A Plug

Disclaimer: I am not getting anything for this, I just had a good experience, and want to recommend it, especially to our readers in the Los Angeles area.

Tonight I decided to pick up a little stocking stuffer for Mina. I’m not saying which, because she hasn’t opened it yet. So, I decided to try a new store that I have not been to before, that I had found through my web wanderings looking for some place local: Freddy and Eddy. Their website grabbed my attention right away, not only because of their very mom-and-pop sort of nature, but also because they shared a lot of our interests, photography and writing chief among them. So, after work today I swung through.

Now, in the past Mina and I have shopped at Secret Desires, (partly out love for Mina’s blog), and while they had a great selection of pricey costumes, the feel of the store was a bit of “what you would expect” from a store like this. Hustler Hollywood has a clean, fun atmosphere, fitting their “Relax, it’s just sex!” motto, and we have spent most of our adult toy money there to date. Meanwhile, Freddy and Eddy is set is small house on Venice Boulevard, and it is very easily missed while driving through, and I did miss it. But once you walk in, they completely re-draw the curve on how an adult store should run.

First, true to their word, “Freddy” and his wife “Eddy” are there minding the shop. As soon as I walked in, less than half an hour before closing on weekday, “Freddy” greeted me. He took me on a tour of the store, to the kitchen in the back, where they aggressive offer their cappuccinos (the dude likes serving coffee, what can I say?); past the S&M room, which I will visit on my return trip with Mina in tow; back to the lounge, where their library of books on sex is available for checkout. Then we stepped over to the toy room, where their relatively narrow selection of toys is offered. This is when “Freddy” brought up the most staggering aspect of this store: He and “Eddy” have used every toy they sell.

This now taps into the area where Freddy and Eddy really shines: knowledge. Unlike every other store, where they let you shop in peace like the perv you are, “Freddy” and “Eddy” are relentlessly friendly and disarming. In fact, you quickly get the idea that they are, in fact, proud of the business they do, and of course they’re proud. There is something a little odd about discussing the intricacies of the G-spot spot orgasm as though it were a golf swing. It’s enough that it leads one to wonder if you walked in the right store at all. However, the ability to look through a case of quality toys, and talk intelligently about what they do, and how to use them is something that is rare indeed in this line of buisness.

And how about this as a bonus: A return policy that consists of something besides an extended middle finger. Yes, you can bring your toys back if they don’t work for you. With toy prices tickling and exceeding triple fingers, the right to make sure your money is well-spent is a blessing indeed. So, after a few minutes, we sorted out what I wanted to get her, and how it is best used. As a bonus, “Freddy” threw in a couple DVDs about squirting g-spot orgasms on a 30-day loan. Lastly, as a first-time customer, I also received a copy of “Loving Sex,” a 2 DVD set they edited together of their favorite scenes from movies; “The Housewife’s guide to: The Practical Striptease,” a handy book; and a grab bag of lubes, lotions, and wipes. How’s that for service?

In the end, stores like this are a rare commodity, and I cannot wait to bring Mina back and introduce her to the proprietors of this business, and to discover their S&M room together. “Freddy” and “Eddy” are doing their absolute best to completely re-draw the curve on how these businesses operate and I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Here’s the link again: Freddy and Eddy