Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Discuss the latest news and rumors in the magic world.
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Tom Stone
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Tom Stone » February 29th, 2012, 6:48 pm

Out of the blue, my subscription was rejected today, and my PayPal was refunded. Quite surprising.

I have not checked this thread in a few days. Good to see that I wasn't singled out, and that some even got messages alerting them to this unwritten rule of autopayments.

Oh well... fortunately, thanks to all the secrecy, I will probably never find out what I'm missing.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Richard Kaufman » February 29th, 2012, 6:54 pm

Just redid mine.
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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Richard Kaufman » February 29th, 2012, 6:56 pm

Oh--I should mention that I was also informed that Steve Brooks has absolutely nothing to do with any aspect of this project.
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Bill Marquardt
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Bill Marquardt » February 29th, 2012, 6:59 pm

Still, everyone is ignoring the "one-time annual fee" advertised and then disclaimed by the proprietors. If they cannot be up front in the first place, then their trustworthiness is in doubt. It's too bad. I did actually want to be a subscriber, but I refuse to be insulted.

JordanB
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby JordanB » February 29th, 2012, 7:30 pm

I haven't subscribed and don't plan on it. I don't give money to people I don't know.

But thinking out loud here....what's to stop someone paying from a pre-paid credit card. Your paypal doesn't have to be linked to your bank account. Or, you could set up a second Paypal using a free email address. I'm not a web or tech expert and it's an awful lot of trouble to go to, but wouldn't that circumvent the unwritten "rule".

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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby RobertAllen » February 29th, 2012, 7:47 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:Oh--I should mention that I was also informed that Steve Brooks has absolutely nothing to do with any aspect of this project.


I just looked and now it's hard to tell; Smurfs post mentioned Steve Brooks and I believe others who are no longer mentioned on the website's front page. I checked the Internet Wayback machine and it doesn't have a copy archived. So were Brooks and other notable names removed, or were they only in Smurfs post to start with?

Richard, time to go back to the oracle and sacrifice some more squirrels to get an answer.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Richard Kaufman » February 29th, 2012, 8:06 pm

It comes from here, which is part of an email you receive when your order is confirmed:

"We understand the concern by some of not knowing exactly who Real Secrets is made up of. We can tell you that it is people you know and trust. People like Steve Brooks, Michael Weber, Bob Neale, Mathieu Bich, Gaetan Bloom, Tim Trono, Paul Wilson, Christian Engblom and others have endorsed, recommended, contributed to, or participated in Real Secrets."

Steve Brooks is someone who has endorsed Real Secrets, but has no other involvment.
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby RobertAllen » February 29th, 2012, 8:37 pm

Sooo they had people lined up for the intro letter who either backed out or were never involved. Or "endorsed" means "who Real Secrets is made up of", not who's actually creating it.

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse, but this thing gets more and more bizarre/poorly run.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Richard Kaufman » February 29th, 2012, 8:58 pm

They gave a list of people, some of whom are on the list merely because they endorsed it. I don't know more than that, other than that Steve Brooks has endorsed it and is not otherwise involved.

At some point they will probably be able to say the same thing about me.
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Edward
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Edward » February 29th, 2012, 9:39 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:The Larry, he hasn't saved you money. If anything, Robert's advice will cost you money if you decide to try and hunt down someone's resold items later on because it's more than likely they will be resold at a much higher price.

Remember, you're paying $12 for each trick you receive. It's highly unlikely you'll ever be able to pay less than that.

The whole point behind this is that in fact the creators are selling the material only through this source, and will not sell it elsewhere in the future. I have also been told that Real Secrets subscribers will have sole access to certain new items that will be placed on the market by the same "name" contributors.


You've got this information? What about the rest of us?

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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Edward » February 29th, 2012, 9:48 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:I have been told that all the apparatus for the entire first year of effects has already been manufactured. I've also been told by someone I trust that this is very "cool" stuff and they expect to exceed everyone's expectations.


wow, Richard you seem to have alot of information that we commoners don't have. How is that you have this information and we don't?

