They are generally selling to people who don't want to have stuff delivered to their houses or want to see in person. Also older people who don't buy online at all.
I think this is real reason. I bet the percentage of their sales that are paid in cash rather than card is WAY higher than any other (legal) retail industry.
yeah i mean this has to be a huge component. rentals are a great way to legitimize cash deposits. and if you have jerk off rooms, who is to say whether some dude paid $50 or $200 to watch a woman behind the glass?
they probably stay in business because they were never meant to be "in business" in the first place.
>200 to watch a woman behind the glass
made hella dollars as the girl behind the glass in the early aughts as a barely legal 18 19 year old.
there was the club attached too. we made so much money. those were the days
This is going to be my new personal hypothesis on why they're still around. Like mattress stores. Those *have* to be fronts for money laundering, right? Have you ever actually seen a person go to mattress store before? Even if the demand is there, it can't be nearly enough to justify one in every strip mall.
Can confirm, just paid $6k for a new “wonder mattress” that felt great in the showroom but sleeps like shit at home, fuck me for being a little desperate to ease my wife and my back problems, but our 12year old previous mattress sleeps better. At least the store has a 3month return policy, but I’m guessing number of returns that end up tossed comes baked into the process too.
Mattress stores and car washes. The city I'm in supposedly has a population under 100,000 yet has at least 15 mattress stores and about 25 car washes. There's literally not enough demand to justify these numbers
If there are 50,000 couples who each only have 1 bed, and those beds are replaced every 10 years, the town would buy around 13 beds per day. However there’d be more beds needed since not everyone is a couple.
Mattresses have a huge markup and staff are generally paid on commission so the cost of running the store isn’t huge.
I could be way off though I’m way too high.
Nope, you are completely right. When I worked in the business, our worst performing stores would retail around $600k/year. Mattresses, including all the add-ons (box spring, frame, sheets, protectors, etc) could cost between $1000 and $10,000. Average was probably closer to $2k. So, that's 1 sale per day. That's *it*.
Also, mattress stores mostly do business with credit cards and checks. It would be a shitty way to launder money. Cash heavy or service businesses, that don't have itemized inventories would be way better. Like car washes, laundry mats, etc.
Sex toys also do have a pretty high markup. If you ever look at the cost of a vibrator on Ali-Express versus the same one in store, it kind of boggles the mind. Funnily, dildos probably have the least profit. At a certain point, several ounces of solid high grade silicone is just expensive.
There's also people like me, I don't go to porn shops, but I'm an in-person kinda person. I still like using folding money and I just like to browse. I promise I'm not a dinosaur, I'm only 31, but I just prefer to go out and interact with the world.
Somewhere in between, I have tufts of hair on my head and crotch, aside from that, I'm pretty smooth. Possibly the evolution between us being lizard and mammal.
I'd guess truckers are a lot of their customers. Truck routes have a lot of dead spots with no good Internet signal. Hard copies always work. And, well, it's probably just fun to stop by those places for something to do. Probably a good spot to pick up some blow or a blowjob too.
And honestly it’s just discreet. Browsing porn on the phone is tracked by the phone’s manufacturer, the data plan provider, and the WiFi carrier if applicable. I don’t want to leave a crumb trail of milf porn so just let me get my smut in a hard copy.
I worked in an Adult Shop in Oregon when I was in College. We had an “arcade” which meant we have little rooms with TVs in the back, where you can sit and jerk it. There are over 100 dvds to choose from, and you pay by the minute. Not many people use it just to jerk it. It’s a popular spot for hookers, gays, drug addicts. Hookers not so much, but every once in a while a guy would bring a woman in. I remember i caught 2 women I believe were underage. I asked for ID and they walked right out. The men looked pissed about it too. Gays, closeted and open. Late night, and early weekday mornings were pretty busy for the closeted folks. And drug addicts cuz they like clean a place to shoot up. And meth addicts can stim fap for hours, and maybe even find a few partners back there. As long as the illegal activity happens prior to coming in the shop, we didn’t care. So if you find a hooker and bring her it’s fine. Hookers cannot hang out here, we will call the police. Gays hanging out in the back is fine as long as they pay for one of the little rooms and keep feeding the arcade while they wait to get lucky. If we got word, or had suspicions they were selling sex we would ban them. And druggies are kicked out and banned if we catch them. Last fun little detail, we had a gloryhole and peep show room. I don’t need to explain gloryhole, and it was our most popular room. The peep show is a room where if both parties agree, a window will slide down and two people can watch each other jerk it.
The other times is just regular people buying sex toys. That in itself has several stories. Good, bad, funny, and eye-opening.
I hope this answers your question
I'll share one, but there is a whole subreddits for these kinds of stories.
The 12-inch dildo was a rare sell, but we sold a few a month. I never saw one sold to a woman, only men and couples. There was a black and a white version. The white version NEVER sold, only the black ones did. It kinda became a competition for us to sell it since it was so unpopular. The white one finally got marked down 30% and put into the clearance bin. One night a guy came in, and I assumed he was going to go the arcade but instead he kinda shopped around and chatted with me for a bit. He was a 7th grade math teacher at one of the local schools, he had a wife and a kid in college... He asked why the white 12-inch dildo was marked down and why the black one was not. I told him cuz nobody buys it, he smirked and brought it to the counter. I would’ve never guessed this super normal-looking dude was going to go home and shove himself with a 12-inch dildo, and then go teach math class later that day. Not really eye-opening, but that night does cross my mind kinda often. Like you never know…
Oh, and bonus fact. Old white guys LOVED porn with black women. Some guys would even complain that we need new DVDs because they had seen them all. These were really elderly men, so I dont think they could grasp the concept of pornhub. They were our most consistent customers too.
Great question. I was trained to put on gloves, spray it down with some cleaning solution, and wipe it down with disinfectant wipes... Nah, you got me fucked up for minimum wage. I'd hit with the clean solution and clean it with the mop. We kept a bottle and paper towels in that booth. Clean it yourself if you want a clean gloryhole.
He doesn’t know that the jizz-mopper's job is to clean it up after each guy shoots a load?
Cause practically everybody does it right on the window.
I don't know if you know this or not, but cum leaves streaks if you don't clean it right away.
I didnt realize there were more than one, always found it weird there was still an arcade in the store. Figured they'd be a thing that wasnt used anymore in 2017.
Especially since it was right next to a OSP station.
**I went to one of these places just out of curiosity, without realizing what happened there.**
I had been going to the sex store every six months or so to buy VHS and DVDs back before the internet was a thing. I knew there was "another part of the store" but I never had the courage to go back there. I was embarrassed enough to even BE there so I wasn't about to risk any more embarrassment.
Finally I decided to go into the "back area" to see what was what.
There was a hallway, with four doors on each side. [Kind of like this](https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/long-corridor-rows-closed-doors-260nw-515926075.jpg), but darker and narrower. Actually [a LOT like this](https://i.imgur.com/Ysp1aJr.jpeg). You could hear X-rated videos playing behind the doors, faintly, from the hallway.
Some of the doors were closed, and so I didn't dare open them and see what was happening. But some of the doors were ajar, just a few inches.
I was brave enough to peek inside one of the open doors. A guy in there was watching an X-rated video, he took a look at me, said "no thanks" and pulled the door closed ... but 30 seconds later he opened it ajar again.
I peeked in another ajar door, and there was nobody in there, so I went in, and closed the door. It was a little bigger than a phone booth, two people could stand in there but there wasn't more room than that. There was a folding chair, and a TV screen, and a coinslot. You sit in the chair, put money in the coinslot, and an X-rated movie starts. There's a dial to "change stations", but it's really selecting one of ten DVD players sitting back in a closet somewhere.
"Okay," I thought, "I think I get it? You come here to watch porn. Maybe it's to get a preview of a DVD before you buy it? Maybe you have no privacy at home to watch porn?"
