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New York Times
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Go Ahead and Shower With the New Waterproof Magic Wand
Versions of the iconic Magic Wand have been our top-pick vibrator for more than a decade. And now, for its latest trick, the Magic Wand is waterproof. The Magic Wand Waterproof is distributor Vibratex's answer to a shortcoming of previous versions — you can't shower or bathe with them, or run them under a faucet for easier cleaning. Compared with previous versions, this newest model also has a stronger, more rumbly level-four 'high' setting. In our experience, it feels like the most powerful Magic Wand yet. Expect to pay extra for these features. If a waterproof toy is important to you, or if you crave even more intensity, it may well be a worthwhile investment. This is a waterproof version of our longtime top-pick vibrator. It's rechargeable and can be submerged in water for up to 30 minutes, which also means it is easier to clean than other Magic Wand models. No other toy matches the power and intensity of the widely beloved Magic Wand. The intense stimulation it provides can be particularly helpful for people experiencing diminished libido or sensitivity. This is a waterproof version of our longtime top-pick vibrator. It's rechargeable and can be submerged in water for up to 30 minutes, which also means it is easier to clean than other Magic Wand models. No other toy matches the power and intensity of the widely beloved Magic Wand. The intense stimulation it provides can be particularly helpful for people experiencing diminished libido or sensitivity. The Magic Wand Waterproof looks almost identical to the Magic Wand Rechargeable, our top pick, with a few subtle differences. The circumference at the top of the body is a bit larger (it's 0.3 inch wider in diameter, per Vibratex), and the unit itself weighs 60 grams (about the weight of a chicken egg) more than the Rechargeable version, according to our measurements. 'Waterproof' is clearly printed below the Magic Wand logo, so there's little risk of your accidentally mixing it up with another model you may own. The Waterproof version also functions the same way as the Rechargeable model does, with an on/off power button and two buttons to take you through four intensity levels and four vibration patterns. In addition to being waterproof (with an IPX7 rating, it can be submerged down to 1 meter, or 3.3 feet, for up to 30 minutes), this toy produces vibrations that feel stronger and more rumbly at every level but especially at the highest, level four. Whether that is a selling point or a drawback for you depends on your personal preference, but people who adore the Magic Wand because of its unparalleled power are likely to appreciate this upgrade. For regular users of a non-waterproof Magic Wand, the ease of throwing this new model in the sink for a quick and easy soap-and-water rinse under the faucet will be absolutely liberating. Being able to use it for a shower massage or in a tub is a bonus for those who enjoy playing in water. The Magic Wand Waterproof takes a dip in the bath. Bianca Alba for NYT Wirecutter The Magic Wand Waterproof has a few minor flaws. It is about $60 more expensive than the Rechargeable version, and people who already find the Rechargeable model to be too strong probably wouldn't enjoy the additional power this toy offers. The Waterproof model must also charge longer for a shorter total run time: four hours of charging for two and a half hours of play, in contrast to the three hours of charging for three hours of play with the Rechargeable version. Unlike the Magic Wand Rechargeable, the Magic Wand Waterproof is nonoperational in charging mode, so if you run out of juice in the middle of a session, you're out of luck. This was designed as a safety feature, and it's the only significant drawback we found in this toy in comparison with the Rechargeable model. Another minor drawback: A small included blue cap is intended to be plugged into the charging port when the vibrator is submerged in water. The toy is fully waterproof without the cap, which is meant to keep the port dry so that it can be safely plugged in for charging. If you're prone to losing and misplacing small objects, keeping track of this cap may prove to be an annoyance. From top: The Magic Wand Plus, a corded model; the cordless Magic Wand Rechargeable, our top pick; and the cordless Magic Wand Waterproof, the newest toy in the line (and the only one that can be submerged in water). Bianca Alba for NYT Wirecutter If you are a Magic Wand lover looking to upgrade or replace an existing toy, and you don't mind spending a little extra for ease of cleaning, versatility, and added power, this model is worth the additional expense. This article was edited by Tracy Vence and Kalee Thompson. Few products have had as profound an effect on sexual health as the Magic Wand . It's a decent back and shoulder massager, too. Over 10 years of research and testing, we still think the Magic Wand Rechargeable is the best clitoral vibrator. It's an effective whole-body massager, too. Buying a vibrator can be tricky without a great recommendation. This week, we discuss why vibrators are still so taboo—and how to pick one you'll love.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tariffs are coming for your sex toys
