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RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 2/16/2009 7:00:26 AM

MistressMiracle

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Hi. Good luck to you in your new store. I prefer DOC JOHNSON lube. It feels like the real thing, and does not get sticky. Some really nice massage oils would be great. I did get a Kama Sutra one - almond oil scent. I don't care for the "incense" types of smells that are usually associated with Kama Sutra, and when I smell incense when i walk in the door..I leave. Reminds me of a low quality store.

Where I live, most adult stores carry very little in bondage, and what they carry is very poor quality. Thank you, and wish you great success.

(in reply to SmokingGoddess)

RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 2/16/2009 7:09:26 AM

LadyAnnabelleLee

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quote:

ORIGINAL: T1981
Agreed. A nice selection of vibrators (insertable and otherwise) also always makes for a nice toy shop. My husband and I prefer WETT for our lube.

Are you catering specifically to the BDSM crowd or more of a general store? That may make a big difference in what you stock.

Wett is amazing lube, especially because its WATER based. Also I love durex condoms. They're great, my hubby and I adore the sensithin ones. What else? As others mentioned QUALITY BDSM toys.

I think some books (STRSMTT -Screw the Roses, Send me the thorns; etc) would be interesting.

Hrm. Good luck in your endeavors!

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(in reply to T1981)

RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 2/16/2009 7:18:57 AM

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Random thoughts:

Don't rely too heavily on BDSM, we are a tiny minority of the general population. The exception is if there is little to no coverage in your area currently, and even then, you'd do better if you already have a presence in the local scene. I know around here (MA) that a business venture perceived as profiteering will be frowned upon by your most important clientele.

Running with one of Termyn8tor's suggestions, what about a DIY section? Look up or design some basic blueprints/instructions for key bondage furniture, have your local lumberyard cut up some beams and/or boards to length, and sell the bundle with hardware, wood and plans. Would take little floor space, and you could work in a decent margin comparing your kits to pre-built furniture. Kind of a kinky Ikea.

Avoid phthalates. There is a growing body of distubing evidence that the cheap insertables containing phthalates could have major health risks. Use your concern for your customers to set yourself apart from your competetors.

My favorite lube? Hands down, (no pun intended): J-Lube. It is a veterinary obstetric lube, sold in powder form. Extrodinarilly slippery and long lasting, yet it cleans up completely and easily. The bad news (for a dealer)? The cost per use is spectacularly small. I bought a $14 or so bottle two or three years ago, I might be 1/3 way through it.

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RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 2/20/2009 3:05:32 AM

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Everyone is giving really good ideas.

Look into the effects colors have on people, and paint the walls. While the store should be clean, it shouldn't be bland either.

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RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 2/21/2009 9:40:28 PM

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I am going to echo what people have said, keep the store clean with good lighting, and organize it. As for what to stock, you might want to consider putting up customer seeking type form. And having batteries on site is very cool. went to one shop that had them behind the till and offered them to go with your gear, in the amount of batteries you need.

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RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 2/22/2009 9:54:25 PM

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something that would be nice to see, fairly cheap to stock and would probably get some nice impulse buys is a few different types of rope. like hemp and nylon and different sizes and braided or twisted. especially if you put out a few pamphlets with some knot instructions and safety tips. (eg don't use slipknots because they can cutoff circulation, don't tie stuff around the neck, etc.) plus, people can buy a lot of rope, a few harness designs i've seen use 40-50 feet, so even a small markup can mean a difference, especially if they buy several types of rope.
of course, a bunch of people would pick up rope because they want the instructional pamphlets and would feel guilty about getting rope elswhere, and a bunch more would probably get a length that's too short and have to come back and buy more and think "well i'm here anyway..."

but yeah, i'd like to see some rope. It's also nice for giveaways, especially if you give away just enough to be useful but too short to be really fun (1-3 feet or so). It's well under a dollor a foot, and i'm sure it's a bit cheaper in bulk. and I haven't seen it in a sex shop before, and i'd like to because it's fun and useful.

(in reply to oddity83)

RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 2/22/2009 10:11:09 PM

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I'll echo a lot already, just to reinforce: clean, brightly [not fluorescently] lit store, with quality unembarrassable sales assistants and no porn room. Favourite lube: astroglide [in the pump bottle, please]. I love different condoms: pouchs, studs, flavours, colours, and massage oils.

In addition:
Be sure to stock plus size Dommely gear and even average-sized male subbie gear [there's an OK store nearby, but they don't carry hot costumes for manly men: f'r instance, all the latex female nurses uniforms you could ever need, but no male hoods or silk boxers, let alone a Roman soldier uniform for the Empress and the Centurion game: sheesh!], so they lose a lot of $ from us.
You should also stock a selection of restraints, blindfolds, strap-on harnesses and strap-on dildos: I have to rely on mail-order for those, too.