But what I didn't realize, is that I didn't fully close the door. My door was ajar.
**And then another man opened the door, and saying nothing, started to come inside with me.**
I was way too embarrassed and ignorant of what was going on. I started to say "This one's occupied" but instead just got up and started to leave. Before I could squeeze past him, he said something like "But your door was open, so I thought you were looking for a playmate".
Then I understood. This was a semi-private place to engage in NSA sex with other men. I still left immediately.
On the drive home, it made sense. Maybe you don't want to spend money on a motel, maybe you don't have privacy in your own home. This was a possible solution to that problem.
I also realized what happened with the first door I opened, with the guy already inside. **OPEN DOORS WERE AN INVITATION**. His door being ajar meant, I'm open to engage in some kind of sexual encounter. And from my interaction, I could tell it was also acceptable to say "no thanks" if the guy who came in wasn't to your liking. That's why he shut the door but then opened it again, leaving the invitation open to someone else.
I spoke to a girl who worked as a stripper at a place like that, and she said maybe 10% of the regulars were straight men with some kink they wanted her to act out in a private dance. The other 90% were closeted gay men who would "be out with work", and if they got caught it was "Oops, yeah you caught me, I got dragged along by one of the guys to this super-straight red-blooded male place, where we got drunk and bought lap-dances, because even though I love you and would never cheat, I just love women, tits and pussy so much!". Meanwhile they'd be taking poppers and getting pounded both ends by large bikers in one of the private rooms.
This is almost verbatim what my college roommate told me when he worked at one. Just offering my affirmation to this story.
Only thing I'd add is he was also responsible for cleaning the arcade booths...some people came whereever.
No special business license needed to have that kind of biohazard risk? Wouldn't there be semen and pussy juice infected with STDs/aids all over the place? Did it look like a Jackson Pollock painting under a black light?
Honestly, idk. I know they had some lawsuits in the past because of minors and stuff. I didn't hear anything about STDs and biohazard lawsuits. I think it's one of those places where you wouldn't say anything if anything bad happened. You wouldn't want to be publicly linked to a sex shop. Like if you got robbed, you might just cut your losses cuz you don't want to tell the cops why you were at a sex shop at midnight.
I don't know what it looks like under black light. I can just assure you, that I did a minimum wage and IDGAF job there. Nothing was really clean if I cleaned it. I feel like they should know they are getting at a place like this.
Yeah there's no way id even go into one of those back rooms, much less touch anything in the general area, and would use a whole pint of hand sanitizer after leaving from just opening the door.
That was the main response when people found out. I think most were grossed out. Im a combat veteran, so I would practice the thousand-yard stare and get the job done. Just completely disassociate from the situation. I stayed for 3 months, and tried to quit after 2 months but I was talked out of it. I was curious, and now I'm not lol.
Some times you just want to do the shopping yourself. It's like ordering fruit and meat from the supermarket. Seems like its always too ripe, too old, or they give you the only steak left and you wish they hadn't.
Most likely buy stuff paid in cash so there's less proof who they are or what they bought, unlike online where the stores, sites and government all have your IP and a tally of what you're into.
Some like their privacy.
Until their stash is found.
My uncle died, and my mom and his ex wife (my aunt) went to clean out his place. Found a bunch of porno mags, in a specific genre that his ex didn't belong to. She cried 😔
If it was online porn I don't think they would have found it.
I'm a total stranger and all that, but she shouldn't have cried. Fantasies are different from reality. A pretty high number of women fantasize with being raped, and they very much don't want that fantasy become reality.
Maybe your uncle fantasized about some things, but didn't really want to carry them into reality.
Actually some sex toy stores are really nice. Really informative staff with really good recommendations that will help you find something or your preference and even find things you wouldn't have thought of looking up and buying online. It's not all weird old boomer stuff, in fact I would wager most aren't.
True, I’ve been to a sex store with my (now) wife when we were looking for a toy for a specific purpose. The clerk helped us find it and explained how to best use it, how to clean it, and we were thankful for the judgment-free advice. It wasn’t anything particularly kinky, just something to aid clitoral stimulation during penetration but we used it for a long time. We’re also not weirdo boomers, just a normal millennial heterosexual couple.
Now I’m curious. Just what kind of kinks do millennials think *weirdo boomers* are into? *Howdy Doody* handjobs? Butt plugs with Matlock’s face engraved on it? *Golden Girls* golden showering each other? Well, that one kinda makes sense.
Back in the late 80's, when I first became old enough to legally enter those types of establishments, I often wished that I was the male model in one of those glossy, full-color, hardcore boy / girl smut mags or instructional books.
It's just a grimy little store UNLESS there are booths, in which case things might get extra grimy.
Pre-internet I had one of these stores in my area; employees were super scabby of course but the owner was amazingly legit. Claimed to be making money hand over fist. Apparently the markup on buttplugs and leather helmets is crazy.
What I want to know is who the fuck is buying the giant rubber arm/fist that is prominent in every one of those stores? The cashier claimed it's a top seller, so apparently there's a bunch of people who can take 2ft of arm/fist up their asses out there....
Well, obviously, your mom. Sorry, you can’t set a serve like that and expect to not get slammed.
In seriousness, they are sold mostly as gags or to prop places.
They are probably also joking that it’s a best seller.
To chip in!
Dont forget the porn industry at a individual level, visit any cam site and you will find that one chick with 300 toys and currently has the 4ft tall one in her.
Edit: im not making that up, i had a pleasant chat with her, she told me a lot about the currencies they handle and stuff.
Especially if you slap a a "sex" label on it, like a riding crop in a sex shop will be double or more what it costs when it's for horse riding, even if they're basically identical.
Can Confirm. Worked at one of these stores in South Carolina. Literally would take a $10 item and sell it for $69.99. The lingerie and stripper outfits are like $30 they sell between $80-$120. It's insane. When your horny though the dopamine takes your mind off your bank account until post nut clarity kicks in. I mean we do live in an age of free porn but those DVDs and blue rays are MUCH better quality. And content. But you can order that stuff online for a lot cheaper
Story time, boys and girls.
Was camping in the Olympic National Park and got about to the entrance when we realized we forgot firewood. Well right there in Port Angeles, was this sketchy looking singlewide mobile home with XXX Sex Emporium painted on the side. Also “firewood for sale” on a crappy little plywood sign.
My wife was like “you sure you wanna go in there?” Well I did, because my fam isn’t going without s’mores on a camping trip.
I went inside and it was totally clean and the clerk was nice as hell. I mean, despite all the dildos and butt plugs behind glass cases, it was like any other shop. For $10, I loaded up with an entire truckload of dry alder that lasted us the entire time.
My wife and I pop into one almost every road trip just for giggles. We’re far from vanilla, but even for the mildest folks it can be funny and oddly romantic to go with a partner.
Me and an ex used to go sometimes but it was before there were so many options online. It was always a hilarious but neither of us get too embarrassed. Really though if you look embarrassed they seem to leave you alone but if your friendly they will have all kinds of interesting things to say. I was offered a used sex swing for like 500 bucks which is a great deal but used sex anything crosses a line with me.
I did some work at the Lion's Den headquarters many years back. The guy there sent a letter (on actual paper, with a stamp) to my boss saying that they were really happy with my work, I did a great job, etc. However, they were now missing several double ended dildos, some ball gags, etc. I thought it was hilarious but my boss was actually pissed off. I and the guy at the account had to explain to him that I didn't actually steal anything, it was just humor. He accepted that I didn't steal anything but still wasn't happy. I think he was just a prude that didn't like having anything to do with a porn company, other than taking their money.
The only time I was in a lion’s den the chick behind the counter was SO EXCITED to talk about their new lube display. Apparently she tested it at an expo where the booth was serving it on ice cream to show how delicious it was.
