# Sale on Magic Wands! (AP story) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 31, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896 "2003-01-31T16:58:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/121 "2019-08-01T11:03:45Z")
> [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](#): > > ETA: If it is real, would you want one? I don’t sell them, I was just curious… If it were a real ancient item proven to be made from a meteorite, I wouldn’t be able to afford it. Contrary to your impression of the cash value, something like that would be very rare, very sought after, and very valuable. Think tens of thousands or more. There are a few known old meteoritic tools/weapons/jewelery items, but they are rare enough that they get papers written about them and museum displays. The reason these wands go so cheap is because nobody believes that they are meteoritic. ---
**Author:** ![King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_of_the_Americas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/122 "2019-08-01T11:15:23Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Oh, and if it does turn out to be old and a meteorite, be sure to use a reputable auction house, and remember to pay your capital gains tax. (Make sure that the export didn’t violate any antiquities laws in Tibet, or they might sue you for it’s return.) Now THIS is a real concern with ALL of my eBay purchases, and how one can buy an entire suit if armor for less than $500… I kid you not I bought “replicas” of Sumerian cuneiform for $30 each that look identical to those in the Louvre. Someone didn’t get paid enough to produce these museum-quality pieces. I bought 5 African stone aged flint spear tips…$15 each from an antique dealer while on vacation. I picked up arrow heads for miles upon miles with my Dad growing up, this nap work was ancient and the pieces were like a multitool- it could cut, chop, and had aerodynamic principles! Absolute treasures, all, that I paid pennies for. All of my purchases made it through customs inspections, and they are what they are. Of this I have absolutely no doubt, Storage Wars participants sell what they find- CHEAP. Ebay is a garden is treasures… ---
**Author:** ![King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_of_the_Americas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/123 "2019-08-01T11:17:50Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > If it were a real ancient item proven to be made from a meteorite, I wouldn’t be able to afford it. Contrary to your impression of the cash value, something like that would be very rare, very sought after, and very valuable. Think tens of thousands or more. There are a few known old meteoritic tools/weapons/jewelery items, but they are rare enough that they get papers written about them and museum displays. The reason these wands go so cheap is because nobody believes that they are meteoritic. “There are treasures in this world, hidden away, or their real value not fully comprehended. They can be yours if you know where to look.” I gave you a link…do some research! ---
**Author:** ![King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_of_the_Americas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/124 "2019-08-01T11:22:40Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Follow my link–there are tests. I can easily test it for Nickel, today. I’ll report back. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/125 "2019-08-01T11:25:25Z")
> [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](#): > > “There are treasures in this world, hidden away, or their real value not fully comprehended. They can be yours if you know where to look.” “And where to look is Ebay and Esty.” Listen, do you own a bridge yet? Because I could give you a really good deal on one in Brooklyn. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/126 "2019-08-01T11:31:46Z")
If the Universe gives everyone what they deserve, how does buying a trinket from eBay make the Universe believe you deserve better than your neighbor? ---
**Author:** ![King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_of_the_Americas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/127 "2019-08-01T11:49:08Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > “And where to look is Ebay and Esty.” > Listen, do you own a bridge yet? Because I could give you a really good deal on one in Brooklyn. Antique stores…and Yes, sometimes Ebay, but you have to know how to find them. They are often mis-labeled, or their origins unknown. Sometimes they are in disrepair or missing pieces. Investigate your purchases, sincerely, but don’t pass up a good deal, too hard to believe. There’s a magic wand made of your most prized sought after material, for less than $200!! Take a gamble, roll the dice, you might get a “7”!! ---
**Author:** ![King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_of_the_Americas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/128 "2019-08-01T11:51:14Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > If the Universe gives everyone what they deserve, how does buying a trinket from eBay make the Universe believe you deserve better than your neighbor? “Sometimes”…I said it isn’t perfect. My eBay purchases have nothing to do with Karma. I didn’t make that connection. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/129 "2019-08-01T11:57:46Z")
> [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](#): > > “Sometimes”…I said it isn’t perfect. > > My eBay purchases have nothing to do with Karma. I didn’t make that connection. Then why did you buy the wand, if not to give you an advantage influencing the All-Being? ---
