Tore has been selling sex toys at Dupont sexuality emporium the Pleasure Place for a couple months now. Before that, she was selling cars at Eastern Motors. Pleasure Place is easier, on average. “I have to like what I do,” says Tore. “And I like sex.”
So it didn’t take long for Tore to learn the shop’s selection of prostate probes, anal douches, and vibrating rings like—-well—-the back of her hand. “No time, really,” says Tore. “No time. I knew nothing about half of this stuff until I started working here. But there’s not a lot for us to do here, so it’s like one-on-one with the products most of the time,” she says.
Beyond helping women try on stripper heels and accommodating hordes of pre-party bachelorette crews, working at the Pleasure Place includes a lot of down time. “Usually I’m just chilling out, messing with the toys,” Tore says. But it’s more than just fucking around: The practice helps Tore field a barrage of obvious-to-obscure queries from customers. “What’s this for? How does this work? Where do I put this?” says Tore. “They’ll ask anything, man, really.”
SEX SHOP STATS:
Average vibrator size: Eight inches, Tore says: The biggest they offer is 10 inches; the smallest, six.
Average dildo color: “Most people like the flesh color, something pretty close to their own skin.”
Average number of batteries sold per week: About 200.
Average customer: Not applicable. “We got strippers, gay men, lesbians, straight freaky people.”
Average item: The Pleasure Place’s most popular item is the “The Rabbit,” a vibrator that Tore says has been endorsed by both Oprah and the ladies of Sex and the City. Tore plucks a couple batteries from behind the register to show the basics of the Rabbit—-what it’s for, how it works, where you put it. “The ears move fast to stimulate the clitoris,” Tore explains, making the machine’s little critter bounce. “And you can bend it to hit the G-spot,” she says, making the flexible dildo move at inhuman angles. “You can’t get a penis to do that,” she says.
Perhaps Tore’s learned a little too much about the product for the store’s own good.
“What are the pearls for?” a customer asks.
“They make it cost five dollars more,” says Tore.