Romantic Depot vs Museum of Sex vs Babeland vs Pleasure Chest

January 16, 2020
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Romantic Depot vs Museum of Sex vs Babeland vs Pleasure Chest

Which is the best sex shop in New York City?

 We’re searching the top sex shops in NYC, searching to find the best of the best.  In this review we are lucky that we are reviewing so many options in one city. Many cities still have sex shops from the 70s that lack appeal to women, LGBTQ or couples.  

Shopping for a sex toy in New York is largely informative, budget minded and great for couples communication.  For this we consider all of the stores the best sex stores in America.

This review will look over several categories and will ultimately try to be objective and informative.  In the end we chose one adult toy store as “Best of the Best” based on your choices.

Sex Toy Prices 

Romantic Depot has all the luxury brands like Lelo, Magic Wand and what distinguishes Romantic Depot from the others is that they also have cheaper options of adult toys in the “Under $100” range to “Over $100” for their top lines of sex toys

At around $30, lingerie is accessible for lower-income marginalized consumers or those who are on a budget which makes them a great option. Romantic Depot also gives all consumers 20% off vip lifetime discount cards, which aims to build a long relationship with customers.

Museum of Sex, Pleasure Chest and Babeland have the best quality items but their price ranges on their top vibrators range from $125 to $249.

Entrance fees?  For a store…yep some have it.  Romantic Depot, Babeland and Pleasure Chest are all free, Museum of Sex $20-$35 

Prices are personal to your budget, we’ll leave this one up to you.

Your Choice Wins

Images in gallery courtesy of Timeout.com

Surprising Sex Facts

According to a survey of adults aged 20 to 59, women have an average of four sex partners during their lifetime; men have an average of seven. Source: National Center for Health Statistics

Surprising Sex FAQs

84 percent of women have sex to get their guy to do more around the house. Source: Woman’s Day survey compiled by Sarah Jio in December, 2011

Sex Shop Privacy

Romantic Depot gives you thick black bags for your shopping convenience and discreet shopping and privacy so you can shop with discretion.

The other stores do not provide this service. 

Romantic Depot Wins

LGBTQ And Couples Adult Toys

LGBTQ friendly luckily is an equal draw at all stores.  NYC sex shops are open-minded and super friendly.  

Museum of Sex could work a little harder on training employees, with less knowledge they might not know a butt plug from a strap on.

butt plug strap on

Everyone Wins

Sex Store Service 

Romantic Depot gives you space to shop, a demonstration station to show you any toy you would like and usually cheerful, fun sales associates.  The music can be loud at times but if you’re looking for a party, which you kinda are, that’s okay. 

Babeland and the Pleasure Chest get the edge in knowledge and have an extremely intelligent sales staff but can be condescending at times pushing you towards toys regardless of price or your budget. 

Museum of Sex sales associates are not trained on their products it feels like, and that tends to show in their enthusiasm.   

 

No Clear Winner

Erotic Experience: 

Babeland charges $20 for the classes, while Pleasure Chest and Romantic Depot classes are less.  Are any of them free?  Have to ask, it’s a product demonstration after all.

 

Museum of Sex wins but we were expecting to see much more for the $25 entrance fee.

Adult Store Hours: 

Convenience And Accessibility 

Romantic Depot is open until 12am Sunday through Wednesday and Friday, Saturday remains open till 1am to 2am.  Why two closing times? Because they have 9 locations in the city.

Museum of Sex closes at 10pm

Babeland closes before midnight, three locations

Pleasure Chest before midnight, two locations. 

Romantic Depot has the longest hours and the most locations, including the most locations outside of Manhattan.  Making them the only store for all of New York, NY

Babeland

Sex Toy Store Reviews 

What do the people who shop there think?

