Choosing a sex toy can feel overwhelming. Hundreds of shapes, materials, functions and promises — but more choice doesn’t necessarily make choosing any easier.
That’s why we don’t try to stock everything.
Every sex toy at Sh! is carefully selected, tested and considered by our team before it earns a place in our collection.
After more than 30 years helping people choose sex toys, we know that price, hype and promises of “guaranteed orgasms” don’t necessarily make a great toy.
Instead, we look for five things.
What you'll learn
- Why quality comes first
- How we assess materials and body safety
- Why we reject unrealistic pleasure claims
- What makes a toy genuinely different
- Why good design matters
1. It Must Be Top Quality
A sex toy should feel good before you even switch it on.
We look closely at construction, finish, controls, functionality and durability. Vibrating toys are tested for the quality and range of their vibrations, while insertable toys are considered for things such as shape, firmness, flexibility and ease of use.
If something feels poorly made, awkward to operate or simply doesn't perform well enough, we don't stock it.
And quality doesn't have to mean expensive.
We want excellent options across different budgets, so an affordable toy has to earn its place on our shelves just as much as a luxury one.
Good pleasure shouldn't depend on having the biggest budget.
2. It Must Be Body-Safe
What a sex toy is made from matters — particularly when it's going inside your body.
We prioritise high-quality, non-porous materials such as body-safe silicone, glass and metal, and look at how easily a toy can be cleaned and cared for.
Design matters too.
For example, toys intended for anal insertion need a sufficiently flared base, handle or another retrieval-safe design. We won't stock something for anal use if we don't consider its design appropriate for the job.
We also consider the ingredients in lubes, pleasure gels and other products designed for intimate use.
If we wouldn't feel comfortable recommending it to you, it doesn't belong in our collection.
3. It Must Be Honest
We don't believe a sex toy can guarantee anyone an orgasm.
Bodies are gloriously individual. What one person considers earth-moving may leave someone else wondering what all the fuss was about.
So we're wary of products that rely on exaggerated promises or make people feel that their body, orgasm or sex life needs fixing.
Instead, we look at what a toy can genuinely offer: its shape, sensation, intensity, function and the different ways it might be enjoyed.
A bullet vibrator may be designed primarily for clitoral stimulation, for example, but that doesn't mean everyone will orgasm from it — or that the clitoris is the only place you can enjoy it.
Sex toys are tools for exploring pleasure, not performance tests.
4. It Must Offer Something Different
You don't need 100 nearly identical vibrators to find the right one.
Neither do we.
We deliberately curate our collection so that different toys offer meaningfully different experiences.
One vibrator might deliver deep, rumbly vibrations while another specialises in lighter, buzzier stimulation. One dildo might have a pronounced curve while another offers a straighter, slimmer shape.
We consider the toy's function, sensation, design, price and who we think it could work particularly well for.
That means fewer duplicates and, hopefully, less choice fatigue when you're trying to decide what suits you.
5. It Must Be Beautifully Designed
Looks aren't everything — but sex toys are intimate objects, and we think design matters.
We favour toys that feel inviting rather than intimidating and designs that complement pleasure rather than making anyone feel inadequate.
That doesn't mean every toy has to be tiny, abstract or discreet. Different people are turned on by very different things.
What matters is that the design has a purpose.
We want toys you can feel excited about owning, using and exploring.
Every Toy Has to Earn Its Place
Since opening Sh! in 1992, we've seen sex toys change enormously.
Materials have improved. Technology has evolved. Designs have become more imaginative, inclusive and sophisticated.
But our approach remains remarkably simple:
We don't want to sell you the most toys. We want to help you find the right toy for you.
That's why our range is deliberately curated rather than endless — combining toys we make ourselves with products from other brands that meet our standards for quality, safety, honesty, innovation and design.
And if something doesn't make the cut?
We don't stock it.
