It’s nearly impossible to resist the lure of prettily wrapped packages which land weekly on our doorsteps, is it not?
I’m hardly immune to their vibratory charms. I hear the thud and rush the door, tissue and cardboard pieces flying as I pull forth whichever lovely treasure is cushioned inside. I schedule wanks and dates specifically to explore their functions. In short, I am as thrilled as the next person to be the recipient of such amazing generosity from the makers of adult products. In the same way I am tickled to find my name on the Best Sex Toy Reviewers list for 2008, compiled by Domina Doll and Scarlet Lotus Sexgeek. Much appreciated!
And yet I’ve found myself troubled these past few months, a feeling which bubbled over when I read this excellent post by Sinclair Sexsmith. I’m writing this to implore our little blogging community to make some changes in how we deal with toy reviews.
First, can we possibly all agree that the number of reviews we are currently publishing is excessive? I cannot suggest an appropriate number for anyone but myself; however, I know that when I surf through blogs and find a front page which contains more reviews than other writing I lose interest fast. I can only imagine that other sex bloggers think the same, and I have a bad feeling that readers who don’t blog are even more dismayed to find sexy writing playing second fiddle to toy reviews. How many reviews are too many? I don’t know. But I do know that right now we’re supersaturated.
For those of us with the capability, perhaps a separate page dedicated to reviews could be created, with the idea of keeping the front page’s focus on personal blogging. The thrilling thing in writing about sexuality is in exploring the parts of relationships that usually remain hidden. Let’s not allow that to get lost in an endless parade of vibrating plastic.
Next, may I suggest some restraint in which toys we choose to review? As a community we have a voice, and we don’t have to accept crappy products. Why not take a stand with the companies we represent? Let’s tell them that we won’t write about toys full of phthalates, unsafe butt toys or pointless penis strokers.
At the very least can we agree to be more forthcoming when we get stuck with a sub-par product? Be not afraid to say that a toy is a waste of time, complete crap, dangerous, foolish, or should be thrown directly into a landfill. If we are giving up our spaces and putting our names on these reviews I think we all need to be more blunt in denouncing the junk.
Finally, I’d like for us to encourage the companies we partner with to support sex-positive values. Take a look at the site as a whole before posting your next review and ask yourself a few questions:
- Does the site contain representations of people from a variety of genders and orientations?
- Are women shown as equal partners in sexual play and decision-making?
- Is educational and safety information included?
- Will the site accept returns or otherwise make it right if a customer is dissatisfied with a purchase?
- Are there good ways to contact the company (not just an online feedback form) if things go awry?
- Is the company responsive to contact and concerns from reviewers?
- Does the site treat its reviewers well? Its employees? Does it have a reputation for good business practices from other bloggers?
- Is the site free from dangerous products such as “shrink” creams and anal numbing lubes?
If you can’t answer “yes” to those questions, it’s time for us as a group to start speaking out both in the reviews we write and in the reviews we refuse to write.
We as a community need to use our collective powers in editorializing about not only the buzzy plastic but also the business ethics of the companies from whom we accept toys.
Thoughts? Please leave them in the comments below.
I was already way too wordy in my comment on Sinclair’s post. I agree with you both, and I have mentioned it before on my blog.
It bothers me that the only “blurb reviews” up on VibeReview for this one DocJohnson dildo I asked to review (when I asked, the site hadn’t published the materials, I didn’t know), all these people are gushing about it. I’m like….what??? It stinks, it’s sucking up the dye of the bag its in, it’s leeching chemicals….y’all really want that in your pussy??? I refused to use it, but VibeReview said to just give it a bad review on my blog. So I did. Scathing.
I know that last year before reviewing, I hunted for real reviews myself. Couldn’t find many. Now I’m swimming in them.
I’m limiting myself to one a week now, two max if I have two companies. I’m cutting out VR, and not accepting any more. I know of a few previously-popular bloggers who are now seemingly doing one review post for every “regular” post. And I think that’s really, well, boring.
However I do feel it’s my duty, as does Tess, to get as much of the female population to buy an Njoy Pure Wand as possible. More orgasms = happy women = happy men and children = utopia. hehehe
dammit I got wordy again.
sorry =/
While I agree that sex toy reviewers should be more careful in what they review and how they review it, I very much disagree that because I am a “sex blogger” I’m obligated to write about my personal sex life — and that if I do not, I am sub-par. I feel quite strongly about this, so I’m going to write a post about it, probably tomorrow night. I would like to have a useful discussion about this.
