Psychic Fairs.. Not Exactly Cheap

I went to the Psychic Expo in London this past weekend thinking I could get come cheap five minute readings for fun. I was surprised to find out there wasn't a single reading available for less than $30 and that was for ten measly minutes with the woman in the corner booth who could barely look you in the eye, let alone into your future (supposedly).
I decided to skip the psychic readings and just went to a couple lectures some of the psychics were putting on. One was about how to choose a psychic. She mentioned why readings were so expensive which was because these psychics were traveling all over the country. They had to pay for hotels, transportation and food in a different city every weekend. Which I guess is understandable. Still, $120 for a lady to look into a crystal ball and tell me there is money and happiness in my future? I'm on a student budget here.
Crystal balls were only one of the techniques being used. There was also tarot cards, aura reading, palmistry (or chiromancy), reiki, numerology and something called Russian cards which I had never heard of.
All the psychics had a specialty and during the lecture, we were told to know what we wanted before choosing a psychic because if we asked for something that particular psychic was not capable of doing, well of course, we wouldn't be getting our money's worth. Convenient.
Overall, the most important thing when choosing a psychic is to use common sense and be reasonable. There is a little thing called professionalism and a good psychic will follow basic social guidelines by not answering the door in a bathrobe. They are running a business too and they want you to tell your friends about how accurate they were, not that they were disorganized and unfriendly.
They all had pamphlets as well to advertise what it was they do and where you could reach them. A couple examples at the top and to the left.
So, I guess my expections were a little bit unreasonable. I wanted inexpensive readings more for fun than anything else. But it turns out, the people that go to these conventions are seriously looking for guidance. They want to know if they are going to change careers or meet their soul mate in the near future. And these psychics capitalize on that. It's their job. We all need to make a living right?
Of course, the organizers of the fairs guarantee that the psychics are the best in the business, and it is by invitation only. Not any old fortune teller can set up a booth and start charging $100 for a 15 minute reading.
So, in the end, the psychic convention is a good way to find out what all the possibilities are and decide for yourself what kind of thing you are willing to pay your hard earned money for. Better than looking in the yellow pages at least.