Reasons Why Don't More People Shop Sex Toys Online
If shopping for sex toys online is so easy and convenient, why don't more people shop for sex toys online? There are two primary reasons why people do not like to shop online for sex toys or other non-sextoy products: 1) a fear of fraud and 2) a fear of data tracking. The fear of fraud when shopping for sex toys online is minimal if it is a trusted online sex toy retail company and data tracking can be avoided or minimized as we explain below.
Fear of Fraud:
This may be big news for you, but your credit card number is no more at risk of being stolen online while sex toy shopping than when your card leaves your hands at the grocery store checkout or even at a sex toy retail store. Online fraud for sex toy and non-sextoy shopping occurs mainly when a company employee steals your card number from your order. If this should happen while online sex toy shopping, credit card companies usually cover fraudulent charges if you report your loss promptly. However, if a sex toy company does not offer to process your credit card information using "encryption software" on a "secure" page, you may either want to call the sex toy company and verify that your information will be transferred through a secure environment over the phone, or find another online sextoy retailer from which to order the product. Please note that some online sex toy sites will tell you when you're about to enter a "secure" environment, but not all sextoy online retailers will, so it is worth your while to call the online sextoy retailer and confirm their authenticity or to look for a stated policy.
Data Tracking
The second fear... and with good reason given movie blockbusters like Enemy of the State! Computer technology makes it easier than ever to track and retain information about you and your surfing habits, but rest assured, surfing the net for online sextoy retailers is not going to land you smack-dab-in-the-middle of an "Enemy of The State" scenario. So why do people hesitate to purchase sex toys online? A frequent concern, other than receiving sextoy or sex-related junk mail, is not knowing what information other people may have access to online regarding oneself. If this is what is keeping you from shopping for sex toys or surfing the net for what makes you feel good, then do a search on yourself. If you find that you're carelessly divulging unnecessary information on user profiles, delete what you don't want known about yourself; or ask your internet service provider (ISP) to do so for you. Online sites, whether they sell sex toys or not, tend to track people's surfing habits with "cookies", or a piece of data stored on your computer's hard drive that details your visit to that site and any future visits to that site. Winks and Semans explain that cookies are often a necessary part of many sex toy and non-sextoy retail site's shopping cart systems, but that the possibility of data being compiled and sold to other companies does exist. However, there are excellent websites that explain how to disable "cookies" if that eases your mind. Please note that most reputable sextoy retail sites are aware of consumer privacy concerns and will post privacy policies.