I didn’t say that a sex blogger is obligated to write about her personal sex life or else be labeled sub-par. I said that as a blogger’s writing becomes more about reviews, the focus on a personal sex life slips away.
If you’re happy to keep the focus off your personal sex life, have at it. It’s just not going to interest *me* very much. –aag
I write sex toy reviews because I enjoy writing them. I put them on my blog because its my blog.
I understand for those who’s blogs are focused on sex/sexuality where this would be a concern, but my blog is focused on me. And I’m focused on my toys for the current time.
I do the reviews, quite frankly, because I LOVE getting toys for free. I can explore all kinds of things I would never have the money to otherwise.
That being said, it drives me nuts when the first post on my page is a toy review. I will almost always post something else the same day or the next so that the review is not the first thing someone sees when they land.
Well, okay. I never began with a focus on my personal sex life, because that’s not what I enjoy writing about. That’s fine if you’re more drawn to blogs that put emphasis on posts about sex. However, the tone of this entry did not say to me “this is my opinion.” It sounded like you were trying to speak for everyone, so I’m saying that I do not agree. I hope you understand and do not take offense when I post my response to this tomorrow.
:) This post and everything I’ve written at this URL is indeed my and only my opinion.
Looking forward to reading it, and no, I won’t be offended.
:)
I’m someone with virtually no access to sex toys (and no credit card to buy them online). Further, as a male, most of them are quite irrelevant to me. I agree with you completely that there are far too many reviews done, and that the sex blogging community is basically free advertising for the companies concerned. I expected all commenters to be of this opinion!
I am fairly new to this whole review sex toys thing. I got into it for the free toys, really. But I am finding that not only is that cool, but I am learning so much about toys and their safety and omg-what-the-hell-was-I-thinking-when-I-got-that?!?! *sigh* It’s amazing to me that I had/have so much knowledge about other topics, but this one skipped me. Live and learn – and do better when you know better.
I also am turned off by review-only blogs, as I like to learn about the people I am reading.
peace…
The view through new eyes:
When I started my blog, one of the first things I did was read other blogs, because I wanted to link to (and read!) other goodies, not just sit in my own corner and mumble. So I did a *lot* of reading compressed into two or three days, which gave me a somewhat tunnel-visioned perspective that your post really speaks to.
For a while it seemed like an endless carousel of Toy review, link list, toy review, toy review, link list, rinse, repeat. I remember at one point wondering just how much it was costing all these dealers in free sex toys to make me completely sick of looking at reviews. Sadly, it probably also resulted in my passing up some good blogs, because I reached the saturation point at which I just went on to the next one if the first post I saw was a review or a link list.
Is there a place for reviews? Absolutely. Has it reached the point of oversaturation? Also absolutely (and in case anyone should care, I don’t have reviews or advertising of any kind on my site, so this isn’t some kind of sad ploy to whittle down the competition *laugh*).
I agree with everything you have said.
Our blogs are our own to write what we wish and as not only a blogger but a reader of many blogs I have been feeling the same as you for the last several months.
If a blogger is writing one review a week but only posting four times a week that makes their content 25% sex toy reviews and for me personally it is not the reason I read blogs.
As far as the statements above about writing about our personal sex life, if read my blog and many others who are sex bloggers we don’t write the details of our personal sex lives. I write about sex related issues or my life in general and I still consider myself a sex blogger.
I also want to be upfront and say that I do not do sex toy reviews nor do I make any money off my blog. Those are my personal choices that I have made and if I talk about any sex toys on my blog that is because I want to not because I am obligated to.
The 2008 sex toy reviewer list had 75 people on it. If each one of those bloggers wrote one toy review a week that would be 75 reviews. If they wrote two reviews that would be 150. For me that is excessive. However what made me finally say this is nuts was when babeland offered the Penis Cake Pan for review.
I also am not saying that there should be no reviews or people should not be able to make money of their blogs but for me it clearly has changed both how and who I read now.
I have no money. Most cheap products are crap. I say review the cheap stuff so that I don’t waste my money.
Wait… This wasn’t all about me?
Honestly, if the reviews don’t sound like marketing copy, they don’t bother me. I ask my friends for their opinions of things they buy; that’s what I’m interested in reviews for. If they are honest and speak of the revier’s personality rather than some generic marketing ploy, I still read and am interested.
In total agreement.
