#AskEden - Question about inventory re:community/customers

Contributor: Woman China Woman China
Fred said this in his recent forum post to us:
4. Inventory levels are being analyzed. One of the problems is that what Community wants to have is substantially different from what customers purchase. This is why some of the products are brought in in small quantities and some have plentiful stock.

Bloody hell. My computer hates me. That was the third time I tried to change that post and my computer wigged out. First was hitting enter posted this thread. Second? I tried to hit back space to fix a mistake and I was taken back to the Forum page. Next? I have no idea what button I pressed to close down the tab.

Grrr!

Ok. Sorry if this is an abrupt question, I don't want to loose it again!!!

I am wondering, when things settle down, can EF tell us what are some of the differences that customers want compared to the community? I do realise that it is really none of my business, I am just curious to see the differences!!!

Merci buttocks!
05/21/2013
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Contributor: surreptitious surreptitious
I would be interested to know this as well, if for no other reason that perhaps people won't make dozens of posts requesting things that it doesn't make financial sense to stock in the EdenShouldCarry thread. As much as we'd like to be able to buy everything from EF, if there are things that just aren't as popular as we think they are, I think that it would be great to have a list (even if it were unofficial and/or temporary). I know that there are a few things that EF will not carry for various reasons, but the exchange referenced by Woman China made me think that there must be a lot more. I know that when I make a post in the ESC threads (ha, "escape"), I put a lot of thought into what I request and spend a great deal of time researching pictures and picking out good examples to give the product specialists something to work with. It would be nice to know whether I should be looking at different requests to make because the ones that I'm making aren't good.
05/21/2013
Contributor: Ryuson Ryuson
I think that the community tends to consist of more advanced users. The average sex shop in my town probably only would sell one or two Elevens a year, but on Eden they sell out the day that they get more stock!

Similarly, the community isn't a huge fan of 'dollar store' bullets and glycerin-lube, but the average person looking to get some sex toys online probably is less picky. Is this a good thing? I really don't know, but I think that trends like those are what Fred was talking about in terms of 'community VS the average customer.'
05/21/2013
Contributor: Mwar Mwar
I don't mean to sound pretentious when I say that I think the average customer is less informed on safe materials/functionalit y and quality of sex toys. Thus jelly toys are more popular in real life than the community thinks, etc.
05/21/2013
Contributor: Zombirella Zombirella
Quote:
Originally posted by Mwar
I don't mean to sound pretentious when I say that I think the average customer is less informed on safe materials/functionalit y and quality of sex toys. Thus jelly toys are more popular in real life than the community thinks, etc.
I agree, before I came here I had NO idea about anything, which it's a good thing that the only product I purchased was a plastic bullet. Knowing what I found out here, I would've been upset if I got a lot of jelly things considering they can't ever really be truly clean. Yuck.
05/21/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
The community tends to try anything and everything that comes in (which is awesome) but customers tend to buy the higher end, more elegant vibrators because these are the ones in the mainstream right now. So suggestions for realistic dildos probably won't be honored and the more extreme BDSM stuff won't be honored as it doesn't seem to do very well outside of our community.
05/22/2013
Contributor: Trysexual Trysexual
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
The community tends to try anything and everything that comes in (which is awesome) but customers tend to buy the higher end, more elegant vibrators because these are the ones in the mainstream right now. So suggestions for realistic dildos probably ... more
That's interesting..I would have guessed the opposite of your first sentence.
05/22/2013
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
Quote:
Originally posted by Trysexual
That's interesting..I would have guessed the opposite of your first sentence.
The community tends to use points to pay for their purchases where true customers use cash...so there has to be a balance between keeping the community happy and still bringing in the cash flow. We NEED the customers just as much as we need a happy community. So keeping an inventory with items appealing to both makes fiscal sense.

We might not get everything we want but we do have a pretty damn good selection here!
05/22/2013
Contributor: KrissyNovacaine KrissyNovacaine
I was curious as well. I am a business owner so customer data is always on my mind. It's interesting that luxury is popular. i kinda hope it stays that way and we start getting better products from companies that make all the cheap stuff.
05/22/2013
Contributor: unfulfilled unfulfilled
I like that thought to Krissy, I prefer luxury toys and would hate to see there were less and less high quality items available.
05/22/2013
Contributor: Woman China Woman China
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
The community tends to try anything and everything that comes in (which is awesome) but customers tend to buy the higher end, more elegant vibrators because these are the ones in the mainstream right now. So suggestions for realistic dildos probably ... more
BOYAH!!!!

This is fantastic news for me!!!

Now just need to be a little more patient till coconut lube is hosted on Oprah or on The View... then it will be in demand!
05/22/2013
Contributor: Woman China Woman China
Quote:
Originally posted by unfulfilled
I like that thought to Krissy, I prefer luxury toys and would hate to see there were less and less high quality items available.
Exactly (hence my BOYAH excitment).

I much prefer the luxury brands and glass because I knew that if I bought quality, it would serve me better.

I guess the media and sex toys is at least doing a good job helping consumers pick safe toys. Wow... who would have ever thought that would be said?
05/22/2013
Contributor: SydneyScreams SydneyScreams
Before I found out about EF, I had very little idea on safety rating of most of the toys I own...granted, I have several toys that I don't use for anything but non-penetration video props, but still. I know I have several jelly dildos in my prop box (my actual toy box is almost all glass and silicone).

I'm always curious about community/fans vs consumers, since in my line of work I have a lot of community/fans requesting things but never buying, whereas things that consumers buy are often completely different.
05/22/2013
Contributor: Fluke Fluke
I don't have any sales data or anything but I see people always recommend fancy expensive vibrators by lelo and such while the best sellers seem to be a lot of the cheap $30 dollar ones.

