‘Forbes’ Reports On ‘Buzzing’ Sex Toy Sales During Lockdown

LOS ANGELES—The worldwide lockdowns and quarantines resulting from the coronavirus crisis haven’t been much fun for anyone — but at least one industry is seeing a boom in sales. Within days of the initial stay-at-home orders taking effect, sales of sex toys jumped 75 percent in the United States, and a whopping 135 percent in Canada.  Now, more than a month later, the quarantined public’s desire to pass the time in isolation with the help of pleasure devices shows no signs of cooling down, according to a report on the financial news site Forbes.com, which reported on a boom in sex-toy sales in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Colombia. “With many people stuck at home either by themselves or with someone else, take a wild guess as to what folks may feel the urge to do,” wrote Forbes.com columnist Bruce Y. Lee. “Hint, it probably isn’t playing Parcheesi in most cases.” Even as sex-toy sales are exploding in what appears to be a coronavirus masturbation boom, one British company says it is so determined to improve the quality of its products, it will actually pay you to use its sex toys, according to a report in London’s Evening Standard newspaper.  The U.K. sex products retail outlet Ricky says that it is looking for product-testers, and it will pay £100 — the equivalent of about $125 — to candidates willing and qualified to try the products out.  Sounds like nice work if you can get it. But the job description perhaps should also read “extroverts only,” because testers will not merely be required to use the toys — but also to post their experiences and responses on social media.  The publicly posted reviews will go beyond the basics of how well and how quickly each toy produces an orgasm in the user, but also must cover some less-sexy elements as the quality of packaging, clarity of instruction manuals, and overall ergonomics of each product. “If you think you know what a delicate speed change can do for orgasms, or how discreet packaging can improve the customer journey – this is the gig for you,” the Ricky site advertises, also promising “job satisfaction like no other.” Candidates must, of course, be 18 years old or over, and can fill out an online application at this link. Photo By Claudio Scott / Pixabay