Oh, I got a couple regarding prop magic:
- Magicians who say "prop magic is bad because they look odd and figure they can buy it at a magic shop."
Really, now?
Anybody who can put together, "I can buy that at a magic shop" has the same capacity to go, "deck of cards, magic shop. Got it!"
When was the last time anyone, outside of your Great Great Great Nana, used half-dollars and silver dollars unironically?
Rope is uncommon to see outside of a Home Depot.
Sit-down card games are a slowly dying pasttime, meaning that people are more likely to look at a deck of cards and go "if you have a deck of cards, that means you can do card tricks".
- Magicians who say, "You won't get people on board with a presentation with prop magic. They look like toys."
I'm willing to put safe money on the idea that the people who say this are doing what David refers to as, "the adventures of the props"; they are seemingly performed, knowingly or not, as a DEMONSTRATION. A lot of prop magic is self-working and easy to do, which means you can spend more brain power on creating a presentation and creating immersion.
I know prop magic isn't for everyone. I'm confident that there's at least 1 or 2 out there that anyone in this forum could look at and go, "that would be fun to work with". But to go, "they are terrible to perform with/no one will like your presentation/they are toys" is absolutely lazy and hypocritical considering what props MANY magicians use for their acts.
It's all about performance and presentation.