I hate writing this review because I love Craig and think he’s a genius, and because the method
behind EDCeipt is brilliant. However, there are several caveats I wish I had known prior to
purchasing this trick because in its present state, I personally find the trick to be unperformable.
The biggest issue is that each receipt has their respective store’s address on top, and the
addresses are spread out all over the country. For the US version, the locations of the five stores
are Sacramento, Rocklin, and Citrus Heights, CA; Tucson, AZ; and Chicago, IL. Since I live in
Maryland, I asked Craig how to justify me doing my shopping all over the country if a spectator
asks, and his only response was that he personally has no problem justifying the receipts. Since
receiving EDCeipt, I haven’t been able to come up with an adequate justification, but perhaps that’s
just a me issue for lacking creativity.
While one could argue that a spectator won’t
notice the addresses for Target, Trader Joe’s, Costco, and Safeway because they are nationwide
retailers, this is not the case for Albertsons. Albertsons only has stores in 15 states, not
including Maryland, and I have been busted three times now by spectators asking me what I was doing
buying dog food in Tuscon, AZ (since I’ve been performing for friends and family who also live in
Maryland, and because they know that I don’t have a dog). Furthermore, and what is arguably the most
egregious oversight of the US version, Trader Joe’s literally doesn’t sell ANY of the items listed
on the receipt because they only sell Trader Joe’s brand products (my girlfriend busted me on this
point because she regularly shops there).
Again, one could argue that I can just make my
own receipts in light of these issues, as Craig had also suggested to me. However, there are several
problems with this approach. Even though the project comes with downloadable receipts that can be
edited:
1) You need Adobe Acrobat Pro, as normal Adobe Acrobat
Reader
doesn’t work. Consequently, if you don’t have
the Pro version, you need to sign up for a
free 7-day
trial, after which you have to pay $19.99/month for
continued access.
2) The receipt downloads themselves don’t look like the
receipts you
receive. The text is comprised of dots, so
you need to manually enter each product and its
price.
Not only that, but the formatting is all messed up.
Furthermore, even if
you were to successfully fix the
formatting and type everything in, Adobe Acrobat Pro
doesn’t have ANY fonts that resemble the receipts’
fonts. All in all, it is
essentially impossible to make
your own receipts with what the project provides.
3) Even if you try using a different receipt-making
program, it’s extremely hard to print
them. The
receipts you receive are made of Tyvek, and normal
receipts are
printed on thermal paper. Based on my
research, normal laser and inkjet printers can’t
print
on Tyvek because the paper will either melt, or the ink
will run/smudge,
respectively. Additionally, only
thermal printers can print on thermal paper.
Consequently, unless there’s a special type of Tyvek or
thermal paper that I’m unaware of
(please reach out to
me if anyone discovers anything), you’re going to need
to
invest in a special printer. I have reached out
twice to Craig asking for any suggestions
for receipt-
like materials that could be printed on using a normal
laser/inkjet
printer, but he has yet to respond.
In summation, if you don’t live in an Albertsons state
or don’t have a dog (or both), you run the risk of friends and family calling you out on the
receipts being fake. You also run the same risk if you perform for anyone who regularly shops at
Trader Joe’s. Additionally, don’t plan on making your own receipts unless you're willing to spend a
lot of time, money, and effort. If none of these considerations is an issue for you, go ahead and
buy EDCeipt, because the principle behind it is brilliant. However, if you feel like these risks
outweigh the benefits, then I highly recommend passing on this one (at least for the US version).
20 of 21 magicians found this helpful.
I like the idea of this effect, and it is kind of fun. My biggest issue is that anyone that gives
the receipts more than a cursory inspection will notice things that give away that they aren't real.
For Example, in the US Version there is a receipt for Trader Joes, but NONE of the items on the
receipts are things they actually sell at Trader Joes. I performed this for my wife (who, granted
sees more magic than most people) and the first thing she said when I gave her the receipts was,
"They don't sell any of this stuff at Trader Joes!". Also the prices are absurdly low given the cost
of everything these days. Like, 1980's grocery prices. $.99 cents for Skim Milk, $2.99 for a Frozen
Pizza. HA! So basically, fun for people who aren't observant, but I wouldn't perform it for any
skeptics or people that will examine props too closely.
