Let's dispell the myth that cheap toys are "good for beginners."

Contributor: Madeira Madeira
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
On more than a couple of reviews (here and on other sites) a few reviewers seem to not like a toy, usually due to cheap materials, only surface, buzzy, or less than intense vibrations and/or poor workmanship and some claim, "It would be good for ... more
I feel the same way, a decent toy is mandatory for your first vibe. Admittedly my first vibe was cheap crap and it worked for me, but there are definitely toys that would have given me a better start in terms of experience
10/12/2010
Contributor: Heartthrob Heartthrob
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
On more than a couple of reviews (here and on other sites) a few reviewers seem to not like a toy, usually due to cheap materials, only surface, buzzy, or less than intense vibrations and/or poor workmanship and some claim, "It would be good for ... more
I agree with you. Being a beginner does not mean using a lower standard toy. Being frugal with sex toys, maybe, but not a beginner. For myself, I look at the intimidation factor of a toy in deciding whether or not it would be good for beginners or more advanced users.
10/12/2010
Contributor: Midway through Midway through
I've seen it a lot too, and am, in fact, guilty of it myself a couple times. I guess I haven't really thought about it, but I promote sexual education around all my friends, so I never run into the "well I hate vibrators" which translated to "I had cheap ones" most of my friends have bought stuff from EF that I recommended.
10/12/2010
Contributor: ScottA ScottA
Good for beginners = good quality, safe materials, not too intense stimulation, good value. Generally this means that you will be spending some money ($25-40), but you'll get a toy that will work well for you and won't have many (or any) adverse effects.
10/12/2010
Contributor: Love Buzz Love Buzz
I recently reviewed a toy that truly didn't meet my personal preferences at this stage in my life, but highly recommended it for beginners, I wished I could have gotten my hands on a vibrator like this before I became a size queen/buzz junkie!

I think that for the beginners who are reading our reviews it is best to both steer them toward and educate them about body safe materials. Something I didn't even consider until I joined EF.

So many great points made in this thread, Ill certainly be refering back to it in the future.
10/13/2010
Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
Quote:
Originally posted by Owl Identified
Oh! And in terms of durability, I think that's debatable.

To me? I almost think it's better to suggest a cheap plastic bullet for a beginner because if they try it and hate it they didn't waste a lot of money and, hey, they ... more
I agree. You can get decent toys without breaking the bank but it may not be a toy you keep forever... but, as someone who isn't rich, that's how I view everything. My first furniture did the trick for no more than five years, etc.
10/13/2010
Contributor: ToyGeek ToyGeek
I think it would be worthwhile to write up a good article about choosing a first vibrator, and address some of the issues brought up in this thread. That sort of thing belongs on Eden's front page, and the introduction to vibrators article that is in place takes the wrong approach, in my opinion. Not a single example shown in that article is something I'd recommend to a newbie -- when I first wandered around the Internet in search of a toy, I would have pounced on something classy and understated. Sorry, but the Rabbit Habit, and those jelly toys, and the tongue? Not classy and understated. And the Rock Chic still scares me.

I'd suggest a flowchart as part of the article, one that simplified the major decisions, took advantage of whatever the user already knew of her own body, and focused her attention on the most likely toys.

Whoever writes it needs to come at it as if they're trying to help a somewhat shy friend improve her sex life, rather from either a sales angle or from the assumption that the reader is in a sex positive stage in their life. The bold and confident types will do their homework, and ask their friends. It's the timid and embarrassed people like me who are likely to duck into Spenser's in a wig and dark glasses and snatch the first piece of novelty crap they spot under a blacklight.

As for what I personally require to call a toy a beginner toy? Something quiet is far more important than something cheap. If it's noisy, you're going to be too distracted worrying about who can hear the dang thing to enjoy it, and therefore it will not work. Nor will it get multiple chances at the task, because when something fails to work and trying to make it work is stressful, trying again becomes something less than a priority.

