I'm too young to be an affiliate (boo ;_; ), but EdenFantasys sex toy parties are an interesting idea. I've only been to a few sex toy parties, but from those experiences, I've seen the following pros and cons:

Pros: Fun social event, word spreads fast about parties (so a good marketing tool), you get to feel/taste/smell products before you buy, encourages sexual openness.

Cons: Products are oftentimes overpriced. Depending on the company, some parties are women-only, the seller has to buy her own "display/tester set", and needs to have some stock on hand for immediate sales. If customers order something in the catalog that the seller doesn't have on hand, the seller is responsible for placing orders for customers and arranging for pick-up (if customers doesn't want it delivered straight to their doorstep). Again, depending on the company, some sex toy party systems are set up like pyramid schemes. For the sake of selling toys, sometimes sellers will not tell customers about pthalates or whether a toy is porous or non-porous, and just one such careless salesperson could damage the integrity of the program, because bad news travels a lot faster than good news.

My list of cons is a lot longer than the list of pros, but they also aren't disadvantages that are true for every sex toy party program. A lot of it depends on the company's policies and the seller's personal ethics. From what I've seen at sex toy parties and the stuff that's available--printed catalogs, order forms, and company logo bags--there's some extra production cost involved as well. Most of the sex toy programs I've heard of offer incentives for hosting a sex toy party, such as commissions or discounts based on the sales made at a party. Sometimes the company pays for these, other times the seller has to pay for these host benefits.

I can see EF sex toy parties, but it would take a lot of work to set up a good system. I can't be an affiliate for another year or so, but if the sex toy party thing happens... I'd be happy to host one.

I've never been to one, but once I become of age I'd also love to do this. Actually, before I saw this post, I pondered over it in the shower (where I do a lot of daydreaming).

I for one love this idea! I usually avoid sex toy parties on my campus, because they're not even done by recognizable names, and I just don't trust them like I trust EF.

I had a few ideas to add to the mix, too. While most parties I have heard about are mostly toys and a few lubes, it would be great if these potential EF parties could involve more in the way of education. There could be pamphlets or handouts on material safety and cleaning, on choosing the right toy for you, on storage solutions! This would make sure that people attending would always be able to get that information, even if the person running the party is new or forgets something. Also, there's a huge selection of books and DVDs available here; making those available through parties would be really cool, even just as a catalog.

I tossed the idea of EF toy parties around to some of the girls I live with; they know I'm part of this community, and that I trust EF more than any other site or store. They all thought it would be a great idea, and asked if we could hold one in the dorm. So if this idea is even feasible, there's definitely a need and a desire for something like it.

I know it would be a lot of work to set up a program like this, but if it's possible, it would be a great resource! While making it a part of the affiliates program may or may not work (I only know the very basics about the mechanics of that program), it seems to me that a SexToy Party program and the affiliate program could work hand in hand very well, if they chose to create a separate program.

I was just thinking about another contributor's mention of EF merchandise. At the last sex toy party I attended, the seller handed out pens with little penis pen toppers. It'd be cute if those could be EdenFantasys pens with little penis toppers, y'know what I mean?

I didn't mean to come down so hard on the idea in my first post. It's definitely a great idea and one that I've juggled a few times myself. I do think that EF could bring something new to the sex toy partying scene, and that the parties themselves would bring more business to EF. I don't know about everyone else, but I've never been to a sex toy party where the seller actually took the time to explain different materials. The closest I've had to that is when a local sex store owner came to our dorm to talk to us about safe sex and incorporated sex toys into the mix. It was informational, but she didn't mention that jelly toys containing pthalates are bad for you, or to use a condom if you intend on sharing.

I could see Luscious Lily's idea of having informational pamphlets (or even a little guidebook) at an EF party. Another benefit is that EF offers many more products than most companies whose main business is throwing toy parties. A seller would only need to stock up on some of the best selling items and order the rest as requests come in.

I'm just trying to figure out how commissions would work. Would it be the same as the percentage per sale for the regular affiliates program?

* sigh * I should be studying, but now I'm thinking of pink and green EF parties and what sorts of stuff would look awesome in its condensed catalog.

More thoughts:

Every single one of the sex toy parties I've been to have been women-only, which is ridiculous. I know there's at least one company out there that lets women bring their guys... but I don't think that there's anything actually FOR them other than Good Head Gel and maybe a vibrating cock ring.

If EF were to do these parties, I think it'd be pretty neat to let the host decide on the attendance. So if it's a bachelorette party, sure, just bring the girls. But make it an option for the guys to come and give them their own stuff to look at. And there should be a "guys only" option too. I have a hard time imagining a party where guys sit in a big circle and pass butt plugs, p-spot massagers, and Fleshlights around, but a couple of years ago, I had a hard time imagining women doing much the same. This is an interesting opportunity for the current party scene to change.