I don’t mind reviews, in fact I do them myself, but they are too prolific for my taste these days. While there may be some people who will read a blog that only consists of reviews, I’m not one of them. In fact, I don’t even want to read what is strictly a *sex* blog.
AAG, you have been around as long and strong as you have because a) you’re a great writer, short and to the point and b) you are able to find that balance between sex and life and kids and everything that shows you to be the multifaceted very human being you are. That’s what I want to read, everything that makes a person who they are not just what toys they like inside/outside their pussies.
To me, I am afraid lists like Pleasurists and this reviewers list have just highlighted the fact that we are truly over-saturated.
AAG,
It’s wonderful that you want us to have standards. It’s also quite pointless.
The purpose of a sex toy review, from the point of view of the people providing the toy, is not that want a well-written, articulate article on why this toy is great or not, or useful information for purchasers. Let me repeat: the writing is irrelevant.
The point of a sex toy review is to get links, which drive up the google rank. I know that one toy site we briefly did reviews for could care less how much we railed against a shitty product, but they always made sure our links were correctly formatted.
Knowing that, there will always, always be people who will surround links with words generally accepted to be English in exchange for stupid things shaped like penises. All that you can do is take whatever credibility you have as a sex blogger and apply it to your own space, and do it the way you want. To expect group action from the sex blogger community will make herding cats seem easy. Not to mention, there are new bloggers popping up all the time who have to figure this out for themselves.
Do it right for yourself. Screw the others.
I think everyone should do negative reviews on crappy products – if they smell so bad, or don’t work right, then you are doing a service to the world at large by letting people know to avoid these items. Who else will? Maybe that is the battle that should be fought?
Think about how people search for products online – they search by name or part number. I know I search for a part number and words like “review” or “problems” and look for results before I make purchases.
I guess I just don’t bother to read reviews that much; I haven’t noticed that there are too many of them.
However, I do wish people who write reviews *would* write negative reviews of the products they dislike more often, rather than just not writing about them at all. When I’m on the hunt for a new toy, I actively look for reviews. If I don’t find many written, I don’t assume that it’s a bad product, I just assume people haven’t tried it or those that did aren’t the people who like writing reviews.
Just my $0.02.
There are those who like to write and review toys and those who want to read the information. Let the “market place” decide.
It’s funny to think that one sex toy to another can be reviewed so differently yet so the same… Sometimes I feel we take to much time to think about a new way to get us off rather than the way we enjoy it the most….
The key is to make every big “O” feel like the first time… and I feel that reviews of sex toys might be silly and might put an over thinking powering over your “O” to begin with.
I do not think its the toys fault… they are not meant to be enjoyed forever!
http://unadater.com
Word.
I’ve responded long responses on other posts, but I agree. There are many companies that offer to let me review for them but I have chosen not to, given their politics/products/treatment of the community.
I also give some bad reviews. As in “don’t buy this, it’s crap.” Not often, since I make it perfectly clear I will only review body-healthy toys, which tend to be better quality. But sometimes they suck.
I try to keep to one toy review (and possibly a book/film review) per week. I think I may need to slow that down too (although I do post every day, so it’s really only 1/7th of my writing).
Anyways, if I become review heavy or anything like that. I trust you’ll bring me back down to earth :)
I’m glad that you expressed your thoughts so clearly and persuasively in this post but I tend to agree with Epiphora.
My blog didn’t begin as a place to post product reviews but as I’ve been offered an opportunity to review products for two reputable companies (and since I decided to present reviews of products that I already own) my blog has become a product review haven. That’s ok. I love reviewing products and will continue to do so as I see fit.
Like Epiphora I don’t feel compelled to write about my personal sexual activities in my blog. I do sometimes post about current events, sex-related news and so on. It is all about sex, but it’s not all about me having sex. I think that’s ok.
You know, I forgot to mention how glad I am that you posted a set of criteria for the evaluation of sex toy companies. I love this list and I’m glad that you’re thinking about that and sharing your thoughts with others.
I’ve been working on trimming my Google Reader subscriptions down – the volume was ridiculous, and I felt like it was taking over my life.
The FIRST thing I did was to pull up each blog and look at the first screen of posts – anything that was more reviews or Pleasurists than content, I immediately unsubscribed from.
I read the blogs for the connection I feel with the author, even if it’s only one sided. I don’t mind reading a review here, or on other certain blogs, because your usual content more than makes up for it. But even then? I generally mark them as read without so much as glancing at them. I certainly won’t bother to click out of my reader and on to the page just to read a review.