Well we have plenty of folks reactions that are available in both Google and Yelp reviews.  First though researching the topic Out New York did a comparison piece awhile back. Heres how it described each store…

 

Babeland: At this friendly sex-toy boutique—run by women and skewed toward women—browsers are encouraged to handle all manner of buzzing, wriggling and bendable playthings, including the famed Rabbit Pearl vibrator. The shop also stocks a huge variety of condoms and hosts frank sex-ed classes on a variety of subjects. Readers rated it 3 of 5 stars

 

Romantic Depot: This store is three times bigger then other shops, including the Pleasure Chest, and it’s the largest sex toy store in NYC—and the only one in the Bronx. Its No. 1 seller is the Jackrabbit, but you’ll find 10 different variations of it within the shop’s massive inventory of items of the flesh. Rated 5 of 5 stars by readers

 

Pleasure Chest: A West Village institution since 1971, this sex-toy megastore opens a second NYC location. The 5,600-square-foot space has a boudoir feel, and stocks both luxury and budget gadgets ($15–$200), as well as books ($10–$30) and lingerie ($5–$150)…. Don’t leave without checking out the Sex Is Back campaign (sexisback.com) playing on iPads, featuring real videos of people overcoming shame and finding sex-positive fulfillment. Readers didn’t rate it at all.

 

Museum of Sex: MoSex’s recently overhauled gift shop is now twice the size (2,000 square feet) and double the pleasure. “We wanted the store to be a destination shop,” says creative director Mark Snyder. “We’re looking at products for their art, their design and their technology.” Such lofty merch includes the Dirty Flirty Novelty Company’s festive glass “pornaments” and Matteo Cibic’s functional fishbowl dildo. Readers failed to rate it at all. 

 

That leaves Romantic Depot as the Timeout.com darling of sex stores.

 

Breaking down our reviews from Yelp and Google…

Romantic Depot Yelp: 5 of 5 stars Google: 5 stars Total: 10 Stars

Museum of Sex Yelp: 3 of 5 stars Google: 3.2 stars Total: 6.2 Stars

Babeland: Yelp: 4 of 5 stars Google: 4 stars Total: 8 Stars

Pleasure Chest: Yelp: 3 ½ of 5 stars Google: 4.3 stars Total: 7.8 Stars

 

Judging by these reviews on these two independent sites only one store was able to maintain a perfect rating.

  

10 of 10 stars for Romantic Depot, the People’s Choice of Sex Stores

Sex Toy Store Reviews outweigh anything in this review or any other store’s articles.  The people have spoken and they consistently have said the winner is:

Best Sex Toy Store In NYC: Romantic Depot

Find These Stores

1st place: Romantic Depot Locations  

2nd place Babeland 

3rd place Pleasure Chest 

4th place Museum of Sex (sorry that entrance fee sets expectations much higher)

Romantic Depot Sex Toys
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Care For Sex Toys

The Top Tips to Remember When Cleaning Sex Toys

December 26, 2019
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The Top Tips to Remember When Cleaning Sex Toys

 

We’re all aware of the various benefits a healthy sex life can bring to us. From improved mental and physical health to strengthing our relationships with our partners, it can’t be overstated how important being sexually active is for us as adult human beings.

One of the best ways to practice a healthy sexual lifestyle, either alone or with a partner, is to introduce sex toys into the equation. But like every other sexual activity, without taking sexual hygiene into consideration, you can subject yourself to some serious health risks.

That’s why cleaning sex toys properly is so important.

But how exactly do you clean your sex toys in a safe way? Do you need to invest in various sex toy cleaners? And what are the most important tips to keep in mind during the process so both you and your partner can stay happy and healthy?

If you’re asking yourself these kinds of questions, wonder no longer, because we’re here to help! In this article, we’ll give you a basic guideline that you can use to make sure you’re keeping your sex toys clean in a safe and efficient way.

Now then, let’s get started!

Shop with Cleanliness in Mind

When it comes to being hygienic with your sex toys, the process actually starts a lot earlier than you may think. In fact, when you’re shopping for a new sex toy, it’s a good idea to keep cleanliness in mind before making a purchase.

Of course, purchasing items that are easy to clean shouldn’t be your main priority, but it should be something that you seriously consider. The good news? Exciting toys that are made from materials that don’t have any pores, and are therefore the easiest to clean, are easy to find.

Anything made from hard plastic, silicone, elastomer, metal, and glass are all safe bets. So if you find something you like, and it’s made from those materials, you can rest easy knowing that it’s going to be easy to clean.

