I’ve been a magician and mentalist for over 30 years, and here’s what will (and won’t) get me to lower my price:

  1. Schedule your event off-peak
    Weekends around the holidays tend to be the busiest times for hiring a magician. Got a mentalist you want to hire, but can’t afford their full rate? Ask them when their least busy times are, and see if you can schedule your event then.
  2. Buy in bulk
    Do you have multiple events coming up that you can hire a magician for? Can you co-op with another family, business, or organization to spread out the cost of booking a mentalist?
  3. Wait until the last minute
    This may sound counterintuitive. But the closer a date is, the less likely I am to turn away a full-rate client, which means I’m more likely to say yes to a discounted show. But it comes with risk: if I’m booked already, you’ll need to hire another magician or mentalist.
  4. Offer an escape clause
    Book a magician at a discounted rate with the understanding that they can accept a better offer if one comes along. Like the above, you risk needing to book a mentalist or magician last minute, but it still works out more often than not.
  5. Offer a barter
    Is there something that you sell that could benefit me? I once did a corporate show for my electrician, and instead of paying directly, he gave me a “tab” for the next few times I needed to hire him. It was a win-win, but only because we both needed each others’ expertise.

And just because I like you, here’s a couple of things to avoid:

  1. Please don’t ask for more than 30% off
    Even using all of the tips above, my rates only have so much flexibility.
  2. Don’t barter for “exposure”
    I’ve had clients haggle with offers like “A lot of people will see the show and may want to hire you.” Yes, but that’s true at every event, full price or otherwise.

Of course, the tips above aren’t applicable to every magician or mentalist. But I hope they let you save a few dollars and keep me and my colleagues busy!