Ten Years in the Sex Toy Industry: Miss Ruby Review 10th Anniversary

Posted by PSEDEN

2024-12-21

On 2024-12-21

I can’t believe I’ve been running this sex toy review blog for 10 years! It makes me nostalgic. Here are some thoughts on this amazing journey.

how it started

At one point in the last few months of 2014, I was staring at a pile of sex toys I had just purchased. Most of them are terrible and I’m angry. I believed the well-written rave reviews on the store’s product page and people assured me the toys were incredible…so I purchased over $100 worth of toys (a lot of money to me). But they weren’t incredible and I felt cheated.

I couldn’t return it so I wrote a review on the store’s product page. These reviews were submitted for approval but were never approved…so my frustration was never expressed to other potential customers.

I decided to help prevent others from buying junk toys. I originally wanted to be a sex toy tester.

I know it’s possible because I’ve seen Business is boominga documentary about a leading UK sex toy store (Lovehoney), which has a brief reference to a sex toy tester. This sent me spiraling on Google where I found some sex toy review blogs. Most of them are gone, but I still remember them: Emmeline Peach, “Potter’s Possessions,” “Hey Epiphora,” “Strong Women,” “ArchVixen,” “Naughty Renee”… They’re so inspiring.

So my tech-savvy boyfriend helped me build my own website: MissRubyReviews.com. I posted my first review in January 2015. I had no idea how big it was going to get.

MissRubyReviews.com was founded during a difficult time in my life. I was in my 20s. I have no money. I was in a graduate program that I hated. I had no family support to rely on. I struggled with anxiety and traumatic stress, and I used student loans to pay for therapy. I also have autism, but I didn’t find out about it for many years.

I’m not in a good place, but this blog is good for me. Sex toys (and this blog) have quickly become my special interest (in the neurodivergent sense); which means I willingly and happily live, breathe, and dedicate all my geeky endeavors, and it just can’t be enough .

This is a hobby that I treat as a job. I learned how to send business emails, market myself to potential sponsors, take better product photography, and how to approach the topic from a neutral, clinical perspective.

As time has gone by, this blog has remained my side “hobby/job” that I can never seem to let go of. There were times when I couldn’t put in as much time, but I never threw in the towel. I moved between many different apartments, along with my sex toy box and plans for a future blog. I have to constantly pare down my sex toy collection to just my favorites because if I don’t I’ll literally be overwhelmed with sex toys, but somehow I still have too many.

The sex toy industry at that time

In 2015, the sex toy industry is still trying to shake off its sordid reputation. Product marketing is often mean-spirited, sexist, and vulgar (Pipedream products are terrible at this). Sex toys are still considered a bit dirty, they certainly aren’t sold in big box stores, and the toys just look different.

We didn’t have pressure wave suction toys back then. Many popular sex toys are still made of porous, unhygienic materials such as jelly or TPR. The vibrator is unlikely to be rechargeable or waterproof. Silicone, rechargeable, and waterproof vibrators are rare and cost well over $100. Body-safe toys just cost more, and they don’t necessarily lead to orgasms.

Back then, sex bloggers were anonymous!

Yes, sex bloggers back then were completely anonymous. Almost every sex toy review blogger I know hides behind a cartoon avatar. No one showed up. Today, I think I might be one of the last “original” (mid-2010s) sex toy bloggers who still hides completely behind an avatar. It’s amazing how transparent, proud, and visible the sex toy review blogosphere has become. But I’m still a shy creature

How far have things developed?

It’s amazing how far the sex toy industry has come in the past decade. Jelly Bunny has been consigned to the shadows of internet history. Today, buyers can get a sturdy silicone rechargeable vibrator for just $40. There are countless sex toy review bloggers out there (some genuine, some not!).

10 years later, I have written over 300 reviews. It feels like there should be more, but when I think about how much time and effort it takes, Character It’s important to dive into every review. Most of my reviews are between 1000-1700 words in length, so we’re looking for the most half a million words Wrote about sex toys. In addition to this there are essays and other miscellaneous posts.

Now I’m in my 30s. I’ve settled down. My mental health is great. My boyfriend and I got married and started a family a long time ago. I live in the most picturesque region of Canada.

I consider myself lucky to have had a front-row seat to the evolution of the sex toy industry over the past decade.

What have been the highlights of the past 10 years?

1. Speak out against questionable marketing practices:

2. Helping many people solve their orgasm problems. I can’t tell you how many times readers have emailed me asking for orgasm advice. I’m not a sex therapist, but people do come to me for advice. I’m particularly proud of one email exchange where a woman in her 40s who had never had an orgasm before came to me for advice and within a few emails we figured out what she needed to do differently to achieve it Orgasm.

3. Seeing so many amazing products and innovations. Seriously, it’s an honor. I’m amazed at how hard and innovative sex toy companies have been.

4. Work with a lot of great companies. I’ve emailed with hundreds of companies over the past decade. So many small sex toy startups have come and gone, but a few have stuck around and become large, thriving businesses. I work closely with a number of companies (notably Peepshow Toys, Betty’s Toy Box and Lovehoney Group) and am very grateful for all the support they have given me over the years.

Worried about the future?

Am I worried about the future of the sex toy review blogosphere? Honestly, sometimes I wonder if we are a dying breed. I have no doubt we will still be around in 10 years, but beyond that? I can see our blog constantly getting pushed down the search engine results and replaced by big AI-assisted “review” sites that use stock photography. My hopes and plans are that my own website still exists and I hope that other bloggers who are truly passionate about the industry continue to build their audiences. As a team, we have done a lot of work to try to control the sex toy industry.

How can you support sex toy bloggers?

Make sure you trust your purchasing power and trust recommendations from real sex bloggers who are passionate about sex toys and sex toy safety. Buy from our links! Most of us use affiliate links to fund our blogs. Every penny helps keep us going.