Ask Zan Linbo how he made 10,000 yuan last month and he'll say, "with magic."

As the proprietor of four online magic shops, the electronics senior at Sichuan University has been turning some profitable retail tricks, riding the recent wave of interest in the art of illusion.

Magic touch

Zan attributes his boost in business to Liu Qian, the Taiwanese magician featured on CCTV's Spring Festival Gala for the second consecutive year.

It was Liu's first appearance that sparked magic mania among the mainland youth overnight, inspiring a slew of TV shows, online forums and clubs discussing and teaching the art of illusion, something Zan, a magic club member of his university, saw as the perfect window of opportunity.

"I always wanted to open an online shop and sell something I like," Zan said.

With 900 yuan and an old computer, Zan worked out of his dorm room, stocked up on magician staples such as cards, rings and lighters, and cranked a taobao.com shop soon after the Gala aired.

"During the first few days, I asked classmates to spread the word on QQ to their friends and handed out flyers on campus and on the streets of Chengdu. After a week, I made my first deal selling a few decks for about 20 yuan."

Video tricks

What little initial success Zan had was counteracted with some customers claiming they did not know how to use the products and asking for refunds. Since taobao.com stores depend heavily on customer ratings, Zan had to give in lest risk negative feedback.

However in order to curb this problem, Zan shot videos of himself performing tricks and illustrating how to use the product on his website.

As a result, Zan's online shop soon began to pick up momentum, turning around five deals a day and pulling in around 3500 yuan a month.

Going pro

Last August, Zan borrowed 15,000 yuan from parents and friends to expand his business, renting an office space near campus, expanded his product line and hired his old primary school classmate Deng Lishan.

Zan currently runs additional online stores on youa.baidu. com and paipai.com, both of which are ranked among the site's most popular magic shops.

"Now we get over 100 inquiries and about 10 deals a day."

Zan is pulling long hours dealing with customers, fulfilling orders and enjoying being his own boss enough that he's not looking for a job after graduation.

"Opening an online shop is actually relevant to my major. Since business is good, why should I give up?"