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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby RobertAllen » February 29th, 2012, 10:12 pm

Well, presumbly it's a matter of trust, of a known quantity. But I admit, it's disorganized.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Richard Kaufman » February 29th, 2012, 10:15 pm

Some of what I've written is in plain sight on the Real Secrets website. Other information is in the email they've sent to people who have signed up.

And I'm the Genii, who knows all and grants all wishes (except for those wanting to opt out of the auto-renew option: some things are beyond The Genii's powers).
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Bill Marquardt
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Bill Marquardt » February 29th, 2012, 11:07 pm

This is the first club that I have been kicked out of in my entire life.

Maybe I can start my own club. I'll call it Dirty Little Secrets.

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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby RobertAllen » February 29th, 2012, 11:25 pm

Just remember what Groucho Marx said.

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Dustin Stinett
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Dustin Stinett » March 1st, 2012, 1:49 am

Time flies like an arrow and fruit flies like a banana?

Wait, no...okay, I get it now.

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Matthew Field
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Matthew Field » March 1st, 2012, 4:23 am

I'm back in and eagerly awaiting the first package.

Now McCabe's membership number is even lower than my new one.

Matt Field

Anthony Vinson
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Anthony Vinson » March 1st, 2012, 7:42 am

I've got no dog in this fight, but it seems to me that the marketing concept is genius. "Hey, we've got secrets, real secrets, and in order to learn them you'll need to join an exclusive club with mysterious rules, shadowy leadership, and vows of silence and stuff." What magician could resist?! It's The Dai Vinci Code! I tip my Top Hat to whomever came up with the idea.

For the record, I mean no disrespect to anyone who has subscribed - May they get their money's worth and more. Hell, in the not-too-distant past I might've jumped on board myself, but after a contemplative look at my magic bookshelf a few years ago decided to avoid purchasing more toys and instead dig for treasure in my library.

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mrgoat
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby mrgoat » March 1st, 2012, 7:55 am

Anthony Vinson wrote: It's The Dai Vinci Code!


Spat out coffee laughing at that. Well played.

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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby billmccloskey » March 1st, 2012, 8:31 am

I'll say one thing. Magicians are the biggest suckers for marketing on the face of the planet. :)

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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Ian Kendall » March 1st, 2012, 9:16 am

You've not spent much time in the diet market, then?

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Gary Kosnitzky
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Gary Kosnitzky » March 1st, 2012, 10:06 am

It seems they have the exact same web designer as the IMS.

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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Chris Aguilar » March 1st, 2012, 10:22 am

Anthony Vinson wrote:... but after a contemplative look at my magic bookshelf a few years ago decided to avoid purchasing more toys and instead dig for treasure in my library.

I made that decision several years back and haven't regretted it for a moment.

I'll say one thing. Magicians are the biggest suckers for marketing on the face of the planet. :)

+1

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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Ted M » March 1st, 2012, 10:46 am

Gary Kosnitzky wrote:It seems they have the exact same web designer as the IMS.
You've asserted this before, but I see no connection. Can you support your claim with details?

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 1st, 2012, 11:05 am

What's the big deal if they have the same web designer as the IMS? He's probably just someone for hire.
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AJM
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby AJM » March 1st, 2012, 11:34 am

They've hired a web designer?

When do we expect to see the results?

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mrgoat
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby mrgoat » March 1st, 2012, 1:56 pm

AJM wrote:They've hired a web designer?

When do we expect to see the results?


Image

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 12th, 2012, 8:07 pm

Any more news about this?
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erdnasephile
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby erdnasephile » March 12th, 2012, 8:17 pm

Perhaps someone who is attending the Weber lecture in Kansas City this week can post what additional comments he makes.

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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 12th, 2012, 8:50 pm

Well, the thread over on the Magic Cafe is now up to 20 pages.
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/view ... &start=570

The Real Secrets folks have posted over there, but not here, so I'll paste their post below:

"The Premiere installment of Real Secrets will be mailed on the first of April. After March 30th, all new orders will begin with the May installment which will ship May 1st. After the first of each month, it will not be possible to obtain prior installments. For those wise enough to have invested in an application for Platinum level membership, there will be additional interesting objects and unusual things you will receive in your first and following installments. You will not know what to do with these mysterious items ... so simply save them and await special bonus instructions. You are in for many happy treats and surprises along the way.