Trump's massive tariffs on China are going to hurt your sex life. Most sex toys sold in the U.S. are manufactured in China, and production can't quickly shift stateside. This month, the president has made a slew of announcements and backtracks on global tariffs. This has led to an escalating trade war with China, with current tariffs on imports at 145 percent (as of this writing), and the administration hinting that they can balloon to 245 percent. SEE ALSO: People are rushing to Temu and Shein to beat Trump's tariffs As many products sold in the U.S. are made in China, many industries and customers will likely suffer. Sex toy companies aren't any different, and if these tariffs continue, your bedside drawer might look a lot emptier soon. Why are sex toys made in China? "Pretty much all toys are made in China," said Carolyn Eagle, owner of the online sex toy shop Betty's Toy Box and others. Factories in China have the manufacturing capabilities and decades of knowledge to make toys, particularly vibrators, which have small electronic parts like motors. This wasn't always the case, though, according to sex historian and journalist Hallie Lieberman. In the early twentieth century, vibrators were produced in the U.S. — and companies were proud of it. "Pretty much all toys are made in China." - Carolyn Eagle, owner of the online sex toy shop Betty's Toy Box "In the early 1900s, the U.S. [...] Racine, Wisconsin marketed itself as ' vibrator capital of the world ,'" said Lieberman, author of Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy . "We were making electric motors and vibrators in Wisconsin […] the Midwest was that production capital, because we were making small electric motors here. They had the infrastructure, they had the factories." In the decades since, Lieberman said we've "gone from doing vibrator production in the U.S. to completely outsourcing it." Why? Why does the U.S. outsource vibrator production? Firstly, these Midwestern-made vibrators weren't marketed for sexual purposes (even though that's what they were used for); they were sold as products for health and non-sexual uses — even vacuum cleaners . Around the sexual revolution and women's liberation movement in the 1960s and 70s, vibrators did become more associated with sex, and women's masturbation in particular. This contributed to more stigma around the toys. American companies like Hamilton Beach, which produced vibrators at the turn of the century (you can find some on eBay ), focused on other household appliances instead. Meanwhile, the iconic Magic Wand vibrator (formerly known as the Hitachi Magic Wand), which isn't produced in the U.S., debuted in 1968. By the time Vibratex, the wholesale distributor of Magic Wand, took over distributing and managing the vibrators in 2000, Magic Wand was manufactured in China. The switch from manufacturing in Japan to China happened in the late 1980s or early 1990s, CEO of Vibratex Ken Herskovitz told Mashable. Vibratex, which launched the also-famous Rabbit Pearl vibrator, also shifted production from Japan to China (unrelated to Magic Wand) around that time because of the reduced labor cost and larger manufacturing infrastructure, Herskovitz said. "Shenzhen and Dongguan are where, I would say, about 90 percent of all sex toys are made." - Alexandra Fine, co-founder and CEO of sex toy company Dame Today, it's difficult to determine how many vibrators and other sex toys are produced in China and imported into the U.S., Lieberman said. These products don't have a NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) code, so they're not categorized like retail or agriculture products. Despite the lack of official statistics, Lieberman and business owners Mashable spoke to made it clear that the vast majority of sex toys sold in the U.S. are made in China. "Shenzhen and Dongguan are where, I would say, about 90 percent of all sex toys are made," Alexandra Fine, co-founder and CEO of sex toy company Dame, told Mashable. "They are experts there at making this type of product." Certain aspects of vibrators are particularly difficult to make, Fine continued. She used an example of not being able to use high-temperature silicone around electronics because it'll melt the electronics. "There's nuance. They're hard to do, and this is where the experts are, and how we can make quality product," she said. "The manufacturers in Shenzhen are exceptional at what they do," wrote Polly Rodriguez, co-founder and CEO of sex toy brand Unbound, in a blog post about how tariffs are impacting the company . "There is no other region that can match their quality of raw materials, technology, safety standards, manufacturing processes, speed, and price." Can sex toys be made in the U.S.? One stated reason for the tariffs is to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. But in the case of many products, including sex toys, it's not easy. Two variables are the ability to make products at scale and cost, according to Michael Topolovac, co-founder and CEO of pleasure jewelry company Crave. Currently, supply chains that companies need to make an array of products at scale (meaning, a lot of them) don't really exist in the U.S. "For example, batteries and motors. They're not manufactured in the U.S. anywhere," said Topolovac. "Not for these kinds of consumer products. They just don't exist. Could you build battery and motor factories in the U.S.? Sure, but that's a five-year problem." "Could you build battery and motor factories in the U.S.? Sure, but that's a five-year problem." - Michael Topolovac, co-founder and CEO of pleasure jewelry company Crave "When you get to electro-mechanical products, and the scale at work that we're doing it, it's just not feasible in the U.S. currently," said Ti Chang, co-founder and creative director of Crave. Crave does its design, research and development, some assembly, and quality control in San Francisco, but its parts are made in China. The other problem is cost. Rates for labor, construction, real estate, and basic living costs are higher here than in