You don’t shop with authorized resellers
Are you buying sex toys on Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, or another one of these huge e-commerce sites?
Bad idea.
While there are legit stores on Amazon, there are also a lot of cheap sex toys made from nasty materials, as well as hundreds of counterfeit fake sex toys made by imitation sellers and cheap factories.
There’s only so much these huge e-commerce sites can do to regulate their sellers, so while some genuine sex toy companies like We-Vibe sell their toys on Amazon, it’s easy to get caught out by a fake.
It’s best to visit the manufacturer’s website directly, such as We-Vibe.com or Womanizer.com. Another possibility: use a trusted sex toy retailer like LoveHoney or SheVibe.
Your anal toys aren’t anal-safe
Anal play is fun and all, but you need to make sure a toy is suitable if you plan on putting it inside you.
This means that it MUST have a flared base!
A flared base means that the bottom of the toy flares out so that the toy can’t accidentally slip inside completely. It might be a dildo with a large pair of attached testicles, or it could just simply be a large round base on the bottom of a butt plug.
But can’t you just push the toy back out?
Anal cavities do not have the same muscles as vaginas – you will not be able to push out a sex toy if it slips inside you. In fact, you’ll probably end up going to the ER.
On this note, do not switch a sex toy between the vagina and anus without cleaning it or using protection in between!
You don’t clean your sex toys properly (or enough!)
I know so many people who don’t clean their sex toys after using them – they just put them straight back in the drawer and forget about them for a few days, giving the bacteria plenty of time to fester.
Urgh.
Be sure to clean your sex toys after and before using them! If not, you risk yeast infections, UTIs, and all sorts of nasty business.
Most sex toys can be cleaned with warm water and antibacterial soap, though some toys have specific cleaning instructions.
Some toys, like those made from glass and stainless steel, can be bleached or boiled to fully sanitize them from germs.
The Sex Toy Collective’s sex toy cleaning guide has more information.
You don’t check the customer reviews
Of course sex toy companies are going to say that their product is the best pleasure device on the face on the earth. Their job is to sell you stuff.
But what do the consumers say?
Sex toy retailers like LoveHoney feature detailed customer reviews on all of their products, with each customer giving you their personal pros and cons for each toy, as well as background information about their gender, age, and sexuality.
If in doubt, check these unbiased customer reviews and look for people who are similar to you.
Also, don’t forget that dodgy companies often pay customers to write good reviews on Amazon – if a toy looks cheap and has a badly-written product description but a ton of generic 5-star reviews, it could be a sign that something’s wrong.
You don’t buy the right size
Most of the time, sex toys are a one-size-fits-all kind of deal.
But what if they’re just not the right fit for you?
Many of us make the mistake of thinking “bigger = better” without stopping to consider how comfortable we are. Sometimes a bigger toy will just be straight-up painful while a smaller toy would hit the spot perfectly.
You also need to consider your body shape and how big you are naturally. If you’re a petite, small-framed woman, you don’t need the same sized dildo as a broad 6-foot-2 man.
Don’t buy big – buy comfortable!
You don’t know your body
On a similar note, you need to know what your body wants when buying a sex toy.
If you have a vulva, do you prefer clitoral stimulation or internal stimulation? Do you shake at the knees when a toy hits your G-spot or do you prefer to focus on external vibrations? Don’t just get a rabbit vibe because everyone says you should – figure out what you like first.
If you have a penis, do you prefer cock vibrators or stroker toys? Do you like massaging your prostate or do you prefer a good anal play?
The more you know about your body’s preferences, the better you can shop for sex toys!
You’re focused on the orgasm, not the journey
Of course we all want to have good orgasms. That’s kind of the point. And yes, a sex toy should be able to make you cum, but there’s no need to rush things so quickly!
A decent vibrator can make the journey just as pleasurable as the destination!
For example, a well-sized rabbit vibrator’s blend of G-spot and clitoral pleasure can make your journey to orgasm very fun and intense, and the more intense the journey, the more intense the orgasm will usually be.