Vanishing Sharpie – Sansminds Creative Lab

Product description : To be fair, I don’t like Sansminds, I don’t like their marketing approach, I don’t like the fact they lie on trailers, I don’t like many of their tricks. However, they have something called the “Worker Series” which has many good products, which can really be performed in the real life, not just on video. The Vanishing Sharpie is one of them, they have released the Vanishing Pen a long time ago, and people have asked for a Sharpie version of it. It’s now reality and really well made ! The idea is simple, put a pen between 2 layers of a napkin and just crush it in a ball, showing that the Sharpie has disappeared !

Price and where to buy it : This is sold at $55 and you can find it in nearly every Murphy's magic « partner » shop !

What you get : You get a quite big DVD case, with a nice artwork and of course the “Worker Series” label which should be the only things you buy from Sansminds ! Inside, you’ll find a DVD, really well made with several live performances as well as the explanations. It’s well shot, well edited, simple and to the point, really refreshing to see this kind of DVD ! You’re also getting the gimmicked Sharpie which is amazing, I have no other word : it looks like a real one, if I’m placing it next to a regular Sharpie, you can’t tell which one is which. I’m really surprised with the quality they achieved, it’s an awesome work. Overall, the price is a step but the material you receive feels great and will work perfectly well !

Teaser :



The pros and the cons : Here is the core of my review, let's begin with the cons, as I will usually be doing, I prefer to keep the good things for the end.

THE CONS :
– As I said, the price may be considered as a step, it’s not cheap but for the quality of what you receive, I understand why it’s priced so high.
– If you want the Sharpie to write, you’ll have to load it before each performance. I don’t think the writing phase is needed but you’re warned.
– I saw that some printing of “Sharpie” on the gimmick can be erased after some performances, I don’t have this problem but it’s something that can happen.

THE PROS :
– Wow, the Sharpie really looks like a true one, that was my main fear with this, would the gimmick looks and “feels” like a real marker. And I can tell you 100% yes, it’s amazing.
– You don’t only get the grey part but also the nib and the black part of the Sharpie, which adds to the realness of the trick.
– The vanish of the pen is instant and really powerful, people are reacting really well to it ! They don’t know what to expect and they’re completely surprised when you slam the pen in the napkin they’re holding.
– It doesn’t take that much pocket space, just carry the gimmick with you, you just have to use a regular Sharpie for your regular routines and then you can just pull out the gimmick to freak everyone out.
– People can feel the ends of the gimmick so they can confirm it’s a real Sharpie, not something made out of foam for example, I do think this is a nice little convincer.
– I really like the routine provided, the way they switch the real Sharpie for the gimmick is really good in my opinion !

Overall rating : This has to be the best Sansminds product I’ve seen in a long time, I’m really pleased with it and I can see a lot of people using it, 3.5/4 hearts.

As for the difficulty level, this is pretty much self-working, I would say 1/5 stars.

Similar products : The Vanishing Pen by Sansminds is a really good trick too ! You could combine both version.

If you liked this review, make sure to check all my other ones on my website : http://lesavisdalexis.wixsite.com/reviews

I just ordered mine and hoping it looks realistic.

Any more reviews on the durability of this? Wondering if after a few months if it still holds up.

Just bought one, latter I give my review.

I feel like the items of most value to me from Sansminds is Armando Lucero's Papercuts.. and well, this!

$55 is definitely a high price, but the sharpie appears as real as can be. Sometimes I even pick it up thinking it is a real sharpie. I have found it very difficult to create a script for it around it as a standalone effect. However, the effect can easily be a part of a bigger routine, switching the sharpie in seems hard, but it looks so real it flies over fine. Complaints of the ink not being on your hand, that is mentioned, it CAN have ink. Though, I strongly believe it is much better without the ink.

Is it worth the price? Well, it is durable, very deceptive, and the actual method of it is very simple and straightforward. One issue with my gimmick is that very very slightly the Sharpie picture has faded after around 87 performances. I do use it a lot though, I think this is very much worth the price. Seems expensive but it is a very reliable and usable piece of wonder.

I just have a tough time purchasing items from Sansminds. They have/had such huge ethics issues, treated one of their creators badly (or it seemed that way), and have non-existent customer service. I have been here at the Café for a long time; the list of grievances with Sansminds shoddy business practices rival Wolf on Wall Street. I can rattle off a long list but I won't waste anyone's time rehashng the past. The remarkable thing is, a lot of their former customers and observers here at the Café can list a long list as well.

There is a reason why Will Tsai and the Sansminds Customer Experience person(look in the Armando Lucero Papercuts thread) don't hop on the Café anymore when there is a new product released.

Full exposure: I do have the Vanishing Ring box and think it is absolutely brillant. Yes, I knew what I was buying IN SPITE the trailer cuts, sales puffery, etc. My Vapr works only due to Propdog's hack, BUT I haven't fired up Vapr in over a year. So, who knows? If it didn't work, Sansminds are not gonna back up their products anyway. They are the polar opposite of Joao Miranda who is dedicated to supporting his products. I also have their earlier products: Imagine by G and Rubik's Nightmare by Michael Lam.

I would think long and hard before plopping down any of your hard earned money with Sansminds. That is why I was privately concerned for those magicians that paid for the Vapr Watch when it was first teased. Man, oh man!