China. "Even if you could build up the supply chain, it would be materially more expensive," Topolovac said. So, are sex toy prices going to go up? If nothing changes with the tariffs, yes. "People are going to have to really raise the prices of vibrators," Lieberman said. Sex toy brands are responding to this potential reality in different ways. Unbound and Dame posted blog posts about the tariffs, pledging transparency to their customers. When the tariffs were set at 20 percent, Dame instituted a $5 "Trump tariff surcharge," which Fine told Mashable wasn't enough to offset the increased cost on the company's end. Last week, Dame updated the charge and the blog post , stating, "We've updated our prices to reflect a ~50 percent tariff. Because we just don't think it will stay at 145 percent." Dame's "Trump's tariff surcharge" is currently $15, and Dame and Fine shared more about the company's math on Instagram . Vibratex sells wholesale to retailers, and effective immediately, there's a 10 percent tariff offset fee, which also wouldn't fully cover the increased cost, Herskovitz said. As of this publication, beginning in May, there will be a 20 percent tariff offset fee; in June, 30 percent; and in July, 40 percent. Vibratex aims to cap this fee to its customers (retailers) at 40 percent. Vibratex has also controlled order sizes so one retailer doesn't stock up on all their inventory before prices increase. Meanwhile, Crave stocked up on extra inventory before Trump's tariff announcement, given his history of imposing tariffs on China . In an email sent to customers and forwarded to Mashable, Crave stated it's not raising prices for now, but urged customers to buy something if they're eyeing it. "[O]wing to the extreme tariffs and their apparent likelihood of being maintained, it is unclear how long we can keep our current pricing," Crave's email stated. It's difficult to say how much products will cost if manufacturing eventually shifts to the U.S., Topolovac said, but he estimated prices can go up 300 or 400 percent. Hurting businesses and bodies The escalating tariffs are causing chaos in the markets and businesses. "If one's intent — I use that word very broadly — was wanting to eviscerate very large swaths of small businesses in America, this is precisely how you would do it," said Topolovac, CEO of Crave. "I feel a little apocalyptic about my vibrators right now." - Alexandra Fine, co-founder and CEO of Dame Multiple business owners told Mashable that the instability of Trump's decisions has made it difficult to decide what to do. Across industries, from beauty to children's toys to furniture , business owners feel, as the Wall Street Journal reported, "stuck in limbo." "I feel like I'm dancing with chaos," Fine said. "I feel a little apocalyptic about my vibrators right now." "Everyone's on edge," Herskovitz said of the Vibratex team. "This current situation feels very unpredictable. We don't know. It's why I'm doomscrolling all day." "Even if the tariffs continue on for another couple of months, companies are going to start going under," said Eagle. "They just won't be able to afford to produce and bring over the product that they need to bring over." These impacts will undoubtedly affect consumers, and not just their wallets. "It's easy to look at it and say, 'Oh, it's just frivolous, whatever,'" about sex toys, "but these are products people use on their genitals, inside their bodies," Lieberman said. SEE ALSO: Whatever Trump decides on tariffs, Apple and Tim Cook lose "People are always going to want to masturbate. They're always going to want to provide pleasure. They will find a way to get the cheaper product, even with the surcharge, the Shein product , or the whatever product that may have dangerous chemicals in it that may break, that may be harmful to them." What makes matters worse is that this is happening alongside a years-long attempt to stifle online sexuality. Twin laws FOSTA-SESTA , which Trump signed into law in 2018, were outwardly to curb online sex trafficking, but in reality have pushed sex workers (and educators, and other people in the sexuality space ) off social platforms and the internet. This makes them less safe and also makes it harder to find credible information online. Sex toy companies, especially women-centered ones, aren't exempt from this. In 2023, Unbound showed that Meta rejected its toy ads until it marketed to men. Additionally, around a third of the U.S. is now subject to age-verification laws . These laws typically require identification data (in the form of government ID or facial recognition) for visitors of sites with over a third of explicit content. Despite free speech advocates and researchers saying age-verification doesn't work to stop minors from accessing porn sites, they persist. And age verification is coming for sex toys. Last month, Texas introduced a bill to require official proof of age to buy sex toys online . "Current struggles impacting toy businesses with the new tariffs remind us of challenges we continue to see faced by advocates, researchers, and educators like ourselves in the broader field of sexual rights," COO at sexual freedom nonprofit Woodhull Freedom Foundation , Mandy Salley, said in an emailed statement to Mashable. "Restrictive policies on who can access sexual content online, increasing censorship of sexual expression on social media, and regressive human rights policies contribute to the censorship and stigmatization of consenting adults' access to sexual content." It's unclear whether the 145 percent tariffs will last long after this publication or for years, and how sex toy companies will respond. One thing for sure is, they're killing the buzz in more ways than one.
