I was at the Union Square market in September and watched this guy in action a couple times (he takes 2-3 minutes to run through his entire spiel and demonstration-- which is incredibly impressive-- then sells about 20 of them, then repeats)... he sells the peeler for $5 (or 5 for $20, I think) and it's a Swiss-made Star brand peeler that you can find on eBay for around $3-$4, but then you have to pay shipping.
The actual peeler is very sharp and well-designed, but it's not magical-- he just happens to be incredibly good at wielding it on huge amounts of potatoes and carrots. Also, he has something of a reality distortion field...
I just used one of his peelers to peel apples for an apple pie for thanksgiving. I have no idea if it is any better than your average peeler, but it works great for me ;) He has an amusing line if you only buy one - "one for the man with no friends." I think I'm going to buy a few of these and send them off to some ex-New Yorkers I know. They make great memorabilia for those in the know ;)
The guy is amazing - I took out my money before he was even done with the presentation. Then realizing what I had done, I stayed to watch more presentations to see how he did what he did......long story short....I ended up buying another peeler!
Is it bad if, after watching that, I start thinking "Hey, I'm already flying halfway around the world next week... what is adding a stop to New York to pick up a peeler? After all, its closer than Switzerland."
I have one of these (or had - lost somewhere) and they are fantastic. A real pleasure to use. They fit snugly in hand, and you can drive force into the work. The metal itself somehow feels soft. There's even an integrated component for removing eyes from potatoes (I never use that; but I like the idea).
I don't know if they are really all that great - however, they are so much better than the standard ones (pencil shaped).
As in the old saying, you don't have to make a perfect mousetrap - just a better one.
Its interesting to me that he's not making eye contact. Does that project confidence ("I don't need to look at you to know that I've got your attention"), or am I overthinking this?
Yes, that's right. His relentless focus on the product keeps your focus on the product. And it sends the message you want to send about any product: This thing is so damned fascinating that you could spend all day playing with it.
Also, eye contact is subliminally threatening. That's probably not good for sales, particularly in a big city like New York, where a stranger who approaches you and makes eye contact activates the Shields Up response. (The odds that he is about to ask you for money are really, really high. Especially if he starts some big, rambling story instead of just immediately asking you for directions.) Moreover, scaring people is not something you want to do if you want to have a decades-long career, in one neighborhood, doing something that is technically illegal. One's first on-street encounter with a squatting, potato-obsessed geek with a knife in his hand is probably scary enough without having to know that he's looking at you.
Finally, I'd guess that eye contact is risky because it turns the show from a monologue into a dialogue. What if the mark starts an argument? Or runs away in terror? How would that play to the rest of the audience? Even a friendly chat could be bad for business if it takes up too much time that could be better spent running the spiel for a fresh set of passersby.
The actual peeler is very sharp and well-designed, but it's not magical-- he just happens to be incredibly good at wielding it on huge amounts of potatoes and carrots. Also, he has something of a reality distortion field...