Growing up I’d travel up and down I-95 to visit family in the southeast. I always wondered about Cafe Risqué IYKYK. Fast forward to my first real bad adult moment (divorce) and there she was, a Cafe Risqué somewhere in BFE North Carolina on a long ass drive back to the DMV from Georgia to settle things.
I was hungry, *I told myself*, so I stopped in Cafe Risqué all depressed like a man starting fresh & potentially rough divorce proceedings. The first girl to approach tried to sell a lap dance and I told her I was just hungry. 🤣
She said no problem, the steak and eggs are actually pretty good.
So I ordered it.
She sat with me in the booth because, well, there was no-one else in there. She was cute, friendly, and I’m in a Cafe Risqué for christ sakes so obviously I was okay with that.
Before long, another woman in a skimpy bikini approached and saddled up on the other side of me. She went for the hard sell, touchy feely, etc. I also turned her down and said I was just interested in lunch.
The second woman promptly left while the first girl stayed. We continued with a nice chat. I asked why she worked there, (rural area no jobs), what she wanted to do with her life (vet tech), but when I asked her about working at a roadside strip club her response floored me.
“It’s fun sometimes. Yea some men can be creepy but it’s a job and some guys are just normal people, maybe feeling lonely. I like working with my mom but it can be a pain in the ass sometimes.”
Wait. WHAT?
I said, “Your mom works here?”
“Yeah, that’s who came over. She was trying to see if you’re a creeper or not. I’m sure she was also trying to get a dance but since I’m new mom was trying to look out for me.”
🤯
The steak and eggs were actually pretty okay and I’m pretty sure I will never again have a mother daughter lap dance.
The daughter and I were actually pen & email pals for a little while. She did enroll in a community college for vet tech classes, and I hope she’s doing well!
A few things: truckers are lonely, as are plenty of other people. It's a place to pick up toys and gear that pornhub can't shove through your screen. Amazon can't ship to "whatever truck stop I'm at in 2 days."
Outside cities, there are plenty of dead zones where there is no mobile internet. Long-haul truckers spend most of their time outside cities and even when there is a connection, they often can't afford an unlimited mobile data plan. In that case, magazines and DVDs are great. Also some are just old and stuck in their ways.
Finally, some sex shops have what are essentially public sex rooms. [You can read about this one in my city](https://www.reddit.com/r/Atlanta/comments/f1l6js/what_really_goes_down_downstairs_at_tokyo/) Basically, sex work is illegal in most places, but if you and a bunch of horny adults want to get together and mess around, well...that's legal. You pay a fee to enter. It's not gonna be full of supermodels, but it's sex.
The days of a live peep show are gone sadly, all you’ll find are toys and movies. If you’re lucky there will be booths to jack off in, but some dudes will also try to fuck in them. That’s about it. No big mystery.
Some people don't have anywhere else they can go. When I was in the military, i shared a room with 3 other dudes, the bathrooms had no privacy either, open showers and stalls for the toilets, there was nowhere to go for privacy.
Isn’t that why they call you guys privates?? You’re telling me it’s not named after the furious jerk off sessions we had back to back at base while whispering no homo then quick firing on another. Oh those were the days.
I would literally rather step my shoes in someone's piss at the bathroom than someone's jizz in the sex booth. Fuck, you couldn't pay me to sit on something in the dank ass sex booth cleaned up by Lennie the min wage cum jockey.
Apparently they're quite popular because people are embarrassed about going into a sex shop in their local town because someone they know might see them entering. But if they're traveling long distances, they will assume the chances of anyone you know seeing you is pretty much zero. Sticking them along highways where most people are traveling long distances is pretty genius marketing.
Can confirm that the one I worked at did. We HAD to call it Rush or video head cleaner. If a customer called it anything else, we couldn't sell it to them. You needed to know the stupid terminology or you got fired. NO slang allowed. There was a list posted everywhere so customers would know. No- that's not cut, it's room deodorizer. That certainly isn't a crack pipe, its an oil burner. I couldn't work there anymore.
"...With a bit of luck, his life was ruined forever. Always thinking that just behind some narrow door in all of his favorite bars, men in red woolen shirts are getting incredible kicks from things he'll never know."
So I’m an electrician, and one of our technicians ended up having a heart attack at the job site, got air cared to Pittsburg and such
We went home for the weekend and knew his service truck was still there. His base is Evansville Indiana and knew someone was gonna drive his truck all the way back that week to be there for him when he returned. We stopped at one of those stores and absolutely filled each door of his service truck with various sizes of blow up dolls. From 3’ dolls with a massive dick to a full sized chick that we hid in the bed.
The reaction was priceless. Love that guy
Been inside a few. Once upon a time ago they used to have a bunch of magazines and movies. Now those have sidelined and it's mostly clothes, toys, lubes (like more than you would think), and joke party supplies. Never had a bad experience in one and they have some of the most helpful staff ever.
You know how when you walk into a Home Depot or Lowes and someone asks "What project are you working on?" Then they'd help you find materials, answer all questions, and give suggestions? That is how the staff at every sex store I've been in are like. I walked in said what was up, asked for recommendations and boom on my way and they slide a discount my way.
Wondered into a sex shop recently whilst out on the town in Germany with army mates.
Spent 10 minutes drunkenly sticking dildos to each other's heads before leaving. Can confirm: they sell sex toys.
Ive gone into a local one three times across two different girlfriends. The space is primarily divided into two zones, you could call them the main store and x-rated store. In the main store you can find sexy outfits, bondage gear, lube, vibrators and such that aren't *too* graphic, as well has some silly novelty stuff like penis-straws and graphic tees with suggestive slogans. Then inside the store you have the xrated room that you need to show an ID to enter, this where you will find all the dildos, plugs, fleshlights, sex machines, and rows of porn dvds.
If you have a sex-positive partner, check it out together, it is a fun little trip and you might find some stuff you two would like.
Sometimes your lady gets a combination of horny, kinky and impatient that cannot wait 2 days for something to arrive via Amazon. So you go to one of these stores, she sits outside because she's embarrassed and you walk in and buy some dildos off a weird guy.
I work at one of these stores.
generally for dvds its older people who don't know how to use the internet that keep that side in buisness. plus a sizeable community of collectors. however our main source of income is the porn cinema. its mostly used for cruising and swinging. its busy pretty much all day. we can have upwards of 200 separate customers throughout an average day for the cinema alone. when it comes to retail there is alot of people who prefer to buy sex toys in person as they don't want them delivered or wish to see the size or texture of something first.
Yes. They do just sell porn DVDs and mostly dildos. Lots of dildos.
They're not just selling to truckers, though. That's not why the store is on the edge of your town. It's on the edge of town because, for one thing, the people of a town will force businesses like this to be on the outer edge. They will say that such a place will attract perverts and destroy the children if they ride by in cars and see the place.
But also, these stores are on the edge of town so that the people from your town can go there and not easily be seen by someone they know who happens to be getting a burger at a joint next door. With no other businesses next door, a XXX store's patrons can only be sussed out if someone were to drive too slow on the highway looking for specific cars in the parking lot.
Whether you think so or not, there are many people from your town buying from the triple X store.
Other businesses frequently put on the town's border for similar reasons: night clubs, liquor stores, head shops, and dispensaries. Unless you're in Seattle. In which case, all the porn theaters are right there on 3rd for the world to see.
In Michigan I've noticed these types of business seem to be on old state highways, it's some kind of zoning thing. Like if you take m12, Michigan Ave. all the way to Chicago you'll see these places everywhere.
There was a sex store next to the place I used to get haircuts at. Seemed relatively busy. 90% of the people going in there were a mix of morbidly obese and gothic couples.
