Williams Magic Mobile Magic Shop

A week ago or so I got a call from the president of the Order of Aggie Illusionists as well as an email from John Mavrick, the current president of the Austin S.A.M, both of them telling me about some guy who had a travelling magic shop and was going to be stopping in College Station. It just happened that I was going to be in College Station on the day that this magic shop was rolling in, so I went to check it out.

Now I didn't have very high expectations; I was expecting something thrown together and half-assed, but when I saw the setup, I was amazed.


Now this Mobile Magic Shop is run by the nice folks at Williams Magic, and the first thing that you see when you step aboard is Mr. Williams greeting you with a firm handshake, a warm smile, and of course, a flaming business card. Next Mr. Williams explains the rules of the shop: feel free to dig through things and move the shelves, but please put everything back exactly where you found it and don't open anything that is sealed.

The shop itself is small, what with being inside an RV, but it is amazingly constructed and has over 3000 items. Everything is packed neatly away in small, open-top boxes which are in turn placed on shelves. The shelves are three to four deep and are hooked up on a track system that allows them to move, granting access to the shelves behind them. Mr. Williams even has a close up table that folds down for him to demo various tricks!

The first thing you really notice when you begin adventuring through this tiny wonder is how many magic supplies are packed into this tiny space. He has a wide selection of books (a wider selection than some brick and morter shops I've been in) as well as all the latest DVD's and just about any prop you could need: silks, sponges, coins, cards, and a nice chunk of small illusions.

The other thing that makes Williams Magic stand apart (aside from having a mobile magic shop) is their business model. Williams Magic really focuses on serving magicians and not the random, off-the-street people. The biggest challenge to a brick and morter store today is, of course, the online magic shop.

An online magic shop doesn't have the expenses that a brick and morter shop does; there's no overhead cost, no utilities, no need to have the place staffed all the time, and no need to expend energy doing demos and trying to sell customers on a trick. There's just a quick little teaser video, and easy-to-use ordering system and all of a sudden you're a proud new owner of a new piece of magic. Cost to the shop: item + shipping (which you usually pay for).

Williams Magic has a different ethos. They base their shop off of the shops of old: the places where magicians would gather, spend time, and trade knowledge. To compete with these online shops, Williams Magic has a price-match policy: bring them any online or brick-and-morter price and they will match it. An increadible policy that becomes more increadible when you realize that ordering from their website always includes free shipping. That's right! You see an item for $19.99? It's $19.99. No $15.00 shipping costs, no handling costs, just a straightforward way of doing business.

So if the Mobile Magic Shop is headed your way, make sure to drop in and meet Mr. Williams and see what a little bit of hard work, dedication, and a love for magic can make happen!