Plenty of sex toy shops are well-lit, feminist-run, queer-inclusive, and decidedly not creepy. Your pleasure and health matter, so find a boutique shop that actually cares about your needs. That means some people receive counterfeit products, while others say they’ve even received products that have been used and returned (ew). And when you’re buying from Amazon or eBay, the quality of your product isn’t guaranteed. When you’re spending money on a toy you’ll probably use on your genitals, you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth-or at least that it’s made out of body-safe materials. When that’s the expectation we have for toy shops, it can feel a lot more comfortable to head online to sites like Amazon. So when people say they only want to buy sex toys online, I get it.
That stereotype isn’t always representative of reality, but it still lingers. When we think about going to a store to buy sex toys, most of us think about badly lit, grimy shops with slightly creepy salespeople behind the counter. Is the nation next? Join Jess and Imani on their weekly podcast as they help you make sense of the chaos.
