If you have never hired a Magician before the experience can be a bit overwhelming. You google Magicians for Hire and you are faced with a choice of hundreds. How do you know which one to hire?
Hi, I’m Roger Lapin
A professional Close up Magician for Hire based in Hampshire
Also available to hire as a Magician in Berkshire or Magician in Surrey
How much do Magicians charge?
Well this can vary a lot depending on when the event is, where the event is and what type of event it is.
As an example if you are looking for a Magician for a house party, for your 40th birthday, you are having some friends round and thought it would be great fun to hire a magician and your friend at work does some Magic and is actually quite good and he only wants £50 then it might be fine for you to hire them for your party.
If however you are getting married and expecting 150 guests and are looking for some exclusive entertainment during the wedding breakfast and during the photos you are going to want to hire a professional who you can rely on to make sure everyone gets to see some magic.
Also when you google Magicians for Hire with the power of google you don’t know where every Magician is based and a lot of us now advertise across the UK so you might be hiring a Magician who lives in Northampton to come to your wedding in Devon.
They will then of course add on extra travel charges that (unless you really want that specific magician) are just extra expense for you.
1. Young / New Magicians
Now we all had to start somewhere and when I started performing magic I was very young. I did not have the strength of character to deal with difficult guests, someone who has maybe had a bit too much to drink, or the person that really wants to try and and catch you out.
All these skills come with experience, and that is what you are paying for when you hire a professional magician. It’s not just the magic, it’s their ability to deal with all situations.
You wouldn’t want to go for a knee replacement and the surgeon came in and said, well I have watched a few videos on youtube and I think I have got the idea of this, I will do it for £100 if you can pay me before the operation.
This does not inspire confidence!
Now I am not comparing a knee operation to a Magician doing a few card tricks at your 50th birthday, I know the stakes are a bit different. but you get the idea. If you are hiring a Wedding Magician you need to know that they can do the magic, handle the crowds and be friendly and funny with all your guests.
2. Local Magicians
You want to be hiring a local magician. The main reason for this is you don’t want to be worrying about your magician driving for 4 hours to get to your party and getting stuck in traffic and being late.
Now you may not be so lucky as to have an amazing Magician who lives near you. You might have to spread the net a bit further with your search. It is something you want to be thinking about though as they will want to charge for travel expenses, however if there is an excellent professional magician who lives near you and is not booked for your date, they will probably be very happy to take a local booking for a smaller fee so they can be home early.
I am a Hampshire Magician for hire – so if you are looking to hire a Magician for your event in Hampshire or anywhere in the UK please get in touch using the Contact Page
3. What are you paying for?
When you are making your initial searches for a Magician have a look at their website and see the type of person they are. Does it look like they have an expensive lifestyle? Are they charging more because they have an expensive car and need to keep up the payments, they may look the part, but are they a great magician?
Some Magicians turn up with their “assistant” someone to help them with their bags and you may not realise that part of their fee is also paying the second person.
You need to find a Magician for who magic is their passion, they are smart and will be a friendly and entertaining guest at your event.
Not someone who just loves themselves and are doing the magic to impress the girls!
4. Part time Magician for Full time?
This is a very tricky subject because a lot of part time magicians are very very good and have been performing magic for years, but also want the security of a full time job. They perform magic at the weekends and evenings and you will get a great performance.
For a very experienced part time magician price is not always their first concern when booking jobs. They are usually more concerned about is it local and is it going to be a nice event.
You can’t beat going to a luxury wedding at a hotel just down the road, rather than going to a party in London that means you will be on the last train home.
Full time Magicians make their living doing magic, so they need to book a certain amount of jobs every month and if they can will also want to charge as much for them as possible. So it is not always (if you are considering price) best practice to go for a full time magician. If you have found someone who lives 4 hours from your wedding and it’s a Saturday that is the only job they can do in the day so will be wanting to charge more money.
If you were hiring a local magician for your 50th party in the evening, the magician might also be at a wedding in the afternoon.
5. Why are they charging so much?
If you contact a Magician to perform at your wedding and they say for example their fee is £700. You need to ask them why are they charging £700 when they have had another quote for £300
If they can’t justify the expense and say they are worth it, walk away.
What does I’m worth it actually mean?
If however they say well, I am a full time professional magician, I can guarantee you an amazing magic performance for all your guests. I will arrive 30 minutes early and if your speeches over run I am more than happy to stay longer to make sure everyone gets to see some magic.
I will entertain all the children and they will all get a free pack of cards and at the end of my performance the bride and groom will be involved in a unique trick designed just for them which will result in a unique keepsake that they can keep forever.
Compared to another Magician who just says it’s £300 and I’ll do a couple hours but I need to be gone by 6 cos I have another gig.
You just have to compare what you are paying for, and as will all things you do get what you pay for.
6. What do you actually want?
The big question with cheap magicians and price and expensive magicians, is what is it that you actually want for your event?
If you just want someone to come and do a few tricks because you think it would be fun, and you have found someone who is near and doesn’t want much money, then go for it.
If however you have a very special party where you want everything to go perfectly and have found a magician who you have already seen at a friends wedding and he was AMAZING!
You said at the time “We have to book that guy for our daughters 21st” and you phone him up and he says a price which is a bit more than you were expecting, you have to decided – do we really want him or that chap at work who does a few card tricks.
7. Speak to the Magician
The final piece of advice I will give is to pick up the phone and speak to the Magician you are looking to hire.
Ask them about their pricing and what they do, how far they have to travel and can you see them performing anywhere, do they have a showreel you can watch, are they in the Magic Circle the worlds premier magic society.
You know how much you want to pay for a magician and you also know what sort of person you want to hire, do your research!
If you want to read more about how much magicians charge, please read my other post on Magician Prices
However as a typical guide for any event in the south of England where I am based expect to pay between £300 – £500 for a 2-3 hour performance.
My name is Roger Lapin if you want to have a quote for your event please contact me using the form below or Tel: 07813 799672
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