We all love a bargain, so consider a 'Frequent Flyer' 10% discount card. Be sure to have a good, functioning descriptive website. And I'd *love* a bondage furniture workshop.

Good luck!

(in reply to mrevilthoughts)

RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 3/3/2009 1:28:00 PM

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So...taking all the comments into consideration...what are the thoughts on ordering Quality BDSM toys, shoes and other items online from a web store?

(in reply to HeyTrucker)

RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 3/4/2009 11:28:27 PM

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i agree with the hiring females comment ... i always feel more at ease around them especially when in an adult shop

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RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 3/4/2009 11:47:47 PM

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My favorite shop is A Woman's Touch. They started in Madison, WI. Then became on-line as well. Now they have a second store in Milwaukee, WI. They have bright lights, great organization, samples of all lubes, condoms, vibrators, dildos, personal reviews of new products, novely items well out of view but easily available, good sizes for women, educational fun classes, informational pamphlets, monthly newspapers, limited but well-chosen videos, pre-dominately female staff, ... There are some things they don't have like quality leather wear, shoes, well-made BDSM toys, etc. But they are tailored to their market and are successful. They have forced other stores in town to improve themselves to be competitive. Because I know their quality first-hand, I love recommending them to on-line customers.

< Message edited by BitchGoddessD -- 3/4/2009 11:49:45 PM >

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RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 3/5/2009 12:02:59 AM

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If you are going to carry clothing carry sizes that are realistic, I am on the smaller side (size 6) and even then I often have to buy things in large. The main issue with bying things in a large is that it seems the think if you need a large you have large breasts, so I often have to pass on a purchase i would like to make.
Most of the woman I know are around a size 10 and up and find it near impossible to buy the sexy stuff they sell at most Adult stores. Here in the Seattle area the stores that carry quality clothing in real woman sizes makes sells on other things. It seems that most of those shopping for toys like to buy their girls something sexy to wear with the new toy.

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RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 4/10/2009 1:31:24 PM

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Just a quick thanks to all who have replied to this post and I will reply to all who took time to write their thoughts on this.

(in reply to MistressMiracle)

RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 4/10/2009 1:56:44 PM

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Dunno if anyone mentioned this, but pay attention to parking. If it's shoved in the back, with minimal lighting, people aren't going to feel as comfy.

~Astroglide's my favorite.
~Keep the porn and toys separate.
~A good book section would be awesome, with stories and guides.
~And please please don't invest in cheap, fake leather, in whips or restraints. Perhaps get in touch with some local artisans and see about working something out.
~Don't have a ton of costumes and such, with nowhere to try them on.
~Sections with some smell goods, candles and incense are nice. Edited to add having incense doesn't mean burning them constantly.

~Keep the stock of vibrators in a good range of sizes...some very small for the horny virgins and some huge for the braver folks.
~Clean, clean, CLEAN!

< Message edited by DefiantFlower -- 4/10/2009 2:03:52 PM >

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RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 4/14/2009 7:39:37 AM

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I know it's kind of an old thread but since you commented the other day I guess your still looking for input. Either way here's our two cents. I'd expect what you need to stock to vary greatly based on your clientèle. In Japan the shops I went to had a lot of outfits, in San Francisco a lot of bdsm gear and in Amsterdam there were dildos the size of two liter bottles to draw in the tourists. Another poster talked about not rely too heavily on the bdsm community, while it may be true that we are a smaller group I think we also spend a lot more money on gear than our vanilla counterparts. Like I said I think it has everything to do with your target clientèle. My sub and I agree that a clean, professional and approachable staff and shop are a must. As far as individual products unless your in an area with a very active kinky community high end equipment such as five hundred dollar estim boxes thousand dollar cages etc. may not be the best bet. It saddens me to say this but that probably includes nice floggers, it seems like more shops sell meh $50 floggers than nice $150 dollar floggers, I suspect there's a reason for that. While it would be really nice to have a place stocked in quality floggers, restraints and other bdsm and fetish gear, you may sell more stocking some mid to low quality for the newbs. We use eros water based lube and recommend toy/condom safe silicon based lubes. She's a fan of flavored condoms. We also agree on NOT stocking the jelly type dongs/dildos or any thing with phthalates. My sub commented on being aggravated by the lack of quality slim insertables when she was still a virgin. Last but not least our favorite vibrator is the hitachi, not only is it the best, it's less expensive than a lot of vastly inferior vibs.

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RE: New Owner Of An Adult Novelty Store Needs To Know - 4/14/2009 7:46:26 AM

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Doh, just looked at your profile to see if your store was anywhere near us and noticed that you had to shut down. If an adult toy store can't make it in Vegas the economy must be worse than I thought.

(in reply to GotSteel)

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