I have a list of links to review based blogs so that if I’m ever looking to buy a specific product, I’ll be able to find 45 different reviews. I was amazed when I was able to cut over 50 blogs from my reader based on just that criteria.
I’m sure many people don’t mind the reviews. And neither do I… in moderation. No specific number, but I would wake up to over 100 posts in my reader only to find that more than a third of them were reviews… and of all the same damn toys, over and over again.
I don’t do reviews, only because I’ve been too lazy to bother getting started. But now I’m second guessing even the thought of it. What could I possibly say about a toy that hasn’t been said already?
Just my $0.02 added to the plenty of opinions already shared. But I had to type all that crap just to say “I agree”. (Short and to the point is not one of my strengths.)
The idea of reviews is wonderful, obviously, but AAG, you must have read my mind. In surfing through some (a lot) of sex blogs this week, I found myself wondering how the proprietors of sex shops could afford to dole out so much swag.
Brava, AA girl. It needed to be said.
Like you, I would really like to see more reviews which are negative, and I think it’s very important that we as a community choose to support companies which are sex-positive. I have seen several reviewers make comments along the lines of “I hate to give anything a bad review” and I could never understand why. Isn’t the whole point of reviewing anything to emply the critical faculties, not merely provide free ad copy?
I would like to see more discrimination out there, both in the reviews themselves and in the companies we choose to support.
Love
O
Woot! Bloggers Union? Toys getting the Sex Blogger’s seal of approval? think it would be great!
I like the reviews. I have bought several several highly reviewed toys and have been very pleased with them (like the Hitachi, or the Njoy). But would also like to see more negative reviews too…
I finally articulated my response on my blog… check it out here.
Well, you can definitely say that, thanks to both Sinclair’s post and your own, we’re talking! It’s nice to see the community having such an in depth discussion about things we’re passionate about. I’ve learned a lot!
I made a small post, though I’m sort of on the outskirts of this whole thing, not posting reviews very often at all. Feel free to weigh in, just click my name. :)
I posted a similiar response to Epiphora’s blog but I thought perhaps I’d post one here.
For a year I didn’t write any reviews on my blog, it was all personal; stories, erotica, articles on PCOS, posts about infertility and how it’s affected my marriage and my sex life, etc. Those posts were hardly ever read, I didn’t have any readers. I went to great lengths to promote my blog but I couldn’t generate traffic- people didn’t know who I was and didn’t care to read my posts.
When I decided to start reviewing toys directly on my blog, my numbers soared. I had people coming in from everywhere- they were commenting, reading, and surfing around the rest of my pages. Those posts from a year before were finally being read.
99% of the blogs I go to are reviewer blogs. These are the people I know through my affiliations with sex toy companies. And it’s these bloggers that account for a good amount of my traffic. I think we reviewers have a place within the sex blogging community. While we may seem to be trying to push one product after another, we do this for people other than ourselves. I write for anyone who’ll read my posts, watch my videos, and look at my pictures. I don’t know how many people I’ve influenced to buy or not buy items but that is the reason why I review. And I’m not all fluff and sunshine- I discuss the negatives as well as the positives.
With the increase in the amount of reviews I have written lately, I really don’t feel like personal posts have suffered. To some there may not be a good balance between reviews and non-reviews but I spent over a year writing everything but reviews. I suppose you could say, I’m making up for lost time.
As far as views on sex toy companies or manufacturer’s go, well, not everyone is going to have the same opinion. We can’t all band together or rise in arms against because we don’t all share the same sentiments. Also, if a large majority of solid reviewers were to stand up and refuse to review for particular companies or put their energy into denouncing them, there’d be the next generation of toy reviewers lined up to fill their spots.
I review, I’m a reviewer… and I can live with that. I have my style, I take my time. I put up 5 minute video clips touring toys, I take product photos (sometimes including myself), and I write wordy opinionated essays as to whether or not the toy is worth the investment. Truth be told, I get more traffic being a reviewer than I ever did as a sex blogger.
Alrighty then, I admit it. I was wrong, totally wrong, all wrong.
We should all write *more* sex toy reviews, because sex toy reviews bring in the readers, and we all know that the singular reason for writing blogs is to attract as many readers as is humanly possible.