And there's my two cents. Plus my tennis racket analogy from the other day -- if playing tennis makes your wrist hurt, you stop playing tennis before you learn that the cheap, heavy racket with the poor design hurt your wrist, so you'll never know the joy of using a lightweight racket that doesn't send jarring vibrations up to your shoulder every time you hit the ball. Of course, since you quit tennis, everyone says it's a good thing you only spent $15 on the racket, but if you'd spent a $100, your arm would be fine and that might have been your sport for life.
10/16/2010
Contributor: Kindred Kindred
Quote:
Originally posted by ToyGeek
I think it would be worthwhile to write up a good article about choosing a first vibrator, and address some of the issues brought up in this thread. That sort of thing belongs on Eden's front page, and the introduction to vibrators article that ... more
I completely agree. I recently got my first vibrator and believe me it was no easy task. The options out there are endless. As a total vibrator newbie, I wasn't even sure how each category was used. The buying guide has some helpful information, but I would also recommend the guides be more prominent. I had read them previously, but to be honest when I actually went to select one, I totally forgot to refer back to it. It would be helpful if the guides were linked again on the product pages to remind people that they are available as a resource.
10/16/2010
Contributor: cherryredhead88 cherryredhead88
Quote:
Originally posted by Liz2
I agree here. My first toy was on a whim, it wasn't great but certainly peaked my interest. I think women would be put off if the entry into the sex toy world was $100 or so.
Yes, I have had some useless toys but even so they were part of my ... more
some of the stand alone stores sell so much junk at exorbitant prices.


EXACTLY! I bought a Waterproof Jack Rabbit from one of these stores. The clerk was no help at all when it came to finding one. I was on my own. They had most of the poorly made toys there. And they were all expensive. I had no clue what I wanted in a vibrator. I got that one, it was too big and bulky, the nubs hurt, and it broke after like a week or something. So I gave up hope for quite a while. Luckily I found this place. Whew. If I would have known then what I know now, I would have gone with something different.

But I think a good beginner's toy is going to depend on who the beginner is as well.
10/16/2010
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by ToyGeek
I think it would be worthwhile to write up a good article about choosing a first vibrator, and address some of the issues brought up in this thread. That sort of thing belongs on Eden's front page, and the introduction to vibrators article that ... more
Very very good points.

You are giving me some good ideas.
10/16/2010
Contributor: Carrie Ann Carrie Ann
Quote:
Originally posted by ToyGeek
I think it would be worthwhile to write up a good article about choosing a first vibrator, and address some of the issues brought up in this thread. That sort of thing belongs on Eden's front page, and the introduction to vibrators article that ... more
The issue with this is...

We're a community of reviewers and sexually open people who "know our stuff".

Our customers really LIKE the Rabbit Habbit and lipstick vibes. Much as I may dislike it and recommend against it, companies couldn't stay in business if millions of people weren't buying those toys most of us deem inferior.

My first vibes and dildos were jelly and rubber with a few plastics tossed in for variety. I loved them. I had no issues with them. Maybe I got lucky but companies like Cal Ex, Topco, Doc Johnson and Pipedream have been selling the hell out of that stuff for a long time and women have, as a rule, loved most of it. Each of those companies has also taken great strides to improve a lot of their older toys and make newer ones more safe - replacing jelly with elastomer, tpr and tpe and coming out with silicone lines.

Some people, a LOT of people, really like the way jelly - and jelly-like - materials feel. Silicone can never replicate that.

And, though it may seem odd, wanting classy and understated is actually the exception, not the rule. We see it even in new reviewers - once someone decides to actually get a vibrator, they rarely choose a cute little pocket rocket. They go for something like the Monkey

I agree that our guides need an update and that we should recommend things that are as reliable, discreet and of good quality as we can but, after countless hours doing live help, I also realize that a lot of folks plain old don't want those suggestions.

They want the Rabbit Habbit.
10/16/2010
Contributor: ToyGeek ToyGeek
Quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Ann
The issue with this is...

We're a community of reviewers and sexually open people who "know our stuff".

Our customers really LIKE the Rabbit Habbit and lipstick vibes. Much as I may dislike it and recommend against it, ... more
Sorry to be so ranty in the wee hours, and I was neglecting to remember that the Rabbit Habit is famous for a reason. However, looking at that page as a newbie reinforces the preconception that sex toys are tacky and dirty, because all of the products pictured on that particular page fit that stereotype. There's a scene in Secret Diaries of a London Call Girl where all of Belle's alleged tools-of-the-trade spill all over the floor in front of a relative, and that's the sort of image that sticks in the minds of non-sex-positive people.