If you already have a favorite toy that has pores, like something made of jelly, consider covering it with a condom before using it. You’ll be keeping the toy cleaner by doing so, as well as protecting yourself and your partner, which can help prevent any health issues.

Clean Your Toys Before You Store Them

It might sound obvious, but it’s important to note that, in order to be as clean as possible, you should clean all of your toys right after use. By doing this, there isn’t any time for bodily fluids to harden or dry on your toys, and thus, making them harder to get clean.

Obviously stopping to clean a toy can really ruin the mood, so at worst, rinse your toy with clean water a few minutes after use. This will make it much easier to clean the toy when the time comes, and again, it can go a long way in keeping you and your partner healthy.

Regardless of when you clean your toy, it’s important that you do so before storing it away between uses. And it goes without saying, but using a toy that hasn’t been cleaned first isn’t a good idea, and can make both you and your partner sick.

A pro tip? Even if your toy is clean, a quick rinse to remove any dust before applying your favorite lube and using it never hurt anyone.

Avoid Smelly Soaps and Sprays

It’s quite common for both men and women to want to smell good for their partners. And if you’re going to as far as to clean your bed sheets, and light your favorite scented candle, you might as well make your toys smell good, too, right?

While it may be tempting to spray your toys with your favorite body spray or clean them with scented soaps, it’s actually a bad idea.  Avoid doing this completely, as the chemicals found in smelly soaps and sprays can lead to irritation and even infection.

And both of those things can be a nightmare scenario for both you and your partner to deal with, to say the least.

A good rule of thumb is to stick with anti-bacterial soaps, hot water, and a clean washrag or towel. Don’t try to get too fancy, just be practical and efficient, and you should be good to go.

Avoid the Dishwasher Completely

Did you know that you can wash hats, and other random items, in the dishwasher without damaging them? There are a wide variety of things that aren’t related to food that are dishwasher safe. And cleaning them that way can save a ton of time and energy, which is always a good thing.

With that in mind, there are quite a few sex toys that can also be washed in the dishwasher without being damaged.  And even though this may be true, it’s best to avoid the dishwasher completely, as a lot more can go wrong than right.

The extreme temperatures can melt or affect the shape of your favorite toys. Also, electronic toys can be completely ruined in the dishwasher, which of course, isn’t what you want to happen to something that you paid for.

Again, it can’t be overstated how far you can go with just a bit of hot water and some anti-bacterial soap. And oftentimes, those soaps made for dishwashers have some pretty powerful chemicals in them, which again, can lead to irritation and infection.

So keep it simple and safe and use hot water, anti-bacterial soap, and a sink.

Don’t Be Afraid to Use Boiling Water

The biggest reason that people want to use a dishwasher to clean their toys, besides convenience, is the hot water and the steam. If you’re looking to get this effect, and want to do so in a safer way, try using boiling water.

Before using boiling water to clean your sex toy, you want to make sure that it’s made of a material that is safe to do so with. Toys made from safe materials like stainless steel, silicone, pyrex, in particular, are more than okay to use boiling water on.

It’s worth noting too that, if your toy is motorized, completely submerging them underwater is not a good idea. You can do serious damage to your toys, so avoid mixing too much water with electronic toys to be safe.

Anti-bacterial soap, a little bit of water, and a clean rag or towel is the best way to clean most toys, especially those that you don’t want to get wet fully.

Clean Leather Items Properly

If you have any leather items or toys, you may feel the need to take extra precautions with them, as leather can be a delicate material that needs to be handled correctly. This is 100% true, which is why if you have any leather items, you shouldn’t try to do too much to clean them after use.

Once again, keeping it simple and sticking with hot water, anti-bacterial soap, and a clean rag is without a doubt the best way to go to get the job done.

What about leather cleaners? Are they a good idea?

To keep it short, not really, no. Leather cleaners, like smelly soaps and sprays, contain a lot of chemicals that can cause irritation and infection the next time you use your toy. So with that in mind, it’s a good idea to avoid those completely when cleaning your sex toys.