And I completely agree that we should not speak out about any unethical business behavior, because everyone knows that speaking out is completely pointless. We’ll just be replaced by other less scrupulous reviewers! We should all be good lil’ boys and girls then, accepting payment in jelly for our silence. Yes.
I have now pronounced this and so it shall be, because I alone dictate exactly what our community should do in every case. I must only speak the word and it shall be done.
More reviews for everyone! In fact I declare that we must now write nothing but reviews.
Carry on then!
:) < ----This smiley face indicates that the preceding was written completely tongue in cheek. Really. :) See, there's another one. Tongue in cheek! Humor! Tolerance! Live and let live! Write and let write! I love you all! Have a wonderful Sunday! :)
Eh I like your reviews, but the frequency at which you do them makes no difference. I come to your blog to read about how good you get your ass fucked.
Oh god, I love that part too. :)
Personally I think a lot of it is proportion. I try to look at it as composing content for a print magazine: unless it’s a product review magazine they’re a bonus, not the main draw. I try to keep in mind that whatever tangent I go off on – politics, reviews, navel-gazing – I need to remember why my readers got hooked, and keep hooking them with what they subscribed for.
If the review is relevant and useful people will read it; if the product has nothing to do with the blog it’s going to be of less interest.
All stating the obvious aside – this discussion needed to happen. Thank you.
It is so rare to read a review that is more than facile and subjective .. and yes, there are far too many clogging up my reader, and i don’t read them.
having said that .. i just throw away 2 elderly silicone vibrators and want to replace them with something tactile, non-phallus shaped, non-animal shaped, with variable speeds, and available in the UK. Any suggestions? :D
You really can’t go wrong with Lelo’s Liv or Gigi. They’re both fab. :) –aag
When I see a sex toy review, I make the following irrational assumptions.
1. The blogger likes getting free stuff.
2. The blogger wants to keep getting free stuff.
3. The blogger is obligated to write about the toy in order to get more free stuff so reviews are either personal epics about how awesome sex with the toy was, or simplified brochures about the technical abilities of the toy.
4. The blogger could lose a toe to a sex toy and we would not see a review about that toe-chopping toy.
Heh, did you read about when I lost a buttplug up my fanny?
:)
http://aagblog.com/2007/06/16/beware-the-tremendous-gravitational-pull-of-my-pussy-and-ass/
—and—
http://janesguide.com/wpmu/toys/2007/07/09/the-teaser/
If I want to read reviews, I’ll go to review site. I read blogs for… er… blogging.
I also liked your reviews, because they were honest and to the point.
I do think it’s possible to have too many reviews on a site. I didn’t have any until Meg and then Domina Doll agreed to do them. I think they add something and they help readership somewhat..
But bloggers do have a platform from which to talk about whether a product is bad or a company behaves badly, and OUGHT TO DO SO. We saw that in the Eden Fantasys situation. These companies seem to overlook that many of us talk to each other, whether on our blogs, or over Twitter.
For example @jezinyoureye and @furrygirl got into a discussion @adamandeve about their business practices: http://tinyurl.com/b796b8. They announced 2 years that they were phasing jelly toys out, but apparently they haven’t. That’s something I can support.
I didn’t want to clog your blog up with an epic length essay so I wrote a post in response to your comment.. that was in response to mine. If you have the time, check it out AAG.
http://www.sleepingdreamer.com/2009/02/are-reviewers-sacrificing-integrity.html
I have to say I applauded this post. I read a lot of blogs (sex, non-sex, whatever) and it doesn’t matter if you’re reviewing a vibe, a piece of cooking equipment, a sofa, or a camera … if you do it all the freakin’ time, I will eventually stop reading your blog.
I read blogs for the personal connection to the writer – one sided though it may be. I trust reviews that are by bloggers who I feel a connection with in some way or another. If I can’t get enough of a sense of you from your other writing to feel like I “know” you in some way, shape or form, then I’m not going to trust your reviews. I’m going to feel like you’re being a product whore, pure and simple.
I have made purchases based on reviews from bloggers and will continue to do so … as long as I can know that the blogger who is doing the reviewing is a real person with a “real” blog, and not a product site.
*shrug* It works for me.
Oh, man! You are so funny! That’s exactly what I was thinking: it’s not as though you made a unilateral edict requiring all sex bloggers to refrain from reviewing more than one product a week or month, and limiting authors to affiliate relationships with reputable retailers only. I was wondering why I had such a strong inner response to your post and I think that’s it. This is your corner of the blogosphere and you’re entitled to post your opinions on all matters vast and sundry.