Now, when you first load Eden's front page, there are generally classy looking toys there, and I think that is a very helpful first impression. The article I'm envisioning doesn't warn against jelly as the ultimate evil (sorry if I came off snobby), but rather steers the reader through the options in way that makes sure that regardless of her first choice, she's aware that there is variety, that not all toys are created equal, and that individual bodies are different. I feel she should come away from the experience willing to make future purchases.

What this thread made me think about is those women who try one crappy toy their entire life, never buy a second one, and miss out. Or the women who panic in the face of the "dirty" website and never try anything at all. So the half-formed article in my head would be for them, because there but for the grace of fanfiction go I.
10/16/2010
Contributor: Owl Identified Owl Identified
Quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Ann
The issue with this is...

We're a community of reviewers and sexually open people who "know our stuff".

Our customers really LIKE the Rabbit Habbit and lipstick vibes. Much as I may dislike it and recommend against it, ... more
The thing is I see NO problem with wanting those toys, whether you're a beginner or not. I fucking LOVE my cheap plastic bullets, no matter how buzzy and loud and prone to falling apart and draining batteries they are. I've been loving them for years and nothing is going to tear us apart. There's nothing wrong with a jelly rabbit AS LONG as people know the potential risks that go along with jelly, not least of which including breeding bacteria and possibly having carcinogenic materials in them. But even still, throw a condom on that bad boy and go do your thing. I totally hear you on this, Carrie Ann. Do I wish everyone loved really safe stuff that wouldn't possibly leech cadmium into their bodies? Yes. But do they? No, and that's their business.
10/16/2010
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Ann
The issue with this is...

We're a community of reviewers and sexually open people who "know our stuff".

Our customers really LIKE the Rabbit Habbit and lipstick vibes. Much as I may dislike it and recommend against it, ... more
I think it is kind of like how a minority of people crave, write about, talk about and eat gourmet foods and fine wines and the rest of the population east McDonalds and wine from a box.



Micky D's isn't going to go out of business because people are Gourmet Magazine are liking high quality foods. I have learned in my life that most people tend to buy 1)what they have heard about from others 2)what they can get away with spending the least amount of money on 3)It's easily available. Often high quality doesn't enter into it.

The Rabbit Habbit has been on TV, it's not that expensive, people have heard about it, and it obviously works (as McDs fills you up) so people will continue to buy it. That and flavored, glycerin filled lube from Spencer's. There's nothing wrong with that, if this stuff works for you, but I think a lot of reviewer strive for the Quality, if possible.
10/16/2010
Contributor: ToyGeek ToyGeek
Quote:
Originally posted by Owl Identified
The thing is I see NO problem with wanting those toys, whether you're a beginner or not. I fucking LOVE my cheap plastic bullets, no matter how buzzy and loud and prone to falling apart and draining batteries they are. I've been loving them ... more
I agree with you. People smoke and eat chemical crap, so how are jelly toys any worse? My point upthread is something else, which I think I can only express properly if I actually make the flowchart in my head. I don't care how much cheap crap the general population buys, really, so much as I care about coddling the easily scared away types.
10/16/2010
Contributor: ScottA ScottA
TPR is softer than silicone and much safer than jelly, as well as not smelling quite as bad. Sadly it's still difficult to clean.
10/17/2010
Contributor: Annemarie Annemarie
Quote:
Originally posted by Carrie Ann
I agree that far too often I see reviews where a crappy product is touted as great for beginners and just as often wish the reviewer would just say it's crappy instead of encouraging new people to buy shitty toys.

But.