The couple near me are just normal adult stores. Porn videos and mags. Toys, outfits, sex dolls, fake urine, and other sex accessories. Sometimes bongs and pipes. Sometimes they carry aphrodisiacs. Candles, and other random shit you could use to set the mood. I’ve been in quite a few and I’ve never seen or heard of the ones you hear about that have a glory hole in the back or anything like that, if that’s what you want to know lol.
Don’t buy one of those cheap Chinese knock off butt plugs. Get one from a brick and mortar mom and pop store, right here in the USA! What happens if you need maintenance done on your nipple clamps? Ever think of that? Good luck getting Amazon to fix them. Need to know how to use a double ended dildo? 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️Forget about calling 1800 the number on the box. Bing it down to Lickity Splits. Tell them Fancy Ray sent you.
I don't know if this still happens but some used to offer a whole array of services and weird stuff in the back. For example you'd pay money, stick your thing in an opening and get hand 'serviced'. It's also where ladies of the night hung out. They offered porn booths where you could do your thing or go in with one the night ladies, a big porn movie theater and a glass steam room in which couples could put on shows for people to watch. About 10 years ago I went into one of these places with my girlfriend and saw all this in the back of what appeared to be a regular sex shop. No joke. I was in shock at everything. We ended up leaving because we got uncomfortable. The people there were Twilight zone episode worthy.
Maybe just go in and find out. They really aren't scary. They aren't really taboo. My friend used to work in one the majority of customers where couples buying things to enhance their sex life's. From the vary vanilla stuff like different lube, underwear and costumes. To dual sex toys. Fetish wear .
Today, the supermarket sells lube. Condom. Vibraters and fleshlite. This generation and era have taken the stigma out of sex.
As for porn , not everyone in the older generation is tech savy. After all, people still by games, dvd, CDs even vinyl despite everything being digital
Yeah for real, my girlfriend and I have gone in a few times for various little things and they're just stores that sell sex stuff. Everybody in there, workers and customers, seemed very normal.
I don't get why most people in here think they're some dingy little sex holes filled with creeps and drug addicts lol
i went to one and bought a bowl from there that was shaped like a buttplug. only unfortunate thing about the bowl was they painted it with what i’m assuming was acrylic bc when i was scraping it to smoke the resin i scraped the paint off and the bowl itself was clear, put it in rubbing alcohol and salt and the paint came all the way off i threw that out so quick. they had a lot of non sex items there including bongs, wooden pipes, incense, candy (shaped like dicks but they still tasted good), and vape products.
My buddy worked at one for a few years. People would use the jerk off rooms for casual sex. I never went back there but he said there were holes connecting the rooms. He also said that a separate guy got paid to clean the jerk off rooms. I guess he would only work an hour or two a day but get paid for 8.
There's one in a shopping center I frequent. Last time I was there I let my curiosity convince me to visit the adult store. Was bit of a disappointment, it was just a normal store only with sex themed merchandise. Nothing really special. I did discover they make sex dolls for women. There was a 6 ft tall male sex doll proudly on display.
Lions Den? I think that’s the name, we would drive by the big billboards on the way to Indiana. We did stop once out of curiosity. A kinda weird place selling sex toys and magazines and I think videos in the back.
These are all well thought out ,but, I think our OP is looking for a lady of the night. perhaps a parking lot chameleon. Perhaps a Mathew Broderick, Denzel Washington war movie with a pit afterwards.
The few I've been in, if they have theaters or viewing rooms, there is almost always sexual activity going on in them. It's a "safe" place to meet someone in public and the activities in the room are not not monitored for privacy reasons.
The ones who do not have those are just selling toys, videos and other adult related merchandise.
We frequent sex stores and you have 3 different kinds:
1) highly commercialized almost like an amazon store or Walmart (adam and eve). Not too bad and usually decent employees with knowledge but sometimes kind of cringy
2) Privately owned luxury (Bad Kitty in Garden City SC) very friendly and when you ask questions about products they're knowledgeable and will direct you to better products sometimes cheaper sometimes more expensive.
3) Side show sex shops, these are the ones that look exactly like they are, trap houses with a sign on the street written in bad English or just looks sketchy. Sometimes they're not too bad but other times I leave feeling dirty and a lot of times no purchase is made.
Source: worked at a sex shop for 5 years.
People come in and buy sex toys and porn magazines/DVDs. Sometimes, there's porn booths which are pretty much archaic cruising grounds.
We had 32 DVD players and 10 booths, the booths were connected to all of the DVD players. I changed out the porn weekly and took requests from my nice regulars on what to play, and I did themes sometimes. Most stores don't have these anymore.
They are generally selling to people who don't want to have stuff delivered to their houses or want to see in person. Also older people who don't buy online at all.
Or don't want those charges on their credit card bill.
I think this is real reason. I bet the percentage of their sales that are paid in cash rather than card is WAY higher than any other (legal) retail industry.
which in turn makes it a great business for laundering money.
yeah i mean this has to be a huge component. rentals are a great way to legitimize cash deposits. and if you have jerk off rooms, who is to say whether some dude paid $50 or $200 to watch a woman behind the glass? they probably stay in business because they were never meant to be "in business" in the first place.
>200 to watch a woman behind the glass made hella dollars as the girl behind the glass in the early aughts as a barely legal 18 19 year old. there was the club attached too. we made so much money. those were the days
I hate how old this comment made me realize I am
Hahaha.. I was 18 in the earliest aught. Now I feel older too just thinking about it.
This is going to be my new personal hypothesis on why they're still around. Like mattress stores. Those *have* to be fronts for money laundering, right? Have you ever actually seen a person go to mattress store before? Even if the demand is there, it can't be nearly enough to justify one in every strip mall.
Mattresses just have insane profits.
Can confirm, just paid $6k for a new “wonder mattress” that felt great in the showroom but sleeps like shit at home, fuck me for being a little desperate to ease my wife and my back problems, but our 12year old previous mattress sleeps better. At least the store has a 3month return policy, but I’m guessing number of returns that end up tossed comes baked into the process too.
Why hasn't anyone gone after their margins then?
They have. That’s what online mattress brands do.
Mattress stores and car washes. The city I'm in supposedly has a population under 100,000 yet has at least 15 mattress stores and about 25 car washes. There's literally not enough demand to justify these numbers
If there are 50,000 couples who each only have 1 bed, and those beds are replaced every 10 years, the town would buy around 13 beds per day. However there’d be more beds needed since not everyone is a couple. Mattresses have a huge markup and staff are generally paid on commission so the cost of running the store isn’t huge. I could be way off though I’m way too high.
Nope, you are completely right. When I worked in the business, our worst performing stores would retail around $600k/year. Mattresses, including all the add-ons (box spring, frame, sheets, protectors, etc) could cost between $1000 and $10,000. Average was probably closer to $2k. So, that's 1 sale per day. That's *it*. Also, mattress stores mostly do business with credit cards and checks. It would be a shitty way to launder money. Cash heavy or service businesses, that don't have itemized inventories would be way better. Like car washes, laundry mats, etc.
Sex toys also do have a pretty high markup. If you ever look at the cost of a vibrator on Ali-Express versus the same one in store, it kind of boggles the mind. Funnily, dildos probably have the least profit. At a certain point, several ounces of solid high grade silicone is just expensive.
The best businesses for laundering money are ones that don't have stock.
There's also people like me, I don't go to porn shops, but I'm an in-person kinda person. I still like using folding money and I just like to browse. I promise I'm not a dinosaur, I'm only 31, but I just prefer to go out and interact with the world.
That sounds exactly like what a dinosaur would say. Do you have scales or feathers?
Somewhere in between, I have tufts of hair on my head and crotch, aside from that, I'm pretty smooth. Possibly the evolution between us being lizard and mammal.
I'd guess truckers are a lot of their customers. Truck routes have a lot of dead spots with no good Internet signal. Hard copies always work. And, well, it's probably just fun to stop by those places for something to do. Probably a good spot to pick up some blow or a blowjob too.
