Discreet Shipping for Sex Toys
Sep
As a retailer that prides itself on respecting customers’ privacy, we know a thing or two about the reality of discreet shipping. We wrote this article as an educational guide to help consumers understand what to look for when making private purchases online and to understand there are differences in discreet shipping services.
It’s obvious that no sex toy company could survive shipping packages with “Dildo” or “Vibrator” colorfully broadcast all over their shipping boxes. For most people, especially those living with family or roommates, concerns about privacy are justifiably real. It’s important to know about the many aspects of discreet delivery and customer privacy before placing an order for intimate products.
Another reason you should care about the degree of privacy offered during shipping? A recent study showed that in 2018, the three leading couriers (USPS, UPS, and FedEx) delivered 13.5 billion packages in the United States. Of those, 11% were damaged or misdelivered. That’s nearly 1.5 billion packages that were in the hands of, or the contents exposed to, someone other than the intended recipient. Granted, many Americans don’t care if their neighbors, roommates, or live-in family associate them with sex toys, but for many of us, this is a real concern.
Here are some of the factors to consider in evaluating discreet shipping services:
Shipping Boxes, Envelopes & Tape
Some companies save on shipping costs by using cheaper envelopes instead of cardboard boxes. These envelopes don’t always hold up to the heavy handling of some shipping carriers. Additionally, some products are also identifiable through the soft envelopes. If you are unsure whether your retailer uses envelopes for shipping, look for images of the product box to be assured the contents cannot be identified through a soft shipping envelope.
Many consumers are familiar with the clear plastic packing tape you can buy at most retail stores. This type of tape is susceptible to tear and can easily be peeled off. Large retailers invest in tamper-proof, reinforced gummed tape machines to seal packages and secure its contents.
Our Practice: HappyBed uses reinforced gum tape with sturdy, corrugated boxes or tear resistant shipping bags for all orders. HappyBed uses discretion when choosing the appropriate packaging for your items to maintain your privacy.
Their Practice: Some retailers ship products in padded envelopes and clear packing tape, and some don’t disclose what shipping containers they use.
Discreet Billing
As is the case with discreet shipping, all sex toy retailers will use an alias or parent company name so your credit card statement won’t directly identify the name of their website. All good, right? No, it’s just the first step. Many of these discreet alias or parent company names can be easily Googled with the first search result pointing directly to the website you ordered from. In fact, several of the leading sex toy retailers can easily be found in the top results on Google just by searching their discreet billing name. It wouldn’t be hard for a family member or whoever has access to your credit card statement, now or in the future, to crack that code.
Our Practice: HappyBed bills under a name that we carefully protect from being indexed by search engines. We only represent it as an image on our site like here …
Their Practice: Some leading sex toy retailers will share their billing name in their FAQ or on their checkout page. There have been recent efforts to reduce this kind of visibility, but we found that about half are still easily found in top search results.
Inside the Box
Still concerned? We understand. Living with nosey roommates or intrusive family members can cause anxiety, even if there is only a remote chance someone intentionally opens your package. Sometimes packages are accidentally opened by someone thinking it was for them! To address this, HappyBed has a service where we can put many of our products inside a fake cell phone charger box. That way, if someone intentionally or accidentally opens your package, they still won’t suspect what’s inside.
Our Practice: Our Extra Discreet Packaging service provides assurance in case someone opens your shipping box.
Their Practice: If you order a Lovense product directly from Lovense, they will place the product inside 2 boxes. Few other retailers offer this option.
Delivery Methods
Even with all of the above precautions, when your package is left on your doorstep or handed to a family member or roommate bad things can happen, intentional or not. This is where HappyBed is really special. We are one of the first sex toy retailers to ship to UPS Access Points. UPS Access Points allow you to pick up your package away from home, at your convenience, at automated lockers (just like Amazon Lockers) or retailers like CVS, Michaels, and UPS stores all across the country. It’s convenient and totally private.
Our Practice: Just select UPS Access Point Delivery at Checkout and select from one of the thousands of locations across the country where you want to pick up your package discreetly.
Their Practice: Most other retailers require home delivery. Further, they often charge additional shipping if you want to designate a carrier rather than relying on the cheapest option, so you don’t always have full say or visibility into which carrier is being used.
Special Requests
Sometimes, you may want to take advantage of a sale or promotion but won’t be home to receive your shipment for another few days. You may have a special packaging request outside of what is outlined above, or you may have specific questions about the product packaging itself. Have a question about picking up your UPS Access Point delivery? A shipment issue?
Our Practice: HappyBed is a small business, and we want you to have a great experience shopping with us! We are willing to work with you on special requests, special situations, or questions prior to your purchase to make sure you or your partner are satisfied from the get-go!