Close to the end of March all applicants will be sent notification as to their pending membership status. Those whose applications were not able to be approved will be issued prompt notice and a 100% refund of their application fees. Those who are accepted as members of the Real Secrets Community will receive a new, unique membership number that should be kept secure and not shared with anyone else. In addition, we will reconfirm each new member's information to ensure prompt, accurate shipments each and every month.

We sincerely thank those who have applied for membership. Rest assured the ongoing happy surprise and satisfaction of our members is one of our most important goals. Remember that any member may cancel his membership at any time and receive a timely pro-rata refund of their application or membership fees. Many surprises and lots of great magic await the members of our limited and exclusive community and we are looking forward to the start of something special and important.

The Real Secrets Team"

So there's a big brouhaha in the Cafe thread about this "approval" process, and the note above gives the impression that your "membership" may be rejected and your money refunded with no explanation and no recourse.

Strange.
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Ted M
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Ted M » March 12th, 2012, 10:33 pm

That's nothing new. It's been in the Terms and Conditions on the signup page:

You agree that your membership may be canceled for any reason by Real Secrets and any existing prorated subscription will be reimbursed if you are not in violation of Terms and Conditions.

However the update about timing for the mailings, goodies to anticipate, etc would be nice for subscribers to receive personally via email, rather than having to hunt around for it on some random online forum.

That would feel like friendly customer service, rather than a metallic Voice issuing from the Tower...

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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby RobertAllen » March 13th, 2012, 2:05 am

Arthur, King of the Britains!

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mrgoat
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby mrgoat » March 13th, 2012, 6:54 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:So there's a big brouhaha in the Cafe thread about this "approval" process, and the note above gives the impression that your "membership" may be rejected and your money refunded with no explanation and no recourse.

Strange.


Exclusivity makes something more desirable.

Has anyone had their money rejected? Or is it there just to make people feel as if they are joining an exclusive members' club?

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 13th, 2012, 10:49 am

I think Tom Stone posted that he had his "membership" rejected and money returned with no reason given.
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby bagelsandlox » March 13th, 2012, 4:11 pm

The Cafe thread would have been locked/deleted under different circumstances. They have the owners blessing, so it remains.

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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby mrgoat » March 13th, 2012, 8:59 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:I think Tom Stone posted that he had his "membership" rejected and money returned with no reason given.


Oh really? Interesting.

Now, if I applied I could see them rejecting me for being a generally naughty goat, but it's hard to see how Mr Stone pissed anyone off enough for that!

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 13th, 2012, 9:41 pm

They didn't give a reason. Tom reads the Forum fairly regularly and perhaps he can update us.
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Tom Stone
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby Tom Stone » March 14th, 2012, 2:09 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:I think Tom Stone posted that he had his "membership" rejected and money returned with no reason given.

Not quite. I had not followed this thread for a few days, and had not seen that a few people had received emails about cancelling the autopayment function. I myself got no such warning, and since nothing on the agreement on their website hinted that it was a mandatory requirement, the "reason" I got from the PayPal refund message sounded like it was made up in the spur of the moment:
Note from merchant
Auto Renewal is a mandatory element for valid application for membership. By cancelling auto renewal, you have cancelled your application. Your monies are refunded in full.


I got curious by the gossip and sent them $160 on faith alone. That wasn't good enough, so it was refunded with the motivation that I should have been prescient enough to be aware of a mandatory requirement that they had kept secret. Fair enough, I guess.

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mrgoat
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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby mrgoat » March 14th, 2012, 9:33 am

Ah that makes more sense.

So has anyone had their membership 'refused'?

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Re: Real Secrets Trick of the Month Club...

Postby RobertAllen » March 15th, 2012, 3:34 pm

I got curious by the gossip and sent them $160 on faith alone. That wasn't good enough, so it was refunded with the motivation that I should have been prescient enough to be aware of a mandatory requirement that they had kept secret. Fair enough, I guess.


mrgoat wrote:Ah that makes more sense.


It does?


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