Luxury Sex Toys: Why They’re ACTUALLY More Bang for Your Buck

OK, you're finally going to do it. You're going to buy a sex toy and it's going to be awesome.

But as soon as you walk into your local Spencer's, you feel a bit…overwhelmed. How are there so many options?!

On the one hand, we all love having plenty of options (have you seen the self-service soda machines at restaurants?!); but on the other hand, if you don't know exactly what you're going for, the choice can be paralyzing.

After all, what's the difference between a $30 toy and an $80 one? What are you getting if you shell out twice as much money? Is it even worth it?

Well, there are a few extra bells and whistles you can expect if your budget allows you to pick up a luxury sex toy -- things like:

Unique Features

Your luxury toy will likely have unique features you can't find in other toys. After all, that price tag helps pay to develop those awesome features!

Remote control? That's doable. A toy like the Discreet AF Wireless Bullet Vibrator offers a separate remote control to change the bullet vibrator's vibrations at a moment's notice.

A light show? That's doable too! The Light-Up Butt Plug includes a RGB-lighted base that offers a "light show" during use. Shiny lights shooting out of your butt? Well, I've never thought about it before, but it sounds pretty fun!

Easy washing? It's hard to put a price tag on that, but it is often a feature of luxury items. Whether it's the Liberator Wedge and Ramp combo's washing-machine-friendly cover or the waterproof design of the Booty Gem Anal Beads, luxury toys tend to prioritize speedy afterplay too!

READ: The Importance of Aftercare.

Hott Love Booty Gem Anal Beads, available exclusively at Spencer's.You can also expect to see other unique features in a luxury sex toys, such as:

• Travel Locks. It's like turning on the safety so the toy doesn't accidentally fire off during travel. It would be more than a little awkward if your bag started vibrating during a security check.
• Travel Cases. Keep your sex toy hidden from sight with an included travel case. This case may also double as a drying or charging stand.
• Silent Modes: Sick of listening to your toy when you aren't using it? Some luxury toys including an auto-quiet feature that turns the toy off when it isn't pressed up against your skin.
• Cell Phone App Control. If further digital functionality appeals to you, you might love a luxury sex toy. Some of them pair with a free, included cell phone app for additional ways to play with -- and control -- your toy!
• Thrusting Functionality. Tired of moving the toy yourself? Well, you may not have to anymore! Some luxury toys come equipped with an auto-thrusting function. This lets your sex toy provide micro-thrusts without you needing to lift a finger!
• Educational Materials. Some luxury sex toys really want to ensure you know how to use them. They may include a booklet full of educational materials. Beyond the standard "Press 'A' to Turn On," these manuals include info about your anatomy and how the toy fits with it, tips and tricks to make magic and more.
• Dual Stimulation. Some luxury toys may come with a higher cost because they provide a wider array of sensations. We're talking multiple vibration motors, a motor for rotations, a motor for suction and more. Luxury toys might pack multiple types of stimulation into a single item -- like air suction and vibration in the OONA Quiver!

The OONA Quiver, available exclusively at Spencer's.

A Stronger Motor

As a general rule, more power costs more money. That's because more power requires a higher-caliber motor. In turn, a higher caliber motor -- especially one that fits into smaller toys, like a bullet vibrator -- costs more than a weaker, larger device.

Thus, sex toys with more powerful functionality (like stronger rotations in a penis stroker or stronger vibrations in a vibrator) will cost more money.

While some brands have definitely chosen to spend their "toy budget" in other ways -- like cell phone app functionality or other special features -- instead of upgrading the motor, in general, the more money you pay, the more powerful toy you'll get.

So if you're someone who wants power, I'd recommend increasing your budget a bit -- and spend a bit of time reading reviews about your sex toy to ensure the manufacturer invested in upgrading the motor.

This also applies to toys with moving parts -- not just vibrations! A rotating shaft needs a strong motor to continue to rotate even when your body is clamping down on it! Expect to get less jamming and more movement with more expensive toys.

Rechargeable Design

Batteries are the bane of sex toys. You either have to buy them or go digging through the junk drawers for them. Plus, you never know if how long they'll last. There's nothing lamer than your toy dying mid-play.

That's why one of the hallmarks of higher end toys is their ability to be recharged.