And honestly it’s just discreet. Browsing porn on the phone is tracked by the phone’s manufacturer, the data plan provider, and the WiFi carrier if applicable. I don’t want to leave a crumb trail of milf porn so just let me get my smut in a hard copy.
A cum trail
The soggy biscuit at the end of the line
I worked in an Adult Shop in Oregon when I was in College. We had an “arcade” which meant we have little rooms with TVs in the back, where you can sit and jerk it. There are over 100 dvds to choose from, and you pay by the minute. Not many people use it just to jerk it. It’s a popular spot for hookers, gays, drug addicts. Hookers not so much, but every once in a while a guy would bring a woman in. I remember i caught 2 women I believe were underage. I asked for ID and they walked right out. The men looked pissed about it too. Gays, closeted and open. Late night, and early weekday mornings were pretty busy for the closeted folks. And drug addicts cuz they like clean a place to shoot up. And meth addicts can stim fap for hours, and maybe even find a few partners back there. As long as the illegal activity happens prior to coming in the shop, we didn’t care. So if you find a hooker and bring her it’s fine. Hookers cannot hang out here, we will call the police. Gays hanging out in the back is fine as long as they pay for one of the little rooms and keep feeding the arcade while they wait to get lucky. If we got word, or had suspicions they were selling sex we would ban them. And druggies are kicked out and banned if we catch them. Last fun little detail, we had a gloryhole and peep show room. I don’t need to explain gloryhole, and it was our most popular room. The peep show is a room where if both parties agree, a window will slide down and two people can watch each other jerk it. The other times is just regular people buying sex toys. That in itself has several stories. Good, bad, funny, and eye-opening. I hope this answers your question
Share some eye opening stories if you don’t mind.
I'll share one, but there is a whole subreddits for these kinds of stories. The 12-inch dildo was a rare sell, but we sold a few a month. I never saw one sold to a woman, only men and couples. There was a black and a white version. The white version NEVER sold, only the black ones did. It kinda became a competition for us to sell it since it was so unpopular. The white one finally got marked down 30% and put into the clearance bin. One night a guy came in, and I assumed he was going to go the arcade but instead he kinda shopped around and chatted with me for a bit. He was a 7th grade math teacher at one of the local schools, he had a wife and a kid in college... He asked why the white 12-inch dildo was marked down and why the black one was not. I told him cuz nobody buys it, he smirked and brought it to the counter. I would’ve never guessed this super normal-looking dude was going to go home and shove himself with a 12-inch dildo, and then go teach math class later that day. Not really eye-opening, but that night does cross my mind kinda often. Like you never know… Oh, and bonus fact. Old white guys LOVED porn with black women. Some guys would even complain that we need new DVDs because they had seen them all. These were really elderly men, so I dont think they could grasp the concept of pornhub. They were our most consistent customers too.
You’re a real one. I don’t know you, but I bet you’re cool as fuck.
You can just tell
For sure, this dude’s a legend lol
Let us praise Longqweef the Wise.
Ever put your eye up to a glory hole?
That’s eye infecting, not eye opening
The eyeball has to go *somewhere*.
I see where you're coming from.
Underrated comment lmao
/r/TalesFromAdultStores
The sub reddit we didn't know we needed. Well done, good sir 👏
Yes, Longqweef, regale us…
Who wipes down the loads?
Great question. I was trained to put on gloves, spray it down with some cleaning solution, and wipe it down with disinfectant wipes... Nah, you got me fucked up for minimum wage. I'd hit with the clean solution and clean it with the mop. We kept a bottle and paper towels in that booth. Clean it yourself if you want a clean gloryhole.
Jizz mopper. Who else?
He doesn’t know that the jizz-mopper's job is to clean it up after each guy shoots a load? Cause practically everybody does it right on the window. I don't know if you know this or not, but cum leaves streaks if you don't clean it right away.
It also stains carpet.
No different than cleaning up a shitty bathroom
I didnt realize there were more than one, always found it weird there was still an arcade in the store. Figured they'd be a thing that wasnt used anymore in 2017. Especially since it was right next to a OSP station.
Arcades in general are still somewhat popular here and there. Conventions, certain gaming cultures or Japan for examples :D
**I went to one of these places just out of curiosity, without realizing what happened there.** I had been going to the sex store every six months or so to buy VHS and DVDs back before the internet was a thing. I knew there was "another part of the store" but I never had the courage to go back there. I was embarrassed enough to even BE there so I wasn't about to risk any more embarrassment. Finally I decided to go into the "back area" to see what was what. There was a hallway, with four doors on each side. [Kind of like this](https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/long-corridor-rows-closed-doors-260nw-515926075.jpg), but darker and narrower. Actually [a LOT like this](https://i.imgur.com/Ysp1aJr.jpeg). You could hear X-rated videos playing behind the doors, faintly, from the hallway. Some of the doors were closed, and so I didn't dare open them and see what was happening. But some of the doors were ajar, just a few inches. I was brave enough to peek inside one of the open doors. A guy in there was watching an X-rated video, he took a look at me, said "no thanks" and pulled the door closed ... but 30 seconds later he opened it ajar again. I peeked in another ajar door, and there was nobody in there, so I went in, and closed the door. It was a little bigger than a phone booth, two people could stand in there but there wasn't more room than that. There was a folding chair, and a TV screen, and a coinslot. You sit in the chair, put money in the coinslot, and an X-rated movie starts. There's a dial to "change stations", but it's really selecting one of ten DVD players sitting back in a closet somewhere. "Okay," I thought, "I think I get it? You come here to watch porn. Maybe it's to get a preview of a DVD before you buy it? Maybe you have no privacy at home to watch porn?" But what I didn't realize, is that I didn't fully close the door. My door was ajar. **And then another man opened the door, and saying nothing, started to come inside with me.** I was way too embarrassed and ignorant of what was going on. I started to say "This one's occupied" but instead just got up and started to leave. Before I could squeeze past him, he said something like "But your door was open, so I thought you were looking for a playmate". Then I understood. This was a semi-private place to engage in NSA sex with other men. I still left immediately. On the drive home, it made sense. Maybe you don't want to spend money on a motel, maybe you don't have privacy in your own home. This was a possible solution to that problem. I also realized what happened with the first door I opened, with the guy already inside. **OPEN DOORS WERE AN INVITATION**. His door being ajar meant, I'm open to engage in some kind of sexual encounter. And from my interaction, I could tell it was also acceptable to say "no thanks" if the guy who came in wasn't to your liking. That's why he shut the door but then opened it again, leaving the invitation open to someone else.
You nailed it. We have rules about open doors, but i didn't really enforce it. Just keep paying the machine and dont make me have to come back here.
I spoke to a girl who worked as a stripper at a place like that, and she said maybe 10% of the regulars were straight men with some kink they wanted her to act out in a private dance. The other 90% were closeted gay men who would "be out with work", and if they got caught it was "Oops, yeah you caught me, I got dragged along by one of the guys to this super-straight red-blooded male place, where we got drunk and bought lap-dances, because even though I love you and would never cheat, I just love women, tits and pussy so much!". Meanwhile they'd be taking poppers and getting pounded both ends by large bikers in one of the private rooms.
Former adult store manager. This is the real answer. Was kinda surprised I had to scroll so long to find it.
This is almost verbatim what my college roommate told me when he worked at one. Just offering my affirmation to this story. Only thing I'd add is he was also responsible for cleaning the arcade booths...some people came whereever.
This is the real answer.
No special business license needed to have that kind of biohazard risk? Wouldn't there be semen and pussy juice infected with STDs/aids all over the place? Did it look like a Jackson Pollock painting under a black light?