A Guideline to Cleaning Sex Toys

Well, there you have it! Those are a few basics tips and tricks to keep in mind when cleaning sex toys. So, as long as you keep these ideas in mind, you should remain safe, happy and healthy.

Remember, above all else, don’t avoid cleaning your sex toys completely. Never store away a toy that hasn’t been cleaned, and never use a previously used toy without cleaning it first.

When it comes time to clean your toys, keep it simple and use hot water, anti-bacterial soap, and a clean washrag or towel. You don’t need any fancy chemicals or soaps to get the job done.

If you can, try to buy toys for you and your partner that are the easiest to clean. That way, when it comes time to clean your toys, you’ve got a much easier task on your hands.

Trying to spice up your love life? Looking for some new sex toys for yourself or your partner? Check out our online shop today, we’ll be glad to help you!

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Couples Intimacy Tips

Couples Sex Toys: Revive The Spark In Your Relationship

October 24, 2019
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How to Revive Your Relationship’s Spark (Top 6 Eye-Opening Secrets)

According to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, there were more than 700,000 divorce cases in 2017, and the number has been rising exponentially. Without a doubt, the high number of separations is a testament to the hurts and wounds that relationships are sustaining both in America and across the globe.

The article will enlighten you on what marriage and relationships therapists are saying about rekindling the fire of your relationship.  We suggest you and your partner come down to a Romantic Depot location near you and browse our adult sex toys, join a workshop and in doing so you’ll hit all 6 of these tips.

1. Communicate Frequently and Effectively

There are only three rules to successful relationships. These are:
– Communication
– Communication
– Communication
Most relationships turn sour because of poor or lack of communication. Effective communication, in contrast, enhances your connectivity with your partner and helps you exude positive emotions that strengthen your relationship’s bonds.

In addition, good communication enables you to address issues in your relationship clearly and in a non-judgmental manner, minimizing possibilities of conflicts and confusions.

2. Listen Actively

Active listening is as crucial as effective communication. M. Scott Peck, a renowned American psychiatrist, contended that it is not possible to fully listen while doing something else. To listen to your partner effectively, focus on what he/she is saying without daydreaming, desist from planning your response ahead of time, and be genuinely interested in what your partner is saying.

3. Ask! Don’t Assume

The “I thought…” has crippled many relationships, both new and long-term.

When in doubt of something, have the courage to ask for clarification instead of relying on assumptions. Sometimes (most times) your assumptions will be inaccurate, causing you to hurt the feelings/perceptions of your partner.

Avoid assumptions as much as possible because they impair understanding, dent communication, and ignite unreasonable conflicts in your relationship.

4. Redo What Made You Fall in Love in the First Place

The activities that you stopped doing could be the culprits for your depressing love life. To rekindle your relationship’s fire, make a list of the crazy things you used to do together after falling in love.

These things could be going out on Friday nights, preparing exquisite meals together, or playing video games on your laptop. Besides reviving your relationship’s spark and excitement, these activities make you fall in love again and again.

5. Compliment Your Partner but Don’t Overdo it

What gasoline is to vehicles is what compliments are to relationships. Compliments motivate your partner, foster a solid trust, and spice up your romance life. Dare to throw a genuine compliment to your partner when she buys a beautiful dress, when he gets a good hair cut, or when he perfectly matches his fashionable outfit.

6. Put Your Phone Down

Recent studies conducted on human interactions have unveiled that technology, especially the use of mobile phones, has drastically led to an increase in separation and divorce cases. Putting your phone down or turning it off eliminates the element of distraction, allowing you to engage in a deep and meaningful conversation with your partner. In effect, you will narrow your emotional distance and enjoy an enriching relationship.

Do you want to start enjoying your relationship with a whole new level of desire? Communicate effectively, listen attentively, avoid assumptions, start doing the things you did after falling in love, frequently compliment your partner, and minimize interactions with your phone.

Couples Bondage Rope

We Can Help

Check Out Our Couples Sex Toys At Our Online Store Now

Looking for activities that can build trust and allow couples to play together?  Check out our BDSM products. We also have BDSM workshops to help get you started!

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