I love the idea of sex toy parties, they’re great avenues to loosen up and enjoy yourself, bond with friends, get answers to questions you were afraid to ask and explore sexuality.
The party I went to was pretty fun with some people I knew and some people I didn’t. The consultant knew more than I expected her to know about the products. For instance, she mentioned not storing jelly toys together because they could melt together and had an example of a toy which had been stored close to another one. While this was really helpful to sex toy beginners, and she even mentioned some things I didn’t know, more definitely could have been said about materials in terms of health and safety. Of course, how educational the party will be depends full on how educated the consultant is. Your party experience will definitely vary.
Of course, these parties are not all about fun and games. They’re about money and you will constantly feel the pressure to buy in the back of your mind. The more money you spend, the better prize your friend, the host, will earn and the more the consultant will pocket, like any at-home party sales scheme.
Also, like many of those companies, the prices supported by sex toy parties are simply outrageous. The markup is anywhere from 10% – 90% compared to the exact same products, which can be purchased online or in stores that also have a larger variety.
I also find these catalogs lacking in variety. Many of the toys are low-end, from no-name manufacturers. I’m not a die-hard brand lover by any means, but I do appreciate being able to see some of the brands with which I am familiar and also brands that I know are high-quality.
You won’t likely see some of the newer, quality toys in the catalogs pushed on you at sex toy parties. Fun Factory toys and VixSkin dildos won’t be found at a sex toy party. Rechargeable toys won’t have their own page, and BDSM toys won’t be the kind to stand the test of time. More parties are starting to realize the worth of high-quality materials like premium silicone, metal, or glass, but I don’t recall seeing any toy made of those items at the party I attended.
Even when parties do carry more high quality items, the prices for inferior products are not good for your wallet. An investment of that measure and you want to ensure you’re getting quality products, a good value. Sex toy parties, more often than not, do not provide this value.
But should we boycott the parties? Not at all. They’re fun and offer opportunities to learn and shop that may not be found elsewhere. But before signing a check, it’s advisable to surf around online to see if you’re really getting a bargain or if you’re being taken.
