Dildo Or Dildon’t #5: Good Vibrations the Sex Emporium

One of our lovely editors here at Popcorn.dating recommended a new-to-me sex toy emporium to check out - and, ever dutiful, I was only too happy to give it a whirl.

“The premiere sex positive toy company in the U.S”?

Good Vibrations have a clear, commendable ethos  that they’re keen to tell us all about - and with good reason. Their mission statement goes thusly:

Quote

“Good Vibrations is a diverse, sex positive retailer providing high-quality products and non-judgmental, accurate sex information through our clean and comfortable stores, web site, wholesale division, and product lines in order to enhance our customers’ sex lives and promote healthy attitudes about sex.”

This is, I’ll admit, pretty similar to what I’m trying to do with Ask Abi. We’re here to make sex open, honest, welcoming and fun. A retailer’s mission statement is only worth the effort they put into living up to it, though - so what’s on offer at Good Vibrations?

#pleasureisyourbirthright

As ever, I’ve put together a quick list of some of the greatest hits you’ll find on their site - and a few things you might want to look at twice.

Safety First!

Good Vibrations are big on safety, with advice about which lubes to use for which purposes right there on the sales pages and several whole categories of anal-safe products - including dildos, vibrators and safer sex supplies. They also have decent selections of condoms and dental dams - which is especially good given how hard it can be to get hold of the latter.

Get your hens in a row.
They have two categories of hen night stuff but very little of it is abject bullshit, which is frankly a fucking miracle.

Reading is FUCKING Sexy!
They’re actually a credible online sex book shop, and there aren’t many of those to be found these days. Their collection of filmed porn is also really varied and interesting, showcasing some non-mainstream stuff that looks great.

GV VS. SV
They’re clearly in direct competition with SheVibe, but - while I love SV dearly - Good Vibrations are definitely better about variety in gender and sexuality. Have a look at their specialised categories recommending specific products to lesbians, AFAB transmen and gay men.

Sex -especially sex education- is for everyone!
In general, they’ve done an amazing job of putting together collections and categories that most shops in this niche never think of. They have pages of specific recommendations for fat-positive sex, people with disabilities, sex at an older age, and - most interestingly and uniquely of all, I think - a list of sex education books aimed at children.

The Ask Abi Seal of Approval

Nothing is ever perfect, of course. I’m not a fan of the Good Vibrations website itself. Really; it’s difficult to browse, not particularly attractive and frankly a bit dated. It certainly doesn’t have the instant visual appeal of SheVibe’s site, or the kind of coded recognition you’ll get from somewhere like LoveHoney. There’s also something a little bit po-faced about the whole affair; they’re getting some difficult things a lot more right than most of their competitors, but there’s very little fun or quirk to it.

If I had my own sex shop...

In the mythical universe where I somehow end up running a sex toy shop of my very own, I’d like it to be a blend of the two: all the irreverent quirkiness of SheVibe mixed in with the sound ethics of Good Vibrations. One day, maybe. In the meantime I shall give GV four and a half out of five stars, and go back to idly choosing my next purchase.

Abi Brown is a freelance writer and general pen-for-hire devoted to sexual deviancy, far-left politics and wearing too much jewellery. Find her at her website or @see_abi_write.