Status of Tenyo Elite?

[Eric Wolf]

Does anyone know the status of the new Tenyo Elite line? Back in April they were projecting they would launch their line in "a month or two". I am really looking forward to their products as I have liked a number of Tenyo items but felt they looked too much like children's toys to actually perform.

I am curious if anyone has any updates or insights.

[Richard Kaufman]

Tenyo items are toys--whether they're made of plain old plastic or fancy wood and metal, they are still toys.

I don't mean the word "toy" to have a negative connotation here (though for many, Tenyo's items will always have that taint). Many of them are clever and miraculous tricks, but a trick with a little box is always going to be a toy in some sense.

You have to recognize how lay people look at stuff like this. I've certainly performed enough Tenyo tricks for lay friends at my home.

[Steve Brooks]

Hello Eric and the rest of the Genii readers,

I want to give you an update regarding our Tenyo Elite line. On behalf of my partners Jason Palter and Peter Loughran, I am proud to say that our first two Tenyo Elite releases (Fortune Sticks and Moonspinner) are officially in production and being manufactured as I write this letter. Our other two products (Blue Crystal and Soft Coins) will follow in a couple of months---to ensure that all our 2009 releases are out before the end of the year.

READ: Fortune Sticks and Moonspinner should be ready for sale by the end of September!!!!

We want to thank everyone for their incredible enthusiasm and for their patience and understanding during the past few months.

The delays were so frustrating, and yet also were to be expected with a project of this magnitude. As most of you know our goal is to truly create an "Elite" line of Tenyo tricks, and as a result this in itself brings forth many challenges.

One of these obstacles was to ensure that we were going to be able to produce a high-level of quality. One of the many reasons for the delays in releasing these tricks was due to the fact that we were having trouble finding a manufacturer that could make items to the quality standards we were demanding, but yet allow us to then sell them at a reasonable price. Add to that the fact that initially we are having a very small number made (yes, supplies will be limited) until we see how well these are received. Most manufacturer's here in north America demand extremely large numbers to be ran so that made things tough as well.

The latest is that we have finally found a company that we are very happy using here in North America, and at a cost that was acceptable to us. While we are getting a very nice product and quality that we know everyone will be very pleased with, it means that our costs are much, much higher.

As it stands now, these first two tricks will sell for the retail price of $100.00 US each. It is possible that the latter two tricks may be slightly higher than that due to their mechanical construction, we don't know yet.

So as everyone knows, with every force that occurs in the universe there is always something that has to "give" or be "pushed" as an opposite reactionary force.

What has now happened is that due to these increased costs on the products from our manufacturer (again, to ensure that we get a great and "elite" quality product for you our buyers), we will not be able to meet our initial plan of selling the tricks through the various magic shops and dealers. Because of the normal markeup that occurs between distributors and dealers the final retail price would no doubt keep these items out of the hands of the average magician and that simply was not acceptable to us.

Understand that while we knew the price on Tenyo Elite would not be cheap, we still wanted everyone to have the opportunity to own one. We did not want to price these tricks out of the range of the average user

At the end of the day, in any business, who is the one that TRULY matters? That's right, the consumer; because it is they who will buy the products and have to be happy. They don't care where they get it, as long as they get a good product and service with a fair retail price. We want our customers to be happy and we are happy to be able to finally meet that goal.

Having said all that, in order to keep the price reasonable (and still maintain quality) we will be selling these products direct from our official site, www.tenyoelite.com. We trust that dealers and consumers alike can understand our position and why we have had to do this-----it is simply economics! Perhaps in the future this will change, but for now that is the only way this will work for us.

Peter, Jason and I have a huge amount of experience in direct sales and shipping products such as Tenyo Elite, and already have laid out a bit of an "infrastructure" to meet with our projected demand. We therefore will be ready to sell these when we receive the first two products from our manufacturer at the end of September.

We will be accepting Paypal (which you just need a credit; it is very easy and free to use by the way!), as well as other forms of payment.

We will continue to keep you up-to-date on our official site, on our Facebook page, our MySpace page, YouTube, our Twitter Page, the Genii Forum, the Magic Caf, and on other various forums online.

We will also soon be making announcements in MAGIC magazine, Genii magazine, MUM and the Linking Ring magazine. :)

In addition we will be sending news and updates through emails to those of you on our mailing list. And by the way, if you haven't joined our mailing list yet but are interested in being amongst the first to know about updates and product information, please go and join right now!

Thank you all for your time and understanding on this. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Have a great day! :)

HEAD OFFICE:

JPS Magic Studios Ltd.
85 Cedarcrest Crescent
Richmond Hill, Ontario L4S 2P4
CANADA
Email: info@tenyoelite.com
www.tenyoelite.com
Phone: (416) 410-5766

[Eric Wolf]

Tenyo items are toys--whether they're made of plain old plastic or fancy wood and metal, they are still toys.

I don't mean the word "toy" to have a negative connotation here (though for many, Tenyo's items will always have that taint). Many of them are clever and miraculous tricks, but a trick with a little box is always going to be a toy in some sense.

You have to recognize how lay people look at stuff like this. I've certainly performed enough Tenyo tricks for lay friends at my home.

My reason for wanting a higher quality prop is based entirely on the way lay people look at it. Specifically, the material and nature of the prop does make a difference in the way it is perceived.

People have expectations when you pull out something that looks like a toy. Depending on where you are taking them with the performance this is a good or bad thing. For instance a simple toy that does a miracle can be a professional performance. For instance use of a wind-up toy to find a card. In this type of presentation you disarm the audience with a toy and then blow them away because of what you did with the toy.

Then there are items that you simply dont want to look like a toy because the performance isnt about the item being a toy and you dont want the perception of it being a toy to diminish the impact.

For example: I have a number of penetration frames by Krug and others. They are beautifully made in with glass and chrome plated brass. I also have one that is made out of plastic. If I take the plastic one out, it looks like a toy. People immediately assume toy, and the impact of the performance is diminished. (At least in my eyes it is diminished)

I agree that in general, Tenyo items are toys. Their fabrication, their packaging, and even the premise of many of the effects all suggest a "toy". That much said, I think there are a few Tenyo items that are at the edge of the spectrum and if properly produced wouldn't be viewed so much as a toy. It is these items that I would like to be able to present without them having the appearance of being something I picked up in the toy section at Target

[Richard Kaufman]

Pulling out an odd little box, no matter what material it's made of, suggests to the audience (whether they can examine it or not), that the box is responsible for the trick. While you can do many tricks with props like cards, coins, dice, and so on, each Tenyo trick can do only its trick--then you have to put it away and bring out a new strange-looking item. Unlike "classical" small props like those just mentioned, which the audience is satisified are "normal" after examination, I don't believe many people think that somehow the Tenyo prop is not responsible for producing the the trick. They recognized that it's a gimmick. These things exist only so they can be sold and do a trick. It doesn't matter what they're made of.

[Seuss]

well said.

Even if the apectator fully suspends disbelief of magic I'd rather have the source of the magic be thought to be me than any object I bring into play.

[Steve Bryant]

I was in a position this summer to present a weekly magic show to the same group of adults and children. For one of those occasions, I presented only Tenyo items, and it proved to be a popular event. Favorites were Telesphere, a finger chopper, and the one based on Paul Harris's Twilight (I forget its Tenyo name). I also included a Penetration Frame, not Tenyo, but plastic, and the first "real" magic trick I ever bought. Still works great.

[Mike Carr]

I also included a Penetration Frame, not Tenyo, but plastic, and the first "real" magic trick I ever bought. Still works great.

Was it a Royal that came with a green vinyl carry pouch? :)