12 of 12 magicians found this helpful.
Mr.Petty
If you put so much time and effort into
This project, why not take the time to
spell
the product names CORRECTLY !!
9 of 9 magicians found this helpful.
I bought this somewhere else, but want to post this here in the hopes that this gets seen and
addressed for a possible future version. This effect would be absolutely perfect if the receipts
looked a little more real. The very first thing I noticed when opening the package is that the
prices on the receipts are laughably low and anyone who looks at them will think something's up. I
really hope a v2 gets released with more modern prices and maybe a receipt that's not from such a
specialty store like Trader Joe's.
6 of 6 magicians found this helpful.
Great principle, BUT I can't get past the spelling errors and prices. The effect calls for a
participant to handle and look right at the gimmicks, and the creator says people don't notice.
Um... sure. The UK version uses different items and prices which might explain the errors, but I
don't think there was ever any real US field testing. Hoping Weber re-releases his version, which
solves all those issues.
6 of 6 magicians found this helpful.
Pre order thoughts. I bought this to support Craig and am looking forward to what Craig and the
team of top pro thinkers share in the extensive video instructions which I understand to be 6 hours
of NEW ideas not found elsewhere. Looking forward to this and will post a follow up after I receive
it.
13 of 24 magicians found this helpful.
I freaking hate…hate…hate when a project is super comprehensive and the information is amazing but
the freaking tutorials are not indexed and don’t have chapter titles for quick reference!!!! If
honestly rather get a PDF and have to read everything myself. Otherwise I’d give the project 5
stars…lots of good material. Super deceptive to muggles and lesser educated magicians.
3 of 3 magicians found this helpful.
This trick is perfect, but the prop falls a bit short because they’re tyvek. Great that Craig had
the life span of the lifespan of the product in mind, but it’s a bit odd to present the thick
receipts all equally the same size. With that said you can create your own receipts with your own
preferred stores and products. This is a five start trick.
2 of 2 magicians found this helpful.
I get that the receipts are low prices but ive done this at least 25 times since i purchased it and
no one has noticed any of that. i love the effect peter nardi does and all the efeects are great. i
also think $25.00 is real cheap for the product. i love it! and.....its not a card trick!
2 of 2 magicians found this helpful.
I have owned this since it was released. Craig is quite creative and thank you Craig. I have taken
the time to do a couple of ways to use these receipts. First is I used to travel for work. So all
over the map is justifiable. But I sympathize with the guys… so yes you do have to get creative and
edit your own. I use power point and I have also used google slides to create printed artwork. Yes I
know those are presentation softwares but you can also us it to create printed items. What I have
done is I look online and I find mom and pop hardware stores or town lumber yards and I create items
with the prices. I do some other things with some Marc Paul ideas the same way. If you use small
suburb town locations around you and create your own, it’s even more organic.
Also chiming
I’m with Craig. Example:
If you are doing a box trick with an assistant, there is no
justification for owning a box with sliding tubes and holes. You can say I purchased a strange box
from Home Depot. But what do guys do… they try to convince everyone it’s a normal empty box.
Everyone knows why they are at your show and they expect things. The first time I presented the
trick I said nothing that was not true… I said I ordered something online and I got envelope full of
receipts. The strange things is they were from all over the place. I said before I threw them away,
I discovered something interesting. Then you perform it. Simply if you hand someone the receipts and
you do not dwell on them other than instruct them to look at what you want them to see… enough said.
You do not need to justify why you were in Arizona. I hope this helps someone.
Also making
your own receipts can make it where I can do larger copies of the receipts so you can perform it to
a parlor where many people can see them.
Once again, creativity. You have to look at the
effects for the concept and idea and run with it. Then MAKE IT YOUR OWN.
Once again, I
hope this helps someone.
1 of 1 magicians found this helpful.