WIRED
15-04-2025
- Business
- WIRED
Your Favorite Sex Toy Brand Might Go Under
There's still a 145 percent tariff on China, and sex toys aren't part of the electronics exemption. If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more. It's hard to make sense of tariffs because things are changing day by day. The only constant seems to be the exorbitantly high 145 percent tariff on China. While President Donald Trump may have exempted tariffs on a handful of electronics over the weekend, like smartphones, laptops, and TVs (though maybe not for long), that doesn't apply to other gadgets from China, even if there's a printed circuit board inside, like sex toys. Sex toy manufacturers are generally bucketed under the 'massagers' or 'adult' product category when it comes to imports and exports, meaning these companies have been forced to pay a hefty tariff on their goods since April 9. Brands, like Dame, Unbound, and Vibratex, are already feeling the effects, and if things don't change, there's a chance some may have to close up shop. Alex Fine, CEO of Dame, was among the first to publicly address the impact on Instagram. 'So far we've already had shipments that incurred a 20 percent increase,' Fine tells WIRED. She says the company has been working to minimize how much extra customers pay, but had to implement a $5 'Trump tariff surcharge' on all orders. 'A 54 percent increase in cost of goods sold would have put Dame in the red last year, and at 125 percent, I'm not going to even do that math.' That was before Trump raised the tariff to 145 percent. Polly Rodriguez, CEO of sex toy brand Unbound, says a vibrator that previously cost the company $30 now has a tariff cost of $44, bringing the total to $74. Tariffs are now Unbound's largest expense as a business, higher than payroll or manufacturing. Some companies are playing it cool for now. 'At Le Wand and b-Vibe, we're taking a measured approach to the tariff situation,' says Alicia Sinclair, CEO of COTR Inc., the parent company behind both brands. 'While our products are manufactured in China, meaning tariffs will certainly impact our cost structure, we've deliberately maintained sufficient inventory to give ourselves time to evaluate the situation properly.' The consensus from many of the companies I spoke with was that there's a lot of uncertainty in the air, and prices are already up. Samantha Marshall, head of brand and marketing at Smile Makers, says the company has already raised prices, as the tariffs are too high to be fully absorbed by retailers. Vibratex, the parent company that distributes the iconic Magic Wand, deals with retailers more than direct customers, and Ken Herskovitz, the company's CEO, says it plans to absorb portions of the increased wholesale cost. If these tariffs remain, it won't just mean spending more money on sex toys, but possibly seeing your favorite sex toy company go out of business. 'There are two things that will happen without question,' says Rodriguez. 'Small businesses will go under, as many of us cannot bear a cost increase this large. The businesses that can endure will have no choice but to increase prices, which we're already seeing.' Like Le Wand, Rodriguez says Unbound has inventory in stock, but tens of thousands more are on their way to its warehouse in the US. She says the company will do everything it can to limit the impact on pricing. 'Unbound was built on the belief that sexual wellness products should be accessible for all, and we have always defined that as being well below $100. It is still our goal to maintain that threshold.' Both Fine and Rodriguez pointed out how the tariffs will affect small businesses the hardest, as they do not have the resources of big tech corporations to get exemptions, even if they're temporary. 'From where I'm sitting, it will come down harder on female-founded businesses, because so many of them are beauty and wellness-related,' Fine says.
