
Show HN: Learn Magic Tricks Online - jdstraughan
https://www.magiccasts.com/
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sambenson
A suggestion: let users view the tricks being performed without having to
subscribe. I'd be more inclined to part with my cash if I could see at least
one trick that I wanted to know how to perform.

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e40
100% true. I wouldn't even consider it without this.

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toast76
I gotta be honest, I was super stoked to see this, and was immediately
thinking "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY".

But after watching the two "free" videos... I'm actually less inclined than I
was before. Watched both and there's actually no "free" lesson at all. Just
two infomercials about why I should learn all the beginner lessons that you're
now doubt about to hook me in to. That leaves me feeling like you're being
disingenuous and has me reconsider.

This is compounded by the unfortunate lack of content. I give you $9, watch
the 12 videos...and then what? 1 or 2 new videos a week? This is netflix
pricing for a few 5-10 minute videos each month. And when will that go up to
$19? All of this adds up to make me super wary. Sorry if I sound very
negative... I just went from very excited to very disappointed in a very short
period of time :)

EDIT: btw... have bookmarked and will check it out again when there's more
content.

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jdstraughan
Thanks for the feedback. We agree that our value prop is weaker until we have
more videos in the backlog. We are shooting more videos now, and hope to have
a large library of videos to offer our customers very soon.

Also, the $9 rate is for life, so when the price increases, early adopters
will always be at the $9 rate.

~~~
kej
>Also, the $9 rate is for life, so when the price increases, early adopters
will always be at the $9 rate.

This should be more prominent. "Lock in this price now!", etc.

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bentorfs
I think this website could be improved by having Europe - The Final Countdown
as embedded background music

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onion2k
That's true for every website.

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vblord
The concept sounds good. My son likes magic so I thought this would be fun for
him to watch and learn. But it's over $100/year. That's a lot of money for
only a few tricks. Right now you only have about 1.5 hours of video. That's
very expensive.

~~~
jdstraughan
Thanks for the feedback. We agree, it will be a better value with more videos.
We plan on a minimum of 2 videos a week, and over time that will build quite a
library. We are filming more lessons now, and are populating the site as
quickly as we can get through production.

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portaljacker
Or watch one of the many free channels on youtube?

Why would I pay for the small amount of content here when I could watch Scam
School([https://www.youtube.com/user/scamschool](https://www.youtube.com/user/scamschool))
for free with a host who's other work I really enjoy?

~~~
pmelendez
> Or watch one of the many free channels on youtube?

Hopefuly the quality will be better. Most of the free teaching videos of magic
in youtube leave a lot to be desired and are often harmful if you really want
to learn close magic.

The link you provide (although way better than average) doesn't offer a
structured way of learning card magic, and that matters.

Disclaimer: Please note that I am not related in any way to OP. I'm just a
magic aficionado that loves the art and had passed throught the "youtube"
phase too.

~~~
portaljacker
It's fair. Brian's goal is to present magic tricks in a cool, fun way to get
people started and interested.

~~~
pmelendez
And that's super cool, I can see how one can get hook into magic because of
his work, the good thing though is that his audience is different from OP's
audience.

Although if you ask me I still prefer the old fashion way and go to your local
magic shop and meet the local magicians and grab a good book :)

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neya
I'm genuinely someone into these kinds of tricks and I invest quite modestly
into all sorts of magic toys and tricks. However, I have a question - How are
you going to make sure your users will keep coming back to you once they learn
your trick? Most of the time, your users are going to be interested in only
certain categories of these magic tricks and once they learn them, there is no
incentive for them to pay for the following month. If you could add an online
shop that sells all kind of magic stuff also, and if your courses complimented
them, then it would be a good deal, I guess. Otherwise, your CLV would be very
low. Just my thoughts.

~~~
philbarr
Yeah, I'm into card magic only. So I might pay my $9, watch all the card ones,
and then cancel it. Unless the videos are REALLY good.

And how much can you really cover in 12 videos (at the moment)?

~~~
amelius
I think the format would be better if sold as a DVD.

Then again, accessing the material from a smartphone would be nice. So I'm
wondering, don't there exist standard app-frameworks for turning video-content
into an app?

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tonetheman
This is also a really good place to learn magic online
[http://www.penguinmagic.com/](http://www.penguinmagic.com/)

Not the same business model.

~~~
grandalf
Penguin's instructional videos are superb.

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gadders
I wonder if there would be a market to learn how magic tricks were _done_. You
don't want to do them, you just want to learn the secret behind them.

~~~
skaevola
I don't think that's a good idea.

Frankly, the secret to a magic trick has no value. It's always disappointing.
What's entertaining is the effect.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCxPT7UUkkY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCxPT7UUkkY)

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ninjastar99
Best place to learn magic online is theory11
([http://www.theory11.com](http://www.theory11.com)). They work with David
Copperfield, JJ Abrams, and make cool cards with MailChimp. Production quality
is great. I'm also a big fan of Scam School on YouTube (Brian Brushwood).

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dotdi
While it is nice that there are 2 free videos which allow me to judge the
picture and sound quality, as well as the speaker, I would have liked a video
where I can actually see and analyse his teaching technique, style, camera
positioning, et cetera.

~~~
jdstraughan
Thanks for the feedback. We will open up a full video as FREE very soon to
address this.

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LouisSayers
this is really cool. I'm very tempted to sign up, the only thing holding me
back is knowing if I have time for another hobby :)

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FussYou
Hey I always wanted to learn magic tricks. This is a cool website. Could it
help to have more for freebies like me?

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justwannasing
I'm torn between an artist trying to make an honest dollar on something he
knows and revealing the secrets of the craft. For the same reason I never
liked the "behind the scenes" of movie making and special effects. It takes
the magic out of everything and removes illusion from the imagination much
like spoilers do.

~~~
lojack
Learning the secrets to a trick and learning how to perform a trick are two
very different things. Looking through the videos it appears to be oriented
around teaching you how to perform a trick (how to shuffle, use of flourish,
etc) which is definitely geared towards learning to be an artist.

Most people who want the spoilers won't be interested in all this extra stuff,
nor would they pay for it.

~~~
jdstraughan
We aim to teach a craft, not expose secrets. All of our lessons can be done
with common items, not gimmicked tricks. We want to preserve the integrity of
the craft, not spoil it.

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cstuder
Note that this is about illusions and card tricks, not about the Magic: The
Gathering cardgame.

Did confuse me at first.