**Author:** ![King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_of_the_Americas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/130 "2019-08-01T12:16:49Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Then why did you buy the wand, if not to give you an advantage influencing the All-Being? 'Cause “Pretty.” I mean that’s why I bought it. I guess I received it for so little because I was supposed to have it? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/131 "2019-08-01T12:20:03Z")
> [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](#): > > 'Cause “Pretty.” > > I mean that’s why I bought it. I guess I received it fo so list,e because I was supposed to have it? So, it is a trinket, and of no value in proving that effective magic or magic wands exist. Thank you for contributing nothing to this very old thread. ---
**Author:** ![King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_of_the_Americas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/132 "2019-08-01T12:28:25Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > So, it is a trinket, and of no value in proving that effective magic or magic wands exist. > Thank you for contributing nothing to this very old thread. I may have bought it as that, but have found its hidden qualities. Thank you for ignoring evidence contrary to your belief system, traditionalism and closed-minded people everywhere applaud you. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/133 "2019-08-01T14:20:27Z")
> [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](#): > > I may have bought it as that, but have found its hidden qualities. > > Thank you for ignoring evidence contrary to your belief system, traditionalism and closed-minded people everywhere applaud you. Wild claims are not evidence. It looks like you bought a mass-produced metal stick for a ridiculous amount of money, and to justify your purchase you have talked yourself into believing it has vague magical powers that don’t exactly leave any evidence that they exist. Your tale reminds me of an old Robert McCloskey _Homer Price_ story called “Ever-So-Much-More-So”, in which a traveling salesman sold townfolk tins of a “magical” powder that would make anything that was good just a tiny bit, ever so much more so, better. BTW, you should really quit using the word “magic” to mean so many different things, because if you water it down so that it means practically anything, then you have watered it down so that it means practically _nothing_. ---
**Author:** ![King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_of_the_Americas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/134 "2019-08-01T14:46:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Wild claims are not evidence. It looks like you bought a mass-produced metal stick for a ridiculous amount of money, and to justify your purchase you have talked yourself into believing it has vague magical powers that don’t exactly leave any evidence that they exist. Your tale reminds me of an old Robert McCloskey _Homer Price_ story called “Ever-So-Much-More-So”, in which a traveling salesman sold townfolk tins of a “magical” powder that would make anything that was good just a tiny bit, ever so much more so, better. > BTW, you should really quit using the word “magic” to mean so many different things, because if you water it down so that it means practically anything, then you have watered it down so that it means practically _nothing_. “$67” is a ridiculous amount of money? I tell you what, the next time you see something you REALLY want, for $75 or less, you contact me, just this once…and I’ll buy it for you. No questions asked. I’ll drop $50-100 in a donation bucket, and think myself the better for it. My wand is only “magical” TO YOU. I fully understand it is a metal rod or conductor, focusing or directing my energy, and its makers did too. Seriously, let me know which fund I can donate to, so that you’re less pissy & jelly. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/135 "2019-08-01T14:58:10Z")
So now the stick isn’t magical, but _you_ are? ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/136 "2019-08-01T15:01:07Z")
> [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](#): > > 'Cause “Pretty.” > > I mean that’s why I bought it. I guess I received it for so little because I was supposed to have it? This is what bothers me about woo-believers: “I bought this wand/crystal/Ganesha figure because it’s pretty and I like it” is a perfectly good, valid reason for making a purchase. No further explanation needed. But that’s not enough for the woo-fans. They have to tell us that the wand “redirects chakra energy”, or that the quartz crystal heals their headache/aligns their vibrations with the universe/allows them to telepathically communicate with the cat. As Douglas Adams put it, “Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/137 "2019-08-01T15:07:07Z")
> [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](#): > > I fully understand it is a metal rod or conductor, focusing or directing my energy, **and its makers did too.** (bolding mine)For you to know this you would have to know who made your stick. Who manufactured it? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/138 "2019-08-01T15:22:47Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Ley lines. Sound like song. Ley lady ley? Let’s not stoop to _ad homophone_ attacks. ---
**Author:** ![King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_of_the_Americas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/139 "2019-08-01T15:38:07Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So now the stick isn’t magical, but _you_ are? To your eyes, both would seem ‘magical’. I am not magical, just practiced and learned in things you are not. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896/140 "2019-08-01T15:40:47Z")
> [@King\_of\_the\_Americas](#): > > To your eyes, both would seem ‘magical’. > > I am not magical, just practiced and learned in things you are not. Incredible claim to make without having any knowledge as to what I know and/or don’t know. BTW, who made that wand of yours? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sale-on-magic-wands-ap-story/151896.md?page=8)