Shopping online is literally the best thing since sliced bread. There’s a greater variety of items, less people to bother you, it can be done from bed and in basically any state of dress or undress that suits your fancy in the moment. That’s before we even get to the magical creation known as a coupon code! Even with all it’s amazing benefits, there are some things that’re still better shopped for in person – chief among them: sex toys.
For a person who has made a career out of writing online sex toy reviews, that may seem like a counter-intuitive idea. That’s a fair assumption, but it’s all my sex toy review experience that makes me certain you’re better off shopping for sex toys in store versus online only. Sex toys are unique in their uses and return policies, the incredible variety of our personal preferences, and, most importantly, sex toy stores are just fun!
For all online shopping’s major benefits to most items, sex toys are an almost entirely unique category. If you’re a foodie, you’ll probably have a favorite style of knife or cooking technique. With sex toys, though, even someone without any knowledge about the category or even a very low sex drive will arrive with things they like or don’t.
Sexual pleasure is easily one of the most personal things we do. As such what we’re looking for is going to be very personal and specific to us. In my online sex toy shopping, I take great pains to read descriptions, specs, reviews, and every other bit of information I can. That’s normal for me, but with sex toys, no matter how much I research, I’m never certain about my order.
I may go ahead with the purchase, but there’s always a fear that it’ll arrive and the weight, shape, color, girth, materials, build quality, button mushiness, loudness, ease of operation, or nearly anything else could be wrong by my picky tastes and it’ll end up gathering dust.
My money matters to me and due to the extremely personal nature of sex toys, if I don’t like the toy, I can’t just get my money back. Sure, at any reputable toy store, anything dead on arrival, dead during warranty or an otherwise defective product in general is an easy exchange. Even an incorrect website description can be rectified.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t cover me simply feeling like the silicone is too tacky or the motor isn’t quiet enough. It also doesn’t cover me simply measuring myself incorrectly for a cock ring or fancy undies. I don’t want to have to throw away good products just because I’m picky or wrong.
Even when getting toys for free to review, I’ve experienced this disappointment. Sometimes things look great and seem to meet all the criteria, but they just don’t. So, while online shopping might be great for reordering your favorite lube or a replacement of something else you already enjoy, it doesn’t compare to the experience of stepping into a brick and mortar toy store to explore and find something you know you’ll love. By going into the actual store, we prevent many disappointments. Plus, we get to experience the awesomeness that is a sex toy store!
A lot of people don’t think about sex toy stores at all or only think in stereotypical terms about what they’re like. The truth is that stores like Cirilla’s have done a ton of work over the last few decades to make sure their experiences are something anyone can enjoy.
You walk in a sex toy store and you’re greeted by knowledgeable & helpful staff, who’re there to answer literally any question you have about a product you want. Whether you only know what kind of sex you like or are trying to track down a specific device, they can point you in the right direction.
The people who work at sex toy stores exist to make sure you walk away confident in your purchase and yourself. They’ll demo products, let you test them… reasonably, and offer a wealth of personal knowledge. Although it’s not in their job description, most of the people who work there also end up being short-term life coaches at some point. They do what it takes to make it happen, even pulling up the website and showing you more options.
Just because you go to the store doesn’t mean you’re limited to what’s there. Going into your local sex toy store simply ensures you’re following the yellow brick road to exciting, comfortable, more pleasurable, and more accessible sex even easier.
By: Jerome Stuart Nichols
Follow on Twitter @NotJeromeStuart