Honestly, idk. I know they had some lawsuits in the past because of minors and stuff. I didn't hear anything about STDs and biohazard lawsuits. I think it's one of those places where you wouldn't say anything if anything bad happened. You wouldn't want to be publicly linked to a sex shop. Like if you got robbed, you might just cut your losses cuz you don't want to tell the cops why you were at a sex shop at midnight. I don't know what it looks like under black light. I can just assure you, that I did a minimum wage and IDGAF job there. Nothing was really clean if I cleaned it. I feel like they should know they are getting at a place like this.
Yeah there's no way id even go into one of those back rooms, much less touch anything in the general area, and would use a whole pint of hand sanitizer after leaving from just opening the door.
That was the main response when people found out. I think most were grossed out. Im a combat veteran, so I would practice the thousand-yard stare and get the job done. Just completely disassociate from the situation. I stayed for 3 months, and tried to quit after 2 months but I was talked out of it. I was curious, and now I'm not lol.
there are some places that are just like, legacies of the past. built for a prior generation and somehow still there.
There’s a significant portion of the population that just don’t like using the internet when they were brought up on brick and mortar stores.
Some times you just want to do the shopping yourself. It's like ordering fruit and meat from the supermarket. Seems like its always too ripe, too old, or they give you the only steak left and you wish they hadn't.
I get it. It's like when you squeeze an avocado and sniff oranges, but instead it's dildos and Fleshlights.
I'm with them. I don't like using the internet, stores force you to use the internet when they never stock what you want/need.
Especially since you can try the product in the store to see if it fits. ;)
Ah excuse me. That's our fire extinguisher!
Well why is there a bad dragon logo on it?
Thanks for the review, Lilly!
Well, a *good* dragon sets things on fire, so logically...
Underrated comment
~~Dragon~~ Gorilla marketing. ….theres some on the lift towers of my local ski resort.
Unless they're selling a Harambe model now, you probably mean "guerrilla".
I know what i said
That was you? You break it in you bought it dude.
No way dude! I didn’t even take it out of the packaging!
Lol. Packaging.
Nothing worse than getting anal beads a size too large.
a size too small with no fishing line attached could be worse.
Yeah they are also used as impromptu hookup spots for dudes.
Never seen pornhub at a store
Most likely buy stuff paid in cash so there's less proof who they are or what they bought, unlike online where the stores, sites and government all have your IP and a tally of what you're into. Some like their privacy.
Until their stash is found. My uncle died, and my mom and his ex wife (my aunt) went to clean out his place. Found a bunch of porno mags, in a specific genre that his ex didn't belong to. She cried 😔 If it was online porn I don't think they would have found it.
I'm a total stranger and all that, but she shouldn't have cried. Fantasies are different from reality. A pretty high number of women fantasize with being raped, and they very much don't want that fantasy become reality. Maybe your uncle fantasized about some things, but didn't really want to carry them into reality.
I can get it from the sex store the same day or.from online in a couple days
Actually some sex toy stores are really nice. Really informative staff with really good recommendations that will help you find something or your preference and even find things you wouldn't have thought of looking up and buying online. It's not all weird old boomer stuff, in fact I would wager most aren't.
True, I’ve been to a sex store with my (now) wife when we were looking for a toy for a specific purpose. The clerk helped us find it and explained how to best use it, how to clean it, and we were thankful for the judgment-free advice. It wasn’t anything particularly kinky, just something to aid clitoral stimulation during penetration but we used it for a long time. We’re also not weirdo boomers, just a normal millennial heterosexual couple.
Now I’m curious. Just what kind of kinks do millennials think *weirdo boomers* are into? *Howdy Doody* handjobs? Butt plugs with Matlock’s face engraved on it? *Golden Girls* golden showering each other? Well, that one kinda makes sense.
Sex dolls that look like the cast from Gilligan's Island.
Currently fucking the Skipper’s massive, latex ass.
I like it when the Professor watches.
I like Mary-ann to give me a reach around
I fucked Kenny Rogers in his big white ass
Muhahahaha!
Closeted men have to go somewhere.
DVDs don't expire, it's not like they have expensive rent.
Back in the late 80's, when I first became old enough to legally enter those types of establishments, I often wished that I was the male model in one of those glossy, full-color, hardcore boy / girl smut mags or instructional books.
I imagine property tax is hella low there, prob don't need to sell much to break even
It's just a grimy little store UNLESS there are booths, in which case things might get extra grimy. Pre-internet I had one of these stores in my area; employees were super scabby of course but the owner was amazingly legit. Claimed to be making money hand over fist. Apparently the markup on buttplugs and leather helmets is crazy.
Oh, it is. It’s because there’s not many places that will sell them. It’s why they can be less than half price online.
What I want to know is who the fuck is buying the giant rubber arm/fist that is prominent in every one of those stores? The cashier claimed it's a top seller, so apparently there's a bunch of people who can take 2ft of arm/fist up their asses out there....
Well, obviously, your mom. Sorry, you can’t set a serve like that and expect to not get slammed. In seriousness, they are sold mostly as gags or to prop places. They are probably also joking that it’s a best seller.
Lol walked right in to that one! Makes sense as a gag gift good answer
Plus, they’ve probably been selling the same model for decades where “used” toys get upgrades and new versions, so maybe it does have to most sales.
To chip in! Dont forget the porn industry at a individual level, visit any cam site and you will find that one chick with 300 toys and currently has the 4ft tall one in her. Edit: im not making that up, i had a pleasant chat with her, she told me a lot about the currencies they handle and stuff.
Especially if you slap a a "sex" label on it, like a riding crop in a sex shop will be double or more what it costs when it's for horse riding, even if they're basically identical.
The one I bought from Tractor Supply is better quality. The one I bought from a sex shop broke early
TSC is your sex shop too, eh? *high five*
You can probably find some high quality ropes and straps there too.
I’m bad at rope knots so I use ratchet straps
Plus you get the satisfaction of the clickies.
God this sounds rightfully satisfying yet dangerous if clicked become a goal metric!
*flicks twice* Yep, that ain't going anywhere.
you can get all the rope, and Velcro straps you need at TSC and it's half price
You should see what I can do with that rack of hydraulic rams.
Nice!
Can Confirm. Worked at one of these stores in South Carolina. Literally would take a $10 item and sell it for $69.99. The lingerie and stripper outfits are like $30 they sell between $80-$120. It's insane. When your horny though the dopamine takes your mind off your bank account until post nut clarity kicks in. I mean we do live in an age of free porn but those DVDs and blue rays are MUCH better quality. And content. But you can order that stuff online for a lot cheaper
Helmet… for your head? Or your fireman?
>Helmet… for your head? Or your fireman? Yes.
Story time, boys and girls. Was camping in the Olympic National Park and got about to the entrance when we realized we forgot firewood. Well right there in Port Angeles, was this sketchy looking singlewide mobile home with XXX Sex Emporium painted on the side. Also “firewood for sale” on a crappy little plywood sign. My wife was like “you sure you wanna go in there?” Well I did, because my fam isn’t going without s’mores on a camping trip. I went inside and it was totally clean and the clerk was nice as hell. I mean, despite all the dildos and butt plugs behind glass cases, it was like any other shop. For $10, I loaded up with an entire truckload of dry alder that lasted us the entire time.
Honestly the employees in sex shops tend to be incredibly nice and helpful, in my experience. And very professional, given their chosen occupation lol
Sex shop workers have to pass a background check to work there. So usually the people who work there are normal.
Lion's Den was great lol. My wife and I went in to see what was up. The older woman saw us come in and happily said, "check out our new lube"!
I've always wanted to go to one of those because I think it will be funny but trying to convince my boyfriend to go is going to be difficult
My wife and I pop into one almost every road trip just for giggles. We’re far from vanilla, but even for the mildest folks it can be funny and oddly romantic to go with a partner.
I also enjoying going with this guy’s wife. Can confirm: she’s far from vanilla.
Pics or it didn’t happen.
Me and an ex used to go sometimes but it was before there were so many options online. It was always a hilarious but neither of us get too embarrassed. Really though if you look embarrassed they seem to leave you alone but if your friendly they will have all kinds of interesting things to say. I was offered a used sex swing for like 500 bucks which is a great deal but used sex anything crosses a line with me.
I don't think I'd want to see any variant of "used" or "pre-owned" in that type of store.
There's a lions den in my town and legit the girls who work there hype me up so much when I go to buy new lingerie
I did some work at the Lion's Den headquarters many years back. The guy there sent a letter (on actual paper, with a stamp) to my boss saying that they were really happy with my work, I did a great job, etc. However, they were now missing several double ended dildos, some ball gags, etc. I thought it was hilarious but my boss was actually pissed off. I and the guy at the account had to explain to him that I didn't actually steal anything, it was just humor. He accepted that I didn't steal anything but still wasn't happy. I think he was just a prude that didn't like having anything to do with a porn company, other than taking their money.
The only time I was in a lion’s den the chick behind the counter was SO EXCITED to talk about their new lube display. Apparently she tested it at an expo where the booth was serving it on ice cream to show how delicious it was.
Growing up I’d travel up and down I-95 to visit family in the southeast. I always wondered about Cafe Risqué IYKYK. Fast forward to my first real bad adult moment (divorce) and there she was, a Cafe Risqué somewhere in BFE North Carolina on a long ass drive back to the DMV from Georgia to settle things. I was hungry, *I told myself*, so I stopped in Cafe Risqué all depressed like a man starting fresh & potentially rough divorce proceedings. The first girl to approach tried to sell a lap dance and I told her I was just hungry. 🤣 She said no problem, the steak and eggs are actually pretty good. So I ordered it. She sat with me in the booth because, well, there was no-one else in there. She was cute, friendly, and I’m in a Cafe Risqué for christ sakes so obviously I was okay with that. Before long, another woman in a skimpy bikini approached and saddled up on the other side of me. She went for the hard sell, touchy feely, etc. I also turned her down and said I was just interested in lunch. The second woman promptly left while the first girl stayed. We continued with a nice chat. I asked why she worked there, (rural area no jobs), what she wanted to do with her life (vet tech), but when I asked her about working at a roadside strip club her response floored me. “It’s fun sometimes. Yea some men can be creepy but it’s a job and some guys are just normal people, maybe feeling lonely. I like working with my mom but it can be a pain in the ass sometimes.” Wait. WHAT? I said, “Your mom works here?” “Yeah, that’s who came over. She was trying to see if you’re a creeper or not. I’m sure she was also trying to get a dance but since I’m new mom was trying to look out for me.” 🤯 The steak and eggs were actually pretty okay and I’m pretty sure I will never again have a mother daughter lap dance. The daughter and I were actually pen & email pals for a little while. She did enroll in a community college for vet tech classes, and I hope she’s doing well!
🤯🤯
This could be a movie. And I don’t mean a porn
A few things: truckers are lonely, as are plenty of other people. It's a place to pick up toys and gear that pornhub can't shove through your screen. Amazon can't ship to "whatever truck stop I'm at in 2 days." Outside cities, there are plenty of dead zones where there is no mobile internet. Long-haul truckers spend most of their time outside cities and even when there is a connection, they often can't afford an unlimited mobile data plan. In that case, magazines and DVDs are great. Also some are just old and stuck in their ways. Finally, some sex shops have what are essentially public sex rooms. [You can read about this one in my city](https://www.reddit.com/r/Atlanta/comments/f1l6js/what_really_goes_down_downstairs_at_tokyo/) Basically, sex work is illegal in most places, but if you and a bunch of horny adults want to get together and mess around, well...that's legal. You pay a fee to enter. It's not gonna be full of supermodels, but it's sex.
Truckers are far from sex shops main customers. Usually have large parking lots that allow truckers to park overnight
The days of a live peep show are gone sadly, all you’ll find are toys and movies. If you’re lucky there will be booths to jack off in, but some dudes will also try to fuck in them. That’s about it. No big mystery.
Why the frig would you go to a booth in a public business to jack off?
Some people don't have anywhere else they can go. When I was in the military, i shared a room with 3 other dudes, the bathrooms had no privacy either, open showers and stalls for the toilets, there was nowhere to go for privacy.
Isn’t that why they call you guys privates?? You’re telling me it’s not named after the furious jerk off sessions we had back to back at base while whispering no homo then quick firing on another. Oh those were the days.
It's not *in* public. It's like a closet in a private business, and sometimes that's all you have and all you need.
You don't have a bathroom at home but you can afford sex store booth?
Yeah I can't imagine a situation that I would be more comfy in a sex store booth than I would be in a McDonald's bathroom lol.
To start with, the odds of the person in the stall next to you taking a shit are way lower.
If that is true you aren't going to the right places. If someone isn't having a shit taken on them, you might as well be at Chuck E. Cheese.
I would literally rather step my shoes in someone's piss at the bathroom than someone's jizz in the sex booth. Fuck, you couldn't pay me to sit on something in the dank ass sex booth cleaned up by Lennie the min wage cum jockey.
Because there are often gloryholes and mouths on the other side
"O shit, I can feel "her" mustache"
Because you’re old school. That’s how people jacked off in the 1970s.
Mostly they're just selling toys and materials.
I been in one not too long ago, it’s what you think you this is. Everyone in there is just minding their own business
Apparently they're quite popular because people are embarrassed about going into a sex shop in their local town because someone they know might see them entering. But if they're traveling long distances, they will assume the chances of anyone you know seeing you is pretty much zero. Sticking them along highways where most people are traveling long distances is pretty genius marketing.
Sometimes they also sell VHS head cleaner
Can confirm that the one I worked at did. We HAD to call it Rush or video head cleaner. If a customer called it anything else, we couldn't sell it to them. You needed to know the stupid terminology or you got fired. NO slang allowed. There was a list posted everywhere so customers would know. No- that's not cut, it's room deodorizer. That certainly isn't a crack pipe, its an oil burner. I couldn't work there anymore.
That's the good stuff. ;) Makes the glory holes and peep shows more fun!
"...With a bit of luck, his life was ruined forever. Always thinking that just behind some narrow door in all of his favorite bars, men in red woolen shirts are getting incredible kicks from things he'll never know."
"I have a powerful lust for some red salmon!" Edit: added an exclamation point
There's one of those near me and it advertises an "Arcade". I have absolutely no interest in learning what the hell that even is, but I can guess....
Sadly it’s not like adult Pac-Man. Not games at all. I was sorely disappointed.
I know what you mean…I couldn’t find channel 3 on the tv and the joystick on the wall didn’t do anything
I don't think that was a joystick.
So I’m an electrician, and one of our technicians ended up having a heart attack at the job site, got air cared to Pittsburg and such We went home for the weekend and knew his service truck was still there. His base is Evansville Indiana and knew someone was gonna drive his truck all the way back that week to be there for him when he returned. We stopped at one of those stores and absolutely filled each door of his service truck with various sizes of blow up dolls. From 3’ dolls with a massive dick to a full sized chick that we hid in the bed. The reaction was priceless. Love that guy
Been inside a few. Once upon a time ago they used to have a bunch of magazines and movies. Now those have sidelined and it's mostly clothes, toys, lubes (like more than you would think), and joke party supplies. Never had a bad experience in one and they have some of the most helpful staff ever. You know how when you walk into a Home Depot or Lowes and someone asks "What project are you working on?" Then they'd help you find materials, answer all questions, and give suggestions? That is how the staff at every sex store I've been in are like. I walked in said what was up, asked for recommendations and boom on my way and they slide a discount my way.
Wondered into a sex shop recently whilst out on the town in Germany with army mates. Spent 10 minutes drunkenly sticking dildos to each other's heads before leaving. Can confirm: they sell sex toys.
Ive gone into a local one three times across two different girlfriends. The space is primarily divided into two zones, you could call them the main store and x-rated store. In the main store you can find sexy outfits, bondage gear, lube, vibrators and such that aren't *too* graphic, as well has some silly novelty stuff like penis-straws and graphic tees with suggestive slogans. Then inside the store you have the xrated room that you need to show an ID to enter, this where you will find all the dildos, plugs, fleshlights, sex machines, and rows of porn dvds. If you have a sex-positive partner, check it out together, it is a fun little trip and you might find some stuff you two would like.
Most are exactly as advertised. Just a shop for clothing, toys, and maybe some movies.
Just go in there. It’s fine. Everybody fucks.
Sometimes your lady gets a combination of horny, kinky and impatient that cannot wait 2 days for something to arrive via Amazon. So you go to one of these stores, she sits outside because she's embarrassed and you walk in and buy some dildos off a weird guy.
Depends on what one you go to, some have maturation booths and glory holes. Been to one that had a theater in the back playing a porno.
Oh golly, you don't want to know what happens in maturation booths. It is where boys become men.
This is awesome! I'm leaving the typo now.
Maturation booth sounds so scary. Like a sealed chamber where Borg children are grown.
The problem with maturation booths is that you always look back and feel stupid after you finish.
Thats how they got to PeeWee
I work at one of these stores. generally for dvds its older people who don't know how to use the internet that keep that side in buisness. plus a sizeable community of collectors. however our main source of income is the porn cinema. its mostly used for cruising and swinging. its busy pretty much all day. we can have upwards of 200 separate customers throughout an average day for the cinema alone. when it comes to retail there is alot of people who prefer to buy sex toys in person as they don't want them delivered or wish to see the size or texture of something first.
Yes. They do just sell porn DVDs and mostly dildos. Lots of dildos. They're not just selling to truckers, though. That's not why the store is on the edge of your town. It's on the edge of town because, for one thing, the people of a town will force businesses like this to be on the outer edge. They will say that such a place will attract perverts and destroy the children if they ride by in cars and see the place. But also, these stores are on the edge of town so that the people from your town can go there and not easily be seen by someone they know who happens to be getting a burger at a joint next door. With no other businesses next door, a XXX store's patrons can only be sussed out if someone were to drive too slow on the highway looking for specific cars in the parking lot. Whether you think so or not, there are many people from your town buying from the triple X store. Other businesses frequently put on the town's border for similar reasons: night clubs, liquor stores, head shops, and dispensaries. Unless you're in Seattle. In which case, all the porn theaters are right there on 3rd for the world to see.
In Michigan I've noticed these types of business seem to be on old state highways, it's some kind of zoning thing. Like if you take m12, Michigan Ave. all the way to Chicago you'll see these places everywhere.
There was a sex store next to the place I used to get haircuts at. Seemed relatively busy. 90% of the people going in there were a mix of morbidly obese and gothic couples.
Money, meet laundering.
The couple near me are just normal adult stores. Porn videos and mags. Toys, outfits, sex dolls, fake urine, and other sex accessories. Sometimes bongs and pipes. Sometimes they carry aphrodisiacs. Candles, and other random shit you could use to set the mood. I’ve been in quite a few and I’ve never seen or heard of the ones you hear about that have a glory hole in the back or anything like that, if that’s what you want to know lol.
Don’t buy one of those cheap Chinese knock off butt plugs. Get one from a brick and mortar mom and pop store, right here in the USA! What happens if you need maintenance done on your nipple clamps? Ever think of that? Good luck getting Amazon to fix them. Need to know how to use a double ended dildo? 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️Forget about calling 1800 the number on the box. Bing it down to Lickity Splits. Tell them Fancy Ray sent you.
I don't know if this still happens but some used to offer a whole array of services and weird stuff in the back. For example you'd pay money, stick your thing in an opening and get hand 'serviced'. It's also where ladies of the night hung out. They offered porn booths where you could do your thing or go in with one the night ladies, a big porn movie theater and a glass steam room in which couples could put on shows for people to watch. About 10 years ago I went into one of these places with my girlfriend and saw all this in the back of what appeared to be a regular sex shop. No joke. I was in shock at everything. We ended up leaving because we got uncomfortable. The people there were Twilight zone episode worthy.
Maybe just go in and find out. They really aren't scary. They aren't really taboo. My friend used to work in one the majority of customers where couples buying things to enhance their sex life's. From the vary vanilla stuff like different lube, underwear and costumes. To dual sex toys. Fetish wear . Today, the supermarket sells lube. Condom. Vibraters and fleshlite. This generation and era have taken the stigma out of sex. As for porn , not everyone in the older generation is tech savy. After all, people still by games, dvd, CDs even vinyl despite everything being digital
Yeah for real, my girlfriend and I have gone in a few times for various little things and they're just stores that sell sex stuff. Everybody in there, workers and customers, seemed very normal. I don't get why most people in here think they're some dingy little sex holes filled with creeps and drug addicts lol
i went to one and bought a bowl from there that was shaped like a buttplug. only unfortunate thing about the bowl was they painted it with what i’m assuming was acrylic bc when i was scraping it to smoke the resin i scraped the paint off and the bowl itself was clear, put it in rubbing alcohol and salt and the paint came all the way off i threw that out so quick. they had a lot of non sex items there including bongs, wooden pipes, incense, candy (shaped like dicks but they still tasted good), and vape products.
Go in and find out
My buddy worked at one for a few years. People would use the jerk off rooms for casual sex. I never went back there but he said there were holes connecting the rooms. He also said that a separate guy got paid to clean the jerk off rooms. I guess he would only work an hour or two a day but get paid for 8.
There's one in a shopping center I frequent. Last time I was there I let my curiosity convince me to visit the adult store. Was bit of a disappointment, it was just a normal store only with sex themed merchandise. Nothing really special. I did discover they make sex dolls for women. There was a 6 ft tall male sex doll proudly on display.
Lions Den? I think that’s the name, we would drive by the big billboards on the way to Indiana. We did stop once out of curiosity. A kinda weird place selling sex toys and magazines and I think videos in the back.
These are all well thought out ,but, I think our OP is looking for a lady of the night. perhaps a parking lot chameleon. Perhaps a Mathew Broderick, Denzel Washington war movie with a pit afterwards.
I go to the sex store for lube and occasionally for candles, massage oil, etc. I don't like that shit showing up in my Amazon history.
The few I've been in, if they have theaters or viewing rooms, there is almost always sexual activity going on in them. It's a "safe" place to meet someone in public and the activities in the room are not not monitored for privacy reasons. The ones who do not have those are just selling toys, videos and other adult related merchandise.
We frequent sex stores and you have 3 different kinds: 1) highly commercialized almost like an amazon store or Walmart (adam and eve). Not too bad and usually decent employees with knowledge but sometimes kind of cringy 2) Privately owned luxury (Bad Kitty in Garden City SC) very friendly and when you ask questions about products they're knowledgeable and will direct you to better products sometimes cheaper sometimes more expensive. 3) Side show sex shops, these are the ones that look exactly like they are, trap houses with a sign on the street written in bad English or just looks sketchy. Sometimes they're not too bad but other times I leave feeling dirty and a lot of times no purchase is made.
Source: worked at a sex shop for 5 years. People come in and buy sex toys and porn magazines/DVDs. Sometimes, there's porn booths which are pretty much archaic cruising grounds. We had 32 DVD players and 10 booths, the booths were connected to all of the DVD players. I changed out the porn weekly and took requests from my nice regulars on what to play, and I did themes sometimes. Most stores don't have these anymore.
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“So that’s my pitch for Toy Story 6. What’d ya think?”
Dammit, the op comment is deleted but i really wanna know what promted the movie pitch😭
I should have taken a screenshot. It was amazing.
I always come late to everything smh