Woman, Tired Of Tupperware Turns To Selling Sex Toys

[matcom]

<snip>

The hors d'oeuvres were in the kitchen, the ladies were in the living room and the party was on. Someone turned down the music so the assembled guests, in bare feet and fuzzy slippers, could focus on the evening's business -- a table laden with pheromone-scented lotions, edible lubricants, blindfolds, handcuffs and other passion "enhancement" products.

"Ladies, we are going to taste, touch and feel tonight," said Katherine O'Neill, who sounded as though she could be optimistic in a hurricane. "This is your time. There are no kids screaming 'Mommy, Mommy,' no dishes in the sink.''

The guests, among them a former teacher, a graduate student, several waitresses and a grandmother, listened intently. All were first-timers -- "virgins," as O'Neill put it -- to a Passion Party, where women meet to consider products like Lickety Lube and the Love Wand much the same way in the past they have inspected Tupperware storage tubs and Mary Kay cosmetics. Passion Parties of Brisbane did about $20 million in sales last year through women-to-women sales in homes across the country, a tripling over three years ago.

"Tupperware just didn't rock my boat,'' said O'Neill before the start of the party, held in an ordinary Sunnyvale apartment on an otherwise ordinary Monday night. "This is my niche. How fun is this?"

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/04/25/LVGP366O101.DTL

[Skittles]

1. more power to her

she'd be arrested in Texas

[T Roosevelt]

2. If she was in Texas

she'd be arrested...

[bratcatinok]

6. From the article:

A Texas housewife who is a Passion Parties distributor was arrested late last year on obscenity charges after selling a vibrator to undercover cops. The arrest prompted an angry response from Davis, who complained there must be a lot of "prudes" in Texas, which bans selling of what it deems obscene devices -- those considered to be designed or sold for sexual stimulation.

Joanne Webb, who is from Johnson County, was charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail if convicted. A Fort Worth attorney has filed a federal lawsuit charging the Texas law is unconstitutional.


I love my home state of Texas but sometimes.....

[DS1]

3. I have a number of female friends that go around selling toys

and apparently they're making good money at it. I'd never seen a vibrator with flashing LEDs and 3 control levers before :shrug:

[democratreformed]

4. My daughter just started

Got her kit Friday.

[THUNDER HANDS]

7. *blink*

your...daughter?

Close family you got there, huh?

:D

[democratreformed]

10. Yeah, pretty close. LOL.

My daughter and son-in-law are actually living with us right now. They just moved out of a rent house and bought a trailer. They're saving the money for the septic, water, etc. Even then, they are putting their trailer in the corner of our 1 1/2 acres.

I told her I sure hope she don't expect ME to help her with her new endeavour!!! LOL!!!

[VelmaD]

5. Ok, maybe it's just me...

but as much as I love my own personal toy collection...I have zero desire to go to one of these parties. I'm sorry but "Passion Body Dew" just sounds silly. And I'm thinking a company who's motto is "Where every day is Valentine's Day" just doesn't sound hard-core enough for me.

I guess I just have no shame about walking into a store and buying a vibrator in person. :shrug:

[davsand]

8. I've been to all the Tupperware, Mary Kay and Homelights parties...

...I've done the basket parties and Pampered Chef things--and frankly, those were all boring as hell. The ONLY one that was EVER worth going to was the Mary Kay party that I went to that was held by a drag queen who got us all drunk before the Mary Kay lady showed up.

I've been invited to a couple of these sex toy parties, and have skipped them. I have NO issues with toys--but there is just something about sitting in a room full of women (some of whom I'd NEVER want to deal with socially) talking about sex, that really doesn't appeal to me.

Am I in a minority here?

Laura

[Bill of Rights]

9. I am in your camp, Laura

Sounds like hell. Actually, I'd probably piss off the hostess. I'd say things like, "Don't buy that, I can tell it's a piece of crap," and "Just go get some K-Y at the drug store." Plus, the toys don't give as much pleasure as some women are lead to believe....especially the ones made of hard plastic. It would make me cringe watching and hearing them ooo and ahhh.

[Missy Vixen]

13. One of our friends is a "passion party" lady

>Am I in a minority here?<

No.

One of our friends has been nagging me to have one of these parties for about six months now. First of all, I can't even imagine whom I'd invite. I'm sure that we know a sufficient number of people, but sheesh, it's hard for me to imagine that they can't obtain what's euphemistically called "marital aids" online, via the mail, or by visiting an "adult" store in their area.

The friend is now discouraged by the lack of enthusiasm of everyone she knows on the subject of their having passion parties, so she's now onto her next party-selling opportunity: Pet toys and paraphernalia. I'm not interested in having one of those parties, either.

Julie
just plain sick of the "home party" merchandising

[BringEmOn]

11. Tupperware to sex toys....hmmm....I think I'll pass on the leftovers.

[Kat45]

12. I had a job selling sex toys at parties, back in the early '80s

This is not something new. I didn't make that much money (I had trouble finding women to have the parties because most of my friends were men). But that job was so much fun. At one party, the woman's ex-husband, a cop in town, took a break from his shift and came to the party with his partner, both in uniform. One of the cops bought something. :-)