sometimes you will be in a situation where you have no choice. This may happen:

You join a new group and start to perform a magic trick, suddenly a member of the previous group joins, and they have already seen the ending to your trick.
A spectator calls you over and asks you to show his guests a trick you showed him earlier.
You have a limited audience and perform for the same small group often.

If you haven’t already started the trick, it’s fine to simply decline the request. You can say: ‘Yes, that’s one of my favourites too, but I really want to show you this, as I think you will love it..’ Then go on and perform something new they haven’t seen before.

If you are already performing a routine and a spectator joins, that has seen it before you need to handle this differently.

1) Involve the spectator. Make them your assistant in any way, even if one isn’t really required. This will often give them a new perspective on the trick, and cause them to focus more on helping and ‘being on show‘ than on noticing something they shouldn’t. You change their experience, and context within the trick, from audience to participant, and this gets in the way of them studying your method.

2) Switch to a new variation of the method. If you can, move or change one of the phases of the trick, use different sleights or better yet, morph the trick into a wider routine that they have not seen before. A great example is The Ambitious card. There are many different phases and stages, so it’s easy to simply switch to a different path. A traditional Ambitious card, could transform to end with an Omni Deck, or by adding in FAX by Loki Kross, it can even switch around altogether so it happens in the spectator’s own hands.

Sometimes, there is no escape, the trick is half way through, and can’t be adapted. If that happens, it’s not the end of the world. Just relax and preform the trick as normal. Most people don’t REALLY care about the method as much as you think. They just want to have fun and watch other people being fooled. If a spectator spots something they missed the first time, they may work something out, but generally they will be enjoying how ‘clever’ it was that they missed it the first time, and how everyone else didn’t notice. This knowledge can be just as entertaining as the trick itself.

How do you deal with repeating your magic tricks? Share your advice in the comments section below: