All:
I was wondering if anyone knew if "The Magic Warehouse" in Owings Mills, MD was out of business. I have been trying to contact them by phone and email with no success.
If not, does anyone know of an alternative way to reach them other than phone or email?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Is The Magic Warehouse out of business?
- erdnasephile
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Re: Is The Magic Warehouse out of business?
Hi Erdnasephile,
I cannot say with 100% certainty whether they remain a viable going concern or have closed their business. However, their Google page, where you can find reviews, a map, and a link to their website does not indicate that they are no longer in business. Normally, if that is the case, it will state "permanently closed." At this moment in time, 3:30 PM PST and 6:30 PM EST, it indicates "Closed now." That stands to reason since their hours of operation on Thursdays are 9 AM - 4 PM EST, and it also implies it will be open for business tomorrow. Additionally, I went on their website and acted as if I were going to purchase a book they had for sale, and I placed the item in my cart. I went through the checkout process (except I did not complete the process by actually purchasing the item). I saw nothing to indicate that I could not complete the purchase and obtain the item from them if I so desired. So, at least the circumstantial evidence points to them being still being in business. Of course, if they do not answer their phone or respond to an email submission over the next few days, that would be an ominous sign.
As a side note, the book in question was The Restaurant Workers Manual by Jerry Macgregor and Jim Pace (153 pages), on sale for $7.99 (80% off the Magic Warehouse regular price). In fact, Penguin, for example, is advertising it for over $22.00 and it's over $25.00 on Vanishing, Inc. I bought the book many years ago and it is an fabulous guide to all aspects of the restaurant end of the magic business, including but not limited to getting work and performing in restaurants, and keeping the job. The book is clearly written, and contains some excellent pet routines (openers, middle and closers) of both authors. As many are probably aware, Jim had some horrendous legal problems at the beginning of the decade, and has been serving a 13-year sentence since being incarcerated in 2010. Not sure if the bargain basement price of the book on the Magic Warehouse site bears any relationship to that fact; it's certainly not deterring other vendors from charging a substantial (but not unreasonable) price for the book.
I cannot say with 100% certainty whether they remain a viable going concern or have closed their business. However, their Google page, where you can find reviews, a map, and a link to their website does not indicate that they are no longer in business. Normally, if that is the case, it will state "permanently closed." At this moment in time, 3:30 PM PST and 6:30 PM EST, it indicates "Closed now." That stands to reason since their hours of operation on Thursdays are 9 AM - 4 PM EST, and it also implies it will be open for business tomorrow. Additionally, I went on their website and acted as if I were going to purchase a book they had for sale, and I placed the item in my cart. I went through the checkout process (except I did not complete the process by actually purchasing the item). I saw nothing to indicate that I could not complete the purchase and obtain the item from them if I so desired. So, at least the circumstantial evidence points to them being still being in business. Of course, if they do not answer their phone or respond to an email submission over the next few days, that would be an ominous sign.
As a side note, the book in question was The Restaurant Workers Manual by Jerry Macgregor and Jim Pace (153 pages), on sale for $7.99 (80% off the Magic Warehouse regular price). In fact, Penguin, for example, is advertising it for over $22.00 and it's over $25.00 on Vanishing, Inc. I bought the book many years ago and it is an fabulous guide to all aspects of the restaurant end of the magic business, including but not limited to getting work and performing in restaurants, and keeping the job. The book is clearly written, and contains some excellent pet routines (openers, middle and closers) of both authors. As many are probably aware, Jim had some horrendous legal problems at the beginning of the decade, and has been serving a 13-year sentence since being incarcerated in 2010. Not sure if the bargain basement price of the book on the Magic Warehouse site bears any relationship to that fact; it's certainly not deterring other vendors from charging a substantial (but not unreasonable) price for the book.
Re: Is The Magic Warehouse out of business?
I am on the mailing list for The Magic Warehouse. I just received a new email from them on Tuesday for some new items. It seemed like business as usual. Nothing indicated a closure.
- Brad Jeffers
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Re: Is The Magic Warehouse out of business?
I purchased something from them just a few weeks ago. They were in business then.
The weird thing is, you can go to some websites such as THIS ONE and do the same thing.
MagicbyAlfred wrote:I went on their website and acted as if I were going to purchase a book they had for sale, and I placed the item in my cart. I went through the checkout process (except I did not complete the process by actually purchasing the item). I saw nothing to indicate that I could not complete the purchase
The weird thing is, you can go to some websites such as THIS ONE and do the same thing.
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Re: Is The Magic Warehouse out of business?
Just spoke to them by phone and suggested they weigh in on this thread.
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Re: Is The Magic Warehouse out of business?
This is Howard Katz owner of The Magic Warehouse. We are not going out of business! I see someone posted that they were unable to reach us by phone. This usually only happens if we are helping other customers on both of our phones lines or if we are busy helping customers in our store. We've been told by many of the lecturers that have visited shops all over the world that The Magic Warehouse has one of the largest inventories they've ever seen. We have professional magicians working in the shop. If you are ever in the Baltimore area please stop by for a visit. Both the S.A.M. and I.B.M. meet in our dedicated lecture/theatre room. We aren't going anywhere!
- erdnasephile
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Re: Is The Magic Warehouse out of business?
Terrific! So glad to hear this! I was hoping things were OK as I'm a past customer and they've been great! I will try again.
Last edited by erdnasephile on March 24th, 2017, 11:13 am, edited 2 times in total.
- DonB
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Re: Is The Magic Warehouse out of business?
Their website has been down for at least the last 24 hours I’ve been attempting to get on. I left a message on their business line, and will check again later, during business hours.
- Brian Douglas
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Re: Is The Magic Warehouse out of business?
I received an email flier from them yesterday ... and the site works for me.