I do agree that we become more jaded with the "traditional cheap fare" as we go on. With a few exceptions, I tend to find loud, jelly, battery-operated vibrators somewhat suspect these days.

I think that being jaded helps newbies in the long run, however, since so few of them know a lot about sex toys or material safety. We may ruin the thrill of a toy for a newbie, but hopefully, they'll turn away from the not-so-safe $20 and spend the money on a more satisfying toy that will last them longer, like a Gigi. Considering many people never own more than one vibrator at a time, I'd like to think that's a good thing. =D less

I remember these days as well.

As I'm starting to become jaded (spoiled, perhaps?) I'm also becoming more knowledgeable. EF has led to me making more body-safe choices, which will always be viewed as a good thing.

I will try to keep this in mind when writing reviews (Sleeping Dreamer touched on that really well). Thanks for mentioning it! less

I'm very particular about my sex toys now. I don't bother with questionable materials or ingredients AT ALL and I wouldn't waste a cent on a mediocre product. I've found that you get what you pay for where sex toys are concerned. Owning high-quality products has set the bar higher for me. less

I've gotten a bit jaded over the years, as well as gotten more particular with the toys I choose. But sometimes the little toys are fantastic - you can have my egg vibe when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers!

I'm getting much more jaded doing porn dvd reviews. less

"You asked, "Would the stuff that leaves us feeling "ho hum" now-a-days have been mind blowing if it had been our first?" And to that I say maybe, but we know which toys actually ARE mindblowing, so why not recommend those instead? "

I dunno. That plain old plastic piece of crap WAS mindblowing when I first got it. Way, way better than grinding against an electric razor buried in a pillow.

I have no objection to people recommending "better" toys. That wasn't the point at all.

I was just pondering on the days when less was satisfying. And wondering if anyone else almost felt too qualified to appreciate the "crappier" stuff.

Hell, I don't even own any really great stuff. Compared to some of you I'm still happy with way less.

And I kind of like it that way.

It's sort of like how we really enjoyed Hershey bars as kids until we had a Dove bar. And then that first box of See's ruined the dove bar. There's absolutely nothing wrong with never moving beyond Hershey if that's what you like and can afford.

And, in all honesty, I very often DO look at the really bad customer comments just as seriously as the reviews - especially if I know the reviewer has done a lot of really high end toys. I haven't and don't have those to compare to so that "wow, excellent vibe, dude, my clit almost exploded" is just as valuable, at times, as the long review.

And, to me, that's a good thing. I'm glad EF is run the way it is, with so many different types of reviews and perspectives. And I hope those who are new to toys read them all and make their decisions based on what revs them up, not our sometimes jaded views and opinions that only "better" is any good.


Like I said from the get go. This isn't meant to be inflammatory at all. Just some thoughts and me wondering how others feel. less

This is a really interesting topic, but I have to say I disagree with you quite a bit. If every plastic, middle-of-the-road vibrator got great reviews, it would be even harder for consumers to make decisions. You mentioned that "less than perfect" reviews sometimes offer a more positive view on the toy, and hey, that's cool too. But if someone goes to my blog or my contributor page, they'll know that I've tried a good number of toys and my standards are higher than they were when I began. I personally believe that is a good thing, and that anyone who is serious about toys should eventually rise above jelly and even TPR silicone.

As for us not being "objective," these are sex toy reviews. They're never gonna be objective (unless they're description reviews). Everyone has different experiences with toys. A lot of people talk about the Hitachi like it's god -- I've barely used mine since I got it because it's too strong for me. Some people love the We Vibe, while others say it doesn't work or isn't strong enough. This split is prevalent in cock ring reviews, too, because some women can get off from the vibrations of watch batteries. I certainly can't. The point is, there is no way anyone can write a truly objective review of a sex toy, and I don't think having more experience with toys makes us somehow "less objective." I think it makes us more experienced, and thus more knowledgeable, and more able to recognize good toys and bad ones. And by "good" I don't mean universally good, but admittedly, there are toys made of better materials than others, toys that are nice and quiet, etc. Certain traits that most people recognize as positive. Since we've played with more toys, we know when something is far too loud, amazingly quiet, interestingly textured unlike anything we've felt, etc. Basically, I think the more toys a person tries, the better he/she will be at reviewing.

You asked, "Would the stuff that leaves us feeling "ho hum" now-a-days have been mind blowing if it had been our first?" And to that I say maybe, but we know which toys actually ARE mindblowing, so why not recommend those instead?

Also, I try to mention it in my reviews when I feel that a toy would be well-suited to beginners. And my favorite clitoral vibe is a $30 Cal Exotics vibe. I know when a vibe is better than your run-of-the-mill $15 vibe, and I think that is definitely a good thing rather than a bad thing. less