The first time I walked into a sex shop, I felt a bit overwhelmed. I had no idea there would be so many different options available that were focused around pleasure. All I had wanted was a simple vibrator, and I walked away with a battery-operated pink vibrator, a realist toxic penis and some lube I\u2019d later discover I was allergic to. I hadn\u2019t really done any research before, and I had been so overwhelmed that I didn\u2019t even really know what to ask the salesperson. I think I was in the shop for a good 45 minutes before deciding to even pick up anything.<\/p>\n
The same can be said for online shops. There are so many new ones popping up, it can be an overwhelming experience. The good part about online shops is that there can be a much larger variety of products to choose from. The bad part about online shops is that there can be a much larger variety of products to choose from.<\/p>\n
Andy and I come across quite a few sex shops on a weekly basis \u2013 we tend to avoid the in-person shops but we do know our way around an online shop pretty well. If you\u2019re clicking on your very first online sex toy shop or if you\u2019re experimenting with a new one, we have some tips that will help you decide which shops to buy from.<\/p>\n
1. Gender Neutral Labels<\/p>\n
One of my biggest pet peeves is when people gender products for absolutely no reason. It\u2019s 2017 and companies need to get on board with the fact gender is non-binary and that gender identity doesn\u2019t always correspond with a certain set of genitals. A vibrator can be used in so many ways that there is no reason to gender it as female. A masturbation sleeve doesn\u2019t necessarily have to be a male product. You can also use most toys while with a partner, which makes most toys a \u2018couple\u2019s toy\u2019. If you\u2019re looking for a really, really great sex toy shop then you should check to see if they have gendered their products or not. This doesn\u2019t totally rule a shop out for us as the moment, but we much prefer supporting shops that respect that people can pleasure themselves in whichever ways they desire.<\/p>\n
Fleshlight Quickshot Vantage Male Masturbator Sleeve Review – Sex Bays<\/p>\n
2. Safe Toy Materials<\/p>\n
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to purchase safe toy materials. You can read more on our fairly comprehensive material guide. Quick refresher for safe products: silicone, glass, wood (with proper finishing), metal and ABS plastic. Quick refresher for unsafe products (due to pores or toxic additives): TPE, TPR, Jelly and PVC. If a company stocks a large amount of \u2018jelly\u2019 toys than you can almost guarantee they aren\u2019t concerned about your health. Jelly toys are fairly prominent on many websites because they are cheap. Your genitals\/mouth\/everything will be happy that you didn\u2019t purchase these toys. A good online shop will limit their unsafe toys and they will clearly label the materials on every product description.<\/p>\n
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Why you shouldn’t buy cheap sex toys quality matters Sex Bays Packer Limpy Lovehoney<\/p>\n
3. Lubricant Ingredients<\/p>\n
Much like sex toy materials, there are also lubes that aren\u2019t so great for genitals. You would think companies would want to help their consumers, but unfortunately there are so many companies that don\u2019t care or don\u2019t put the research into their products to ensure they are safe. It is always important to check the ingredients in a lubricant before purchasing it, and getting to become familiar with what each ingredient is. If the shop doesn\u2019t list the ingredients, then stay away.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sliquid Lubricant Water Based Natural<\/p>\n
4. Anal Safe Toys<\/p>\n
One of the easiest ways to check if a company cares about its consumers is to check the anal toy or butt plug sections. Anything that is intended for insertion into the anus absolutely requires a flared base. If a product does not have a flared base, then it can be \u2018sucked\u2019 into the anal cavity. There\u2019s a whole lot of intestine that you don\u2019t want becoming familiar with a sex toy. If you head to the anal product section and see toys without a flared base, just close the tab immediately.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Godemiche Beginner Plug B Review Butt Anal – Sex Bays<\/p>\n
5. Discreet Shipping<\/p>\n
As much as we\u2019d love for there to be no stigma attached to ordering sex toys, society just isn\u2019t there yet. People are often terrified that their package is going to have \u201cDILDO\u201d across the top of it. Make sure that the shop indicates that they provide discreet shipping and discreet credit card purchases. It should really clearly indicate how the charge will appear on your credit card.<\/p>\n
Bonus: Contact for Help<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not sure about an individual product or if you\u2019re not sure about the site itself, then you can always send an e-mail to them. If you get a timely reply, that\u2019s a good sign. If you get a timely reply with helpful information, that\u2019s an even better sign. If a company has gone through the process of choosing safe products, then they will know the answer to your question or they will try to find it out for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The first time I walked into a sex shop, I felt a bit overwhelmed. I had no idea there would be so many different options available that were focused around pleasure. All I had wanted was a simple vibrator, and I walked away with a battery-operated pink vibrator, a realist toxic penis and some lube […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none"},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acoupleofkinks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acoupleofkinks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acoupleofkinks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acoupleofkinks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acoupleofkinks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/acoupleofkinks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173,"href":"https:\/\/acoupleofkinks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170\/revisions\/173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acoupleofkinks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acoupleofkinks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acoupleofkinks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}