Need Your Opinion: Custom Cases

Hello Peter: I think you are onto something that will add a lot of value to any magic trick. The question is will people buy them. It is an added expense. Perhaps taking some of your higher-end magic and provided the soft case for it, to get some out in the marketplace would be good idea. Also, how about providing ( at a cost of course), a kit to sew your own. That would also get your product in the hands of magicians who either can sew or know someone who can. Also, provide the heavy felt material that you talk about, and perhaps some colorful embellishments so that every case is not the same. Then when I ask for the black case I would not get just any of my black cases from my assistants. I have made cloth cases for some of my props, they are actually rather easy to do, but what you are offering looks much better than what I have made. I say go with it. Thanks Tom

Great idea, anxious to see them on the site.

Excellent and much needed idea! My wife has made many cases and covers for my props. I just saw a waist bag with pockets and zippers, under your "new" items. I am now confined to a wheel chair and I need something like that, but the waist belts are always too short. I'm also thinking of a lap type table with a close up pad to do tricks on, but everything I've tried slips off my lap! Even using a close up mat, it angles down and slides off. I'm beyond making anything because I have very low vision but I still want to do close up! Any one with ideas too? Pete and crew, much respect to you all!

I think great idea and would purchase. This will help keep my tricks in better shape and more organized.

I would like to expand on Tom's idea of providing cases with higher end props. I suggest providing cases for just about all props that would benefit from the protection that cases offer. When advertising a trick or prop, display a case for it along side the trick or prop and offer the case as a separate but related purchase A buyer is more likely to spend the additional money for the case while, at the same time, purchasing the trick or prop rather than purchasing a case for equipment that is already owned. Or, perhaps do both: advertising cases as items that are available for purchase and also pairing cases with tricks or props at the time of purchase.. Joe

Sounds like an excellent idea. Maybe you can include an ID tag to represent what the case contains. Possibly something similar to a luggage tag. Good luck.

Pete, This is a great idea. My wife also has made me a number of custom cloth cases for some of my props. They protect the props from damage in transit and keep components together, just as you describe. I even use some of them in my shows: for example, I have one similar to what you describe for cups and balls that was originally made for a silk cabby. It works perfectly to hold my ABC blocks, and eliminates the need for a hat or other receptacle to make the travelling block reappear. By the way, this style also works well for other things, like milk pitchers, silkolas, and other cylindrical props. Wand cases would be nice, too, especially for flash wands, multiplying wands and so on. I would happily buy some of these cases for props that don't already have one, especially custom-made ones for odd-sized props. I think you should consider a few colors besides black, if possible. I agree that it would be smart to offer them as suggestions with the appropriate prop listings on your site. Workers who actually do shows "on the road" would recognize the added value of a good prop case. Go for it!

I'm on board with the idea. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Very good! I organize my stuff in stacks, so keeping various tricks, safe, and away from the cat would be great. Offering a variety of sizes and colors would be an added value. I suspect that the rollout of this product would need to be slow and systematic so that its production costs don't become too high.