This is definitely an interesting idea. I am not sure what it would take to make something like this happen, but I will certainly pass this idea up the ladder.

funny, my fiancee and i were just talking about if there was a way to make this happen, since most sex toy parties are usually full of cheap products and run by people who don't take the time to educate the party-goers about material care etc.

Thanks Yeti!

Boink, I think you're right. To begin with, at least, it might be better to stick to girls-only, and if those involved are comfortable with it, couples or girls and their male guests. Then, if the mixed-gender parties go over well, perhaps branch into the guys-only party world?

Miss Cinnamon, I have to say your toy party experience made me giggle, only because that sounds so much like the stupid Mary Kay beauty parties they host at my dorm every year! Just as pushy, and knew just as little about the contents of her products!

I would go to one... but it seems as though I'm already banned .. haha


I think you could have a speaker and could hold up toys and teach stuff about them as an awareness program to boost sales of more expensive and quality toys.

but i think I'd only go to one if it had a learning thing to it like you could get something out of it other than just a new toy. if they are overpriced then why buy it there? I think the party could have a coupon to order something from the site when they get home to get them to view the site maybe just $5 off or something, or if that's to expensive maybe a contest to win a free toy something totally fun and unexpected. I'm sure it would make your party popular if you could get something free by chance? maybe just a lucky number out of a hat or something and everyone when they enter gets a printout sheet of the events and it has a number on it.

I love this idea. I live in a college town, and one of my friends is in a sorority. They hired someone to host a sex toy party, and she said 90% of the toys were made of jelly, were way overpriced, and there was no discussions on health and safety. Even worse, the majority of girls actually bought stuff!

I'd love to do something like this on my campus, especially if it was for EF. I've looked into the starter kits for other companies, but they're usually filled with crappy products-- nothing I would ever be able to sell, & still call myself respectable.

I like the idea of having a party where you bring in a variety of awesome products to show off & talk about. You could encourage the group to share experiences and ask any questions. Maybe even have a questionnaire they could fill out at the beginning to help consult each girl about choosing the right products. I also think a discussion about health, safety, and caring for products is a necessity. Games & cocktails are fun too.

I would so love this. I think it is important to promote the safety aspects of toys, in both use and materials. This would be such an awesome thing if it eve did happen.

Hello all! Thanks to Yeti for fielding this one. I talked to the boss man about it today. We will developing the idea over the next few months.

We have thought about toy parties for a while now. It is definitely an area with potential - and could be a meaningful way to connect people and do outreach while demonstrating toys. We totally agree that the existing parties out there are done badly - on many levels.

Right now we're deciding how to do it our way, to make it the best experience overall for everyone involved. While we work on our approach and designing the big picture over the next few months, we would really appreciate your insight. Please do email your feedback and experiences with toy parties to us! We would love to take it all into consideration. What did you like about them? What didn't you like? How can the toy party idea be improved? What kind of role would you want to play if you were to be involved in one of our toy parties?

We're looking forward to your thoughts. Please email: affiliates@edenfantasy s.com

Thanks!

That's exciting! I was a little afraid that the idea would get shot down for some reason. Thanks to Yeti and In the pink for being open minded and relaying the idea to the boss

I could imagine playing sex bingo.. something like this...

....
penis, stroke
vaginal, lick
anal, caress... ORGASM!!!! YAYAYAYAY I WIN!!!

Went to a sex toy party for another company that my friends were hosting. Great fun, but the woman really spent too much time on bath and body stuff, then had to rush the toys. And as nice as she was, there was a lot of jelly and not-super-safe stuff...I felt bad doing it, but I accidentally kept stealing her thunder.

Also, you would have to try and fit the party to the group. She could've moved faster if she hadn't shown us stuff that generally doesn't appeal to college-aged women, like shrink cream and vaginal exercisers.

I've never heard of a co-ed sex toy party. Most cases I've heard of were "Women Only!" like some kind of treehouse cool-kids things. Big turn off, bad business.

EF parties would be cool. A couples party instead of one based on gender would be a better idea.

My own opinion: the singular company that does do the women only parties has some of the most over-priced and unsafe stock I've seen.

The idea of a party as an intro to the sex toy world is a good one, but poorly executed on the whole that I've seen.

I am not saying that I support it, but hosting 'women only' parties may have been done when targeting a certain demographic that has little to no experience with toys. Doing so may have increased the comfort level of the participants. There are definitely a lot of areas in the country where people are way more conservative than others.