But I am a bit bewildered on what is the difference between the community and customers, I post and do reviews (rarely) and I buy stuff as well.
05/23/2013
Contributor: sexyscreenname sexyscreenname
edited.
05/23/2013
Contributor: curiousnwilling curiousnwilling
Quote:
Originally posted by KrissyNovacaine
I was curious as well. I am a business owner so customer data is always on my mind. It's interesting that luxury is popular. i kinda hope it stays that way and we start getting better products from companies that make all the cheap stuff.
I think it's already beginning to happen. A friend has a Posh Petite Teaser. It's downright amazing to me that those things came from Cal exotics which I had always associated with cheap plastic vibes
05/24/2013
Contributor: FieryRed FieryRed
Quote:
Originally posted by curiousnwilling
I think it's already beginning to happen. A friend has a Posh Petite Teaser. It's downright amazing to me that those things came from Cal exotics which I had always associated with cheap plastic vibes
I agree! I now own the Lia Encaser silicone vibe from Cal Exotics, and the Slender silicone dildo from Doc Johnson, and they are two of my favorites...whereas I used to turn up my nose at most products from them.
06/05/2013
Contributor: SourAppleMartini SourAppleMartini
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
The community tends to try anything and everything that comes in (which is awesome) but customers tend to buy the higher end, more elegant vibrators because these are the ones in the mainstream right now. So suggestions for realistic dildos probably ... more
I am surprised because I thought it was exactly the opposite. In my mind community members are the the ones into higher end products.It is hard to believe that community members are the ones buying those awful jelly rabbits, despite being informed about potential dangers of unsafe materials. My point is, even no one wants those awful toys than how come there are so many of them on the website? Isn't it more profitable to keep a regular stock of good quality products?
06/12/2013
Contributor: Woman China Woman China
I am always surprised to see the "top toys of (insert year here)" and compare them to what I have bought over the past year and what toys I consider to be "good" toys (I know, HUGE personal opinion here)... and I am always shocked to see what is on the list.
06/12/2013
Contributor: Catan Catan
Quote:
Originally posted by Trysexual
That's interesting..I would have guessed the opposite of your first sentence.
Being very new here, I can offer some perspective. Eden probably gets the customers looking for high-end items because of the high list prices here at Eden. Customers looking for cheap lubes and cheap jelly vibes will quickly find lower prices at other websites and shop there. I almost didn't give Eden Fantasys a second look because the prices seemed ridiculously high compared to the other sites I'd seen first (the multitude of reviews brought me back, and once I discovered the points system, I was hooked.)
People looking for high-end vibes have the money to spend, so they probably shop at Eden Fantasys rather than the cheap sites because of the great product info (safety ratings right on the product page!) and the great, detailed, plentiful reviews. The bigger the purchase, the more important it is to do your research, and Eden is the best site I've seen for that!
For items around $20, people'll buy them on impulse, just based on looks, without needing to read reviews, so Eden doesn't offer the same benefit there.
As far as the community, we get points, so the posted prices don't matter so much. People here'll try anything because they want something to write a review about!
06/12/2013
Contributor: FieryRed FieryRed
Quote:
Originally posted by Catan
Being very new here, I can offer some perspective. Eden probably gets the customers looking for high-end items because of the high list prices here at Eden. Customers looking for cheap lubes and cheap jelly vibes will quickly find lower prices at ... more
"As far as the community, we get points, so the posted prices don't matter so much. People here'll try anything because they want something to write a review about!"

For me, personally, the above is NOT true. I work HARD for my points (in fact, I've spent so much time at my computer for the last couple of weeks that I had to cry mercy and call a masseuse friend to fix my back/shoulder/neck!), so I have a hard time spending a large amount of points on just one item, OR spending ANY points on a poor-quality item. For the most part, I've used my points to purchase mid-range items that are made of body-safe materials, will last a long time, and are likely to be enjoyable for me.
06/13/2013
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by Catan
Being very new here, I can offer some perspective. Eden probably gets the customers looking for high-end items because of the high list prices here at Eden. Customers looking for cheap lubes and cheap jelly vibes will quickly find lower prices at ... more
Catan, I'm not sure why you think our prices are higher.

I just checked out our largest competitor and looked up six different Lelo products.

The Luna Pleasure Bead system:
Our Price - $42.00,
Their Price - $49.00
Difference: $7.00

The Lelo Smart Wand Medium:
Our Price - $129.00,
Their Price - $169.00
Difference: $40.00

The Lelo Smart Wand Large:
Our Price - $169.00,
Their Price - $189.00
Difference: $20.00

The Lelo Mini Pleasure Beads:
Our Price - $42.99,
Their Price - $49.00
Difference: $6.01

The Lelo Adore Me Set:
Our Price - $139.00,
Their Price - $159.00
Difference: $20.00

The Lelo Dare Me Set:
Our Price - $109.00,
Their Price - $119.00
Difference: $10.00

And just for grins, I checked to see what they wanted for the Battery-powered Black Label Jack Rabbit - $109.00, we're asking $70.99 at list, it's currently on sale for $55 and the Rechargeable version isn't even carried on their site and we're asking $109.00 for it.
06/13/2013
Contributor: FieryRed FieryRed
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
Catan, I'm not sure why you think our prices are higher.

I just checked out our largest competitor and looked up six different Lelo products.

The Luna Pleasure Bead system:
Our Price - $42.00,
Their Price - $49.00 ... more
I agree with the above--the reason I was initially attracted to this site was the low prices, especially when there are discount codes in effect.
06/16/2013