Tops Magazine Article



		compare and decide one was cheated), set at a level just above a comfortable decision for one spouse without consulting the other. I want the magician's fee to be a minor investment. This guarantees that the parents promote my appearance as a "special family event" and that I'm well treated as an honored guest, rather than hired help. A professional entertainer should be a bit expensive. Another way of setting fees for party shows is to look at the cost of alternative forms of entertainment. Call up a clown or someone else who advertises in a local shopper's guide and ask their fee. Check what it would cost to take a group of 12 for lunch and games at the local McDonalds restaurant (they do a large birthday party business), and check what it would cost to take a dozen kids to a movie and then out for ice cream. I'll bet that your research would indicate a birthday party fee from $50 to $75 per show, and most people will think it's a bargain. I will leave you with one interesting observation. People seem to have trouble making independent judgments these days. The same show that is a modest success for a $35 fee will often be a smashing success at a $75 fee. Same show, different response. People judge quality by the price. On another note, there's a small error in the latest Abbott catalog price update, listing BECOMING KNOWN, my self-promotion manual for entertainers, as discontinued. Don't you believe it! This will be corrected, but until then remember...it's still available for $6.00 postpaid from Abbotts. FINDING THE MONEY IN MAGIC, my older book, is now out of print and unavailable. Keeping you fully posted, I will also mention that my 1977 SAMPLER 1 is out of stock, and only a few of SAMPLER 2 remain ($15.00 postpaid, directly from me). I hope this material about fees gives you something to think about. 1 would be interested in hearing from readers about your fee scale and theory of setting fees. Drop me a line with an idea or tip, comment or gripe. Write to: Tom Zoss, 230 South Tuxedo Drive, South Bend, IN. 46615.
	I returned from last August's Abbott Get-together with warm memories of friends and magic to find an interesting letter about proper fees for birthday parties. The letter was from a 'blooming amateur', one of those people who love magic as a hobby and have only recently been encouraged by friends to charge for their services. Since this letter was so typical, I thought the following material, excerpted from my answer, might interest you, too. Whether to charge a fee for something you'd probably do for free is a common problem for magicians. The question of what to charge is the next most common question I receive, believe it or not. My opinion is based upon personal experience. People who receive something for free often treat the donated service as being worth nothing. There are exceptions (notably hospitals) but even these are often profit-making enterprises that, while devoted to human care, are still prepared and capable of paying a fair price for services. I charge for most of my performances. Around here I charged $25 for birthday parties during my college days. This went up to $35 in the late 70s and currently stands at $50 per birthday show. The show is a standard half-hour, scaled for a party group of about 12 children, and has no assistants or livestock. My theory has always been to keep the price a standard fee (so neighbors don't