READ: Power Up: Batteries, Cords, and Rechargeables...Oh My!

Toys like the OONA Smirk Tongue Vibe or the OONA Maverick cock ring come with a built-in, rechargeable battery (similar to the one in your cell phone) to ensure you don't have to worry about keeping stocked up on double As.

It does mean you have to keep track of the charging cable, though!

The Oona Smirk, available exclusively at Spencer's.Pay attention to your potential luxury sex toy's battery life, too -- especially for larger toys (where there's room for larger batteries).

The battery life expectations for luxury sex toys has been going up in the last few years: The minimum for most rechargeable toys is an hour, but we're starting to see two and three-hour battery lives popping up as well! There are even a few toys that boast battery lives of over five hours. (If that doesn't sound like a lot, keep in mind it also takes more power to create motion, like vibrations, than to display LED screens, like on phones!)

Body-Safe Materials (and Better Standards)

Here's a thought experiment: Say you have been tasked to build a sex toy. You have $20 to spend on supplies. The motor alone costs you $10, and now you only have $10 left to spend on all the wiring, electronic bits and the material.

You're gonna have to skimp somewhere, right?

That's the problem with many cheaper toys. When the motorized parts are so expensive, the sex toy's material is often one of the first things to be compromised. If you're making a vibrator, it has to vibrate. It doesn't have to be made of body-safe materials.

READ: Yes, You Can Find Body-Safe, Affordable Sex Toys.

That's why luxury sex toy options tend to have better quality materials, like silicone. Especially when you really trust the brand, you can be sure that the silicone material is a pure silicone -- not a composite of different materials.

Low-quality materials may have phthalates, allergens or rash-inducing compositions. Low-quality materials are also more likely to melt (literally, melt), which can leave you with a pile of goo inside of your sex toy bag. They may also offgas bad smells or dye the fabrics around them.

Luckily, as customers start to demand more from their sex toys, we're seeing toys in the mid-tier price range (like the Black Velvet Waterproof Massager from Spencer's), adopting body-safe silicone materials as well. That's a win for customers!

The Hott Love Extreme Black Velvet Waterproof Massager, available at Spencer's.

More expensive toys (and higher profit margins) also allow companies to focus more on the "how" of their manufacturing processes. This may include using recycled materials, better pay and living standards for their employees, more freebies in the box for you, environmental considerations and more!

Manufacturer's Warranty

While people have differing opinions on sex toys, and sometimes quite divisive preferences, nearly everyone agrees a sex toy should be made to last. Having one die a few weeks after purchase is never a good thing.

Unfortunately, sometimes, something goes wrong during manufacturing. Sex toys are complex pieces of technology; they include a lot of parts that that have to sit just right. The motor might be faulty, a connector might have come loose, the buttons might not be aligned or the battery might be DOA.

When everyday items, like clothing and furniture, underperform, you can likely return them without too much hassle. That may not be the case for a sex toy. Thanks to biohazards, standard store return periods for sex toys might be a lot shorter and stricter than they are for other items.

That's where luxury sex toys come in! Most luxury sex toys offer an additional manufacturer's warranty to help guard you against defects. These warranties can range from a year, to five years, and even up to 15 years! Some manufacturers also offer an additional discount on their items if the warranty doesn't -- or no longer -- covers the issue in question. A chance for half off? Yes, please!

Spencer's has one of the best sex toy return policies I've ever seen. With a default one-year replacement warranty on vibrators, and more on other items, you don't risk losing much buying from Spencer's. They even offer email and phone support so you don't have to make the trip back to the store!

Ready to Get a Luxury Sex Toy?

OK, these all sound like some awesome reasons to spend a bit more cash. Before you do, though, I have a few final tips:

• Know What You Like. It's a whole lot easier to spend $20 on a new toy than $180. If you're not sure if a specific sex toy style is for you ("Will I like cock rings?"), consider buying the cheaper counterpart to experiment before going into the luxury version. If you find yourself disappointed in the vibration strength or the lack of features in the base model but like the experience overall, then you know the luxury model will probably be a great fit.
• Know Your Toy. With great luxury features comes longer instructions. If your toy has more features than "Press Button to Turn on Vibrations," it can be easy to actually miