Permanent Record

















There’s no better way to guarantee huge reactions than by making the impossible happen in someone else’s hands. “Permanent Record” by Ben Seidman (the genius mind behind “The Oracle System”) allows you to permanently alter an object that your audience holds, leaving them with a memory they’ll never forget.
“This is going straight into my, and everyone else’s, strolling set. It’s strong, fun, and super easy to do. I love it!” Chad Long
“Permanent Record” is everything you’d want in a close-up trick. This baffling miracle rocks every room and leaves people stunned with amazement. It’s powerful, direct, perfectly practical, and so easy to perform that it’s ridiculous. This is one of Ben’s everyday carries for both professional performances and seemingly impromptu miracles. You won’t want to leave home without it.
While there are many ways to present “Permanent Record”, the core routine starts by showing your audience that there is a playing card printed on every box of cards and explaining how it has been known to influence people to subconsciously always think of that card (Ben even teaches you how to transform this into its own bonus moment of powerful magic). So, to make this experience totally fair, you’ll need them to choose a card at random
The cards are removed and they are given the box to hold while another card is freely chosen. You not only amazingly know the card they chose, but their jaws will be on the floor when they check the box in their hands again and find the card image has impossibly changed to match their new selection. They can examine the box all they want, there’s nothing to find. What really hammers this routine home though is Ben’s clever routining that leaves the spectator feeling like the magic continues long after you leave.
You’ll receive the gimmicked deck and special gaffs (in both red and blue) that make this self-working miracle possible right out of the box. For those that prefer to use an ordinary deck of Bicycle playing cards, Ben teaches you how to perform handlings of “Permanent Record” with an ungimmicked deck, as well as other complete routines that use the “Permanent Record” principle to enhance effects you likely already perform.
In total, you get more than 75 minutes of instruction in which Ben provides insights that are worth the price of this effect on their own. This includes an absolutely stellar multiple-selection routine, a deviously clever secret for amplifying all of your walkaround close-up magic and so much more. As an added bonus, Dr. Jonathan Pickard, the creator of “Ambideckstrous”, also teaches you his original handling for this idea that packs five magical moments into one amazing routine.
“Permanent Record” is a fantastic, easy-to-do showstopper that will truly blow everyone away. Let Ben show you why “Permanent Record” should be a permanent part of your set.
"I love this” Asi Wind
“I’m in love with the practicality of the design. The change happens in the most organic way possible” Franco Pascali
“This is A+ material for both professional and casual performances. On top of that, I can’t believe Ben also included his CUPS technique as part of this release. It’s not only dangerously good for ‘Permanent Record’, but nearly any close-up routine. That alone is worth the cost of the project.” Bill Herz
"Permanent Record is easy enough for beginners to fool their pals, but has enough interesting applications that professionals will be able to effectively add it to their repertoires. I like it!" Michael Close
Please note: Other box revelations have been published and explored by Mark Mason, Juan Pablo, Brad Henderson, Jason Dean and others.
Jonathan Pickard's "Ambideckstrous" was the first marketed version of this type of effect that we are aware of, and we would like to thank him for endorsing "Permanent Record", and being gracious enough to share his fantastic handlings on this video.
Customer reviews for Permanent Record
One thing: to increase my hit rate with the "favourite card" question I like to employ a kind of psychological force. First, ask whether the spectator has played poker. Follow this with, "so what's your favourite card?" The psychological contextualisation of the "favourite card" question nearly always results in them choosing the Ace of Spades.
member
I don’’t plan to use the gimmicked deck and doubt many magicians will. The beauty of the box gimmick is you can just add it to your normal deck and carry it around all the time. Getting 4 box gimmicks is great value for price.
I think USPCC may have put a spanner in the works by changing the standard card box back. Obviously you get the ‘right’ box with PR, but when you then come to buy your next deck to add the box gimmick to you may be disappointed. Hopefully this can be addressed in any updates if USPCC don’t change back to the previous design.
Overall I'm looking forward to trying this out, and it is well worth the buy !
First off, I have been a fan of Ben ever since I saw him perform at Magifest a few years back. Watching his show, I could tell he puts a ton of thought into what he is doing, both method and performance. When I saw this trick, it is reminiscent of a few other routines I have seen, mainly focusing on the ending line where all the boxes will have the 10 of hearts printed on them from here on forward. I really like this tagline, as it leaves a real impact on your spectator long into the future. If they walk into any store with a deck of cards, they can check and see that the card is printed there. I figured that with this product, it should be pretty solid due to Ben's work. I saw a couple of other reviews and made the purchase.
I have been able to watch the video a couple of times and worked the routine at a couple of events.