I also think ... more
I tend to use "absolute beginner" for people who have never had sex or used a sex toy, "beginner" for those who are familiar with one, but not both, and then clarify, like, "a beginner to penetration" or "a beginner to toys".
10/19/2010
Contributor: Blinker Blinker
That's a good point, P'Gell, and honestly, I've never thought about it. I've only ever referred to toys as being beginner toys if they're maybe slim-lined (thinner than those meant for people more accustomed to girthier models) or extra easy to control, but to me it's more important to kind of mention experience level or one's "beginnerness" (which is a word now) when reviewing anal toys. It is kind of weird to imagine reviewers recommending shoddy(er?) toys to beginners.
10/19/2010
Contributor: BluePixi BluePixi
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
On more than a couple of reviews (here and on other sites) a few reviewers seem to not like a toy, usually due to cheap materials, only surface, buzzy, or less than intense vibrations and/or poor workmanship and some claim, "It would be good for ... more
thank you, I wish I had found your post sooner. I am going to have to throw away most of my first order because I ended up being allergic to the material I ordered

kudos for speaking out
01/28/2011
Contributor: KnK KnK
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
On more than a couple of reviews (here and on other sites) a few reviewers seem to not like a toy, usually due to cheap materials, only surface, buzzy, or less than intense vibrations and/or poor workmanship and some claim, "It would be good for ... more
Amen! I agree with you. I'm getting better at throwing around the word beginner. I myself when I started writing reviews was still pretty much a beginner even though I've owned sex toys for...I think a year now (and I've only been here 2 months).

Beginner should be used with ideas like un-itimidating, easy to use, easy to clean, easy care and the like, this toy sucks so bad, let's say it's good for a n00b who doesn't know better
01/28/2011
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by BluePixi
thank you, I wish I had found your post sooner. I am going to have to throw away most of my first order because I ended up being allergic to the material I ordered

kudos for speaking out
Thank you.

Here is an article I wrote for EdenCafe about the issue. It contains a lot of good recommendations for "Beginners" along with several definitions of "beginner." (My second toy was a large, "luxury vibe" called the Boss Lady by Fun Factory. I was not a beginner to sex, just to toys. Most people wouldn't think of a very long, large circumference toy as "a beginner toy" but as I wasn't new to sex, it was just exactly what I needed.)

Anyway, Carrie Ann did a great job with the pictures and Tumblers of the toys, so you can view each one.

article on "Beginner" toys
01/28/2011
Contributor: BluePixi BluePixi
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
Thank you.Here is an article I wrote for EdenCafe about the issue. It contains a lot of good recommendations for "Beginners" along with several definitions of "beginner." (My second toy was a large, "luxury vibe" called ... more
thank you for the link, it was reassuring to know that I seem to be on the right track.

Not to be greedy but would you happen to know if anyone has written a similar article on lube? I picked the stuff that claimed to be safest and water based so it shouldn't mess with me or the silicone toys I bought but it would be very nice to see a comprehensive article rather than bits and pieces through reviews and articles on other topics.

I finally found an article on lube safety, which is what I really wanted. But it only turned up in a search for "parabens"
01/28/2011
Contributor: Mirachaya Mirachaya
Inexpensive toys of decent quality and material safety that may not hold up for a long time can be good for beginners exploring what they like. Also when it comes to BDSM stuff when I say its good for beginner's I usually mean non-threatening and good to work up to more involved toys. I personally recommended some small safe toys and a variety of things to a friend recently, trying to keep the cost down so they could explore a bit.
07/28/2012
Contributor: AHubbyof2SexualMinds AHubbyof2SexualMinds
Like others have said when I am doing a review and say it would be good for beginners I mean that is easy to use. Cheap materials in our first toys turned my wife off at first and it was only when we got to better materials that she really got into them, so I am always sensitive when doing a review.
07/28/2012
Contributor: SexyStuff SexyStuff
I think some things are good for beginners when they are a good product, but inexpensive. We love bullets, but not vibrators. So glad we tried out inexpensive toys to find out where we should really invest.
But I see your point about some reviews.
07/28/2012
Contributor: Experiment Experiment
I get why people might think a cheap toy would be good for a beginner. Because if you invest $70 in a rabbit only to realize you prefer massagers, that would suck. But telling them to buy some crappy $13 thing that makes more noise than vibrations is actually worse. Because, like you said, an experienced toy user will just toss it to the side and think: "WELL, that was a waste of $13"

But an inexperienced toy user won't know any better and will either think that there is something wrong with them or will continue to try and make the toy work for them.

The first vibe I ever bought was crap, and it took me months to realize it. I'm so glad I've discovered EF since then!
08/01/2012