A while ago, I noticed a few “daily deals” sites cropping up, dealing in sex toys. As a toy enthusiast and a marketing lover, I was thrilled with the idea – I’m all about Groupon, so why not extend that concept into something I can use for naughty fun time? Sadly, I watched as the industry’s embrace of the act-now-buy model seemed to sputter and evade liftoff.
Now, the quaint notion of the x-of-the-month club is the new black, and if my newest wave of twitter followers is any indication, there are a lot of startups hopping the bandwagon on this one. The idea is this – customer orders a plan from the company, in some cases specifying demographics like partner preferences and fetish-y loves, and then a box o toys gets delivered to them each month.
The issue I have is this – what if you don’t like it? A body is a tricky thing to match up with toys to begin with, and letting a company that likely has little more than a short survey to go on make that decision seems potentially disastrous. “Of the month” clubs aren’t known for being particularly affordable, which makes this possibility all the more concerning. In the interests of full disclosure, I’ve never joined up with one of these programs, but these are the reasons that I likely wouldn’t to begin with.
I have an issue with companies that re-package toys, as well. There’s a certain religious site that removes toys from their packaging and puts them in generic boxes instead, thus avoiding the apparently sinful appearance of cleavage wrapped around that jelly tube you’re preparing to shove your dick into until you cum. It feels disingenuous – if sex toy packaging is really so powerful a tool in old bandylegs’ arsenal, why not add glitter to liquor and call it “magic fuzzy juice” while you’re at it? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m pleased that toys are making it into the bedrooms of folks that would otherwise be compelled to avoid them, it’s more annoyance that this particular tactic is necessary in the first place.
In some ways, depending on how bitchy I feel that day in my head, I’m even inclined to believe this sort of behavior is reinforcing the idea that sex toys are bad. I have a fellow blogger bud who tangled with porn and marriage impact in the past, and I know that having it around makes her uncomfortable at best. I wouldn’t deprive her of this option, but I feel that her situation is unique enough that she’s not the one they’re targeting. Sometimes it feels like these companies are cashing in on the (wrongfully!) shameful overtones and furtive shopping of faithful men and ladies that just want to add a little nitrous boost to their sex lives.
What do you think, dear readers? I’m curious if I’m the only one that subscribes to this particular line of thinking.
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