This is a fantastic worker. It comes with everything you need to perform the basic routine that Ben teaches/performs/demos for the trailer. Everything is specially printed and looks great. The packaging is great (not too big or small with nice print quality) and it comes with multiple gimmicks for various decks.
The video instructions are great. Ben starts off by going over some history and some background before starting the video instruction. He explains what you need to do to get started with the trick, so please watch the instructions first before opening everything up.
Ben goes over the basic instructions but then goes into some really fantastic subtleties and ideas that I have not quite delved into throughout my history of being a magician and performer. These are tips that help with this trick but can be applied to literally all your performances. Ben goes over a few variations of the routine from simple to a bit more complex, but he confidently goes over all the details. I say confidently because some of the routines are a bit bold, but after hearing Ben go through the explanations, I feel quite confident that anyone could use these techniques and follow the routines. The product comes with gimmicks and a gaff deck that helps with the performance. Ben teaches versions that use non-gimmicked decks which is nice. There is also the addition of Ambideckstrous which is a really fun use of the gimmick.
Overall, this is a fantastic product that I will be using from here on out. It gives a mind-warping ending that stays with the participant after the show. The quality of the product is great and the instruction is comprehensive.
Really the only con I might see people bringing up is that the trick does require you to keep some of the cellophane on the deck. I think this is a very minor "inconvenience" that greatly is outweighed by the effect. Another potential downfall of this product is if the USPCC ever changes the design. Again, depending on the design of the box, a second variation can be produced to cover this, but that will be a bridge to burn at a later time.
Easily 5 stars and a milky way more!
member
I also have Ben's 'Oracle System.' His teachings include his thoughts on presentation and knowledge from hundreds of real world performances.
Shoutout to Vanishing, Inc's easy to access material that's immediately available on purchase.
Only two issues I see is that without going into details, you can only perform this trick once to the same group of people. Other issue is that the design is for the old bycicle boxes, and I can't find any other boxes so I can't reuse it. I don't know if Ben is planning on releasing a new version with the modern boxes.
The video has a lot of ideas but in my case I just use the gimmick and make my own tricks.
For the Permanent Record itself, he gives many possibilities and subtilties to enhance your performance. Could not recomend more.
To point something not so good, I feeled a bit of a difficulty to fit it in my presentation on why the card in the box changes, but probably the tips que gives will be useful for most magicians out there.
Community questions about Permanent Record
Have a question about this product? It's possible others do too. Ask here and other Vanishing Inc. Magic customers will be able to respond with assistance! Alternatively, email us and we can help too.
Gaston asks: Where can I get replacement boxes with the same design
- 1. Jim responds:I found some at Costco.
Paul asks: Is the forcing deck similar to the old Mastermind Deck put out years ago by Chris Kenworthey, which itself is a re-invention of a very old idea for forcing a card: the Monte Cristo deck?
- 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:Correct. It is similar to the Mastermind deck.
Alfred asks: Is the chosen card always the same card? Or can it be any card? ( not forced) and does it reset immediately?
- 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:Yes, you will always have the same cards in each performance.
Yong su asks: I purchased this product and it is currently being shipped. Is the gimmick design the same as the design shown in the photos and videos? The card case designs that come out these days are different. I purchased a large number of card cases in advance with the design shown in the photos and videos.
- 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:Yes, the gimmick is the one shown in the video and images. You're safe with your purchases!
Terry asks: Is this effect (and gimmicks) dependent on the current design of the Bicycle card box? What happens if the card box design is changed? I'm guessing we will need to look after boxes with that design or buy some spares?
- 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:The effect is dependent on the bicycle card box.
Antonio asks: Where can I find spare boxes with the same print in Europe? Asking again because the link you put on the previous answer has a golden border.
John asks: Do you sell refills?
- 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:We don't, but you can get the card case (assuming that is what you mean) in most places.
Antonio asks: Where can I find spare boxes with the same print in Europe?
- 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bicycle®-Gold-Standard-Playing-Cards/dp/B001T7BSVI/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3KF9E4AU8EAIT&keywords=rider%2Bback%2Bbicycle&qid=1702895622&s=kids&sprefix=rider%2Bback%2Bbicycl%2Ctoys%2C120&sr=1-4&th=1
Wong asks: I want to buy the card boxes using the matching design of the gimmick. now the box are come with QR code. Can anyone tell me where to get appropriate boxes? Please help .
- 1. Jim responds:I've seen some at Costco and Target. Walmart may be worth checking.
- 2. Wong responds:thank you. you are helpful.
Scott asks: Question/Statement for Ben...I noticed you are super detail oriented. I am as well. I had alignment issues with the sticker on the box. Fixed it by removing the sticker and repositioning it lower matching the placement on card ...aligning it from the bottom of sticker. It brought sticker down so only white was showing above box sticker. Making the plastic sticky to the case on any side but the back...helps with instant reset. @SirXcott
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