I could make unilateral edicts ’til I was blue in the face but that wouldn’t mean y’all would have to follow them.
But why would I? The innernetz are a really big place. There’s plenty of room for everyone.
:)
I agree with what AAG has to say and I work in the adult product industry. I work for Adam & Eve, their website specifically. And I do provide products for bloggers (with their permission) to review openly and honestly with no penalty for negative review. I do ask bloggers for a list of products they are interested in trying and do my absolute best to comply with specifics such as phthalate free products only, no rabbits, etc.
That being said I am aware that we carry products that some people prefer not to use and I respect that. As an employee I can say that if it were my personal company I wouldn’t carry them but as a member of a large company I can simply suggest that we no longer offer such products and make my case. I only say this because I do value sex toy experts’ opinions and reviews of products and would hate to lose reviewers because of certain products that we currently carry or are in the process of phasing out. Not all sex toys rock and I believe consumers should be knowledgeable about what they’re getting. Adam & Eve is an old player on the adult industry field and sometimes we’re a little slow to make changes. Creaky joints I think.
As someone who has only been reading blogs for a year or so and doesn’t write one, I personally find it irritating when a blog has a lot of reviews. I read blogs for the person’s ideas and thoughts, to see what they have to say about the world. If they’ve used a sex toy and genuinely enjoy it, great; if they’ve been asked to review maybe one or two for a company and put what they GENUINELY think (and I agree, too many reviews don’t post bad reviews – there must be some toys you didn’t like!), then great. But if a blog has page after page of reviews and nothing about the person, then meh: I skip. I don’t have the money for lots of toys and I’m not learning anything about the world or other people, so it bores me. I’m sure some people do go to a page for the reviews, but I’m also fairly sure there will be more people like me who won’t.
Would also like to take the oppurtunity to say that I really enjoy this blog, and think you’re a brilliant writer – thank you for saying what you really think about things!
Oh tyvm. Feel free to stroke my ego any time. I lurve it just a little bit too much. :)
i will not review for anyone who doesn’t want an honest review. in fact i don’t review for one company because they want to “provide key words” and i am totally not into even that much help when i write.
i have given vibes that EVERY single review raved about 3 out of 10 and i don’t expect to stop.
since i likes the free toys i try to be constructive and respectful but i will use the word execrable if need be. that said, i pick well so i tend to do more good than bad reviews.
anyway i decided i had to do a minimum of one smut and one thought post per review and for the most part i stick to that. i’m grateful to the reviews though, as the blog gets older the ideas come more slowly.
I’m a bit late, but thought I’d add my two cents on the issue of sex toy reviews.
It’s Friday for me, but I’ve noticed the prevalence of sex toy reviews and while reviews can be beneficial, a glut of reviews for the same products can become tiresome. I know for myself, I know where my clitoris is, and I know where my G-Spot is, reading 20 x reviews for one product is only going to lessen my ardor for it, but not only that, what is the point. I say this, because I’ve come across the Pleasurists web site, which is like the sex toy version of Sugasm and I am aware of the function of such sites: link generation, traffic generation and please let’s be honest with ourselves and be real rather than say, “oh we’re providing reviews.” It’s also about traffic generation and maybe affiliate sales. There’s nothing wrong with that, but not paint it to be something it isn’t.
I’m now looking at ways to minimize sex toy reviews. I didn’t have this issue before, but as a publisher, I can’t publish reviews (and pay the reviewer) for say, a Lelo Mia, if 30 reviews appear all over the place. What is the point of that?
And the most important point is the way a company conducts itself; like AAG mentions. Does it support the points mentioned and how does it deal with negative feedback? Is its customer service impeccable? These are the most important things. As a user of sex toys myself, I want some mystery retained – not come across 30 reviews for one product. I say that even though I am aware of the list of ‘best sex toy reviewers’. Is it a valid list? I don’t know. I do think that there were good intentions behind the formation of the list, however knowing what I do know about many companies, most of them only ship products to North American reviewers only, thus, not serving other reviewers. Therefore subjective.
BTW, in regard to the comment above and the traffic generation. There are reviewers who don’t require traffic generation. AAG is one such reviewer,whose motivation isn’t dependent on sex toy reviews, but I can’t say the same for some of the other websites listed on Pleasurists. Apologies in advance if I offend anyone but I’ve been a blogger too, and I know which blogs overdo reviews and which blogs don’t.