I'm curious...

If you could wish for the perfect magic website (and you didn't have to pay for the IT support or bandwidth fees) what features would you like to see on it that present magic dealers aren't quite giving you yet?

As for me...
1: Because of the vast ammounts of card magic, most websites have a card-magic section that can be a hundred web pages long. If you're there simply looking for something to strike your fancy, you'll be there forever! Breaking down the larger sections into smaller groupings (packet tricks, gimmicked cards & gaff cards, etc.) might help.

2: Most magic sites will send you an automatic e-mail when you place your order, but most don't send you an e-mail when they ship (a few do, but most don't). And I haven't found any that will include tracking numbers when they ship by a shipping service (UPS, Fed-Ex) unless you specifically ask -- and I've specifically asked some and never got an answer. There should be a way to automate that.

3: Or, if there if there were an account page where all such information can be accessed (as they have in the larger book-store websites) that would also solve some of problems in #2.

4: I like websites that make sure to update "in stock" and "out of stock" messages for their stock of magic. Some already do, but even there, I've ordered supposedly "in stock" items only to get a message on my invoice saying "out of stock, will ship ASAP."

Those are just a few ideas. Anybody else?
Bill

I would like to see a big section of Magic demos and a big selection of Magic tricks and DVDs. It also needs to have Free shipping and low prices on their products. That would be a perfect Magic Shop for me.

Demos are important since that's the drawback of internet shopping is not seeing the effect done.

Great question!

I appreciate a good search engine on an online magic shop. It's always so annoying to have to sort through endless catalog pages to find one thing simply because there is no search option.

I also look for honest and helpful service with fast shipping and delivery. The shipping doesn't have to be free, though I don't want it to be at an outrageous price.

Demos are great when they are available because magic is a visual art and it helps to be able to see what you are buying looks like when it is performed.

Something else that really gets to me is when a shop only has the "latest material" instead of being well stocked with the classics. Newer does not mean better, and it would be nice if more places stocked older material as well.

Demos are a plus in my book!!
Maybe a section for items that are seen as classics of magic.(books,videos and effects)That way people that are new to magic can look at these items that they would otherwise overlook.

While searching the catalog they could cut down on graphics, animations and stuff like that, some sites take forever to display and creators forget that when I search for effects I don't need to be amused by cute backgrounds and things like that.
My favorite is :
a small picture of effect followed by brief description and a price with a link to full description and (video?)
kind of what penguin has, I just wished they had more things available but with time...

Demos in front of real lay people instead of just the cameraman.

The check a number of sites for new items all the time. I would like a list that actually shows what is new in the order that it has arrived. Some site list the new arrivals alphabetically. I can see that the list has six more items than it had since I last checked, but it may be difficult to find the 6 new ones in a list of 172. Still other sites, keep new items they want to promote at the top of the list. I ended up placing a couple of orders with another site because I kept checking one site but never realized they starting carrying these items because when they were listed, they were listed below some items they had carried for awhile.

I would like A magic shop on the internet with demos for Windows Media Real and Quicktime, low prices, customer reviews, and prices, degree of difficulty, customer opinions, etc.

I believe that elmwood magic has one of the best websites out there! With things like wish lists, etc. it really is user friendly. However, the real beauty lies on the webmaster end. The criteria that you can set as far as stats of purchases, how much each person spends, when they spend, what tricks they prefer, really scratch the surface of creating a data warehouse. Paul Richards (the owner) did much research into the field before he modified the site. Check it out!
PS I have no affiliation with elmwood magic other than my own opinion.

I have an interesting viewpoint on this question, being an entrepreneur, a web developer, and a magician.

Here's my rating criteria, in order of importance:

1. Competitive pricing
2. High-quality demos (I'm sick of postage-stamp video)
3. Good site/inventory organization
4. Frequently updated inventory

Penguin Magic meets most of my needs, but the organization is questionable, and the inventory is limited.

1- Great Customer Service
2- Quality Demos
3- Fast Shipping
4- Free Shipping
5- Easy Site to Navigate
6- Great and Easy to use Search Engine
7- Out OF Stock notification
8- Lowest Prices and/or Match Price Guarantee
9- Forums for Discussions of a variety of topics
10-A Huge and Ever Expanding Inventory
11-Sales and Contests
12-Wish Lists
13-Frequent Site Updates
14-Finally stay TRUE to YOUR WORD!! Do not Say and/or Advertise something You Will Not Back Up.

Emily B.,

What do you mean by "older material"? Can you give me a few examples?

Richard

Richard, I'm just talking about the classics: Bobo, Tarbell Course, Expert Card Technique, etc. I've noticed that some new online shops only stock the latest releases and you cannot find the tried and true classics. I'm still pretty new to magic, and I've found that some of the "latest stuff" is junk and my money is better spent on classic works a lot of the time. (Notice that I said SOME of the latest stuff; some of the more recent works are also very good.)

Emily B.,

I see and I agree that, for beginers, the classics should be required reading. I bought several of those from Amazon.com. I think that more recent stuff should be bought afterwards too but then again, I can understand that sometimes, there are some books which seem unresistable, especially those with great independant reviews. And those can only be found in magic shops.

Richard

As a newbie to online magic sites (though not a newbie to magic nor a newbie online):

clear and simple organization and graphics (skip animated banners); animated gifs beside each effect are okay where appropriate

video demos a click away

thorough search capabilities within the site

auto-email confirm for orders + auto-email follow-ups ("Your order was shipped today," "Are you happy with your order?" etc.)

One example, IMHO, of an attractive and well-laid-out site is "Expert Magic." Too bad they get such a bad rap for their effects. But their site design is clean, well-organized, detailed, and makes you feel like you're getting a lot for your money.

I've never ordered from them, so have no idea of their follow-through.

More e-Books and e-Lecture notes.

Demo videos, honest reviews, fast shipping and good communication service.
Best regards.

A true to word site

Quick download videos in all formats-not just .wave
as seems to be popular

Reviews & videos of all effects!!

Shipping Tracking & updates

Especially for me in New Zealand!-Do you guys know how long & expensive shipping to here is!!!

Most shipping is half the price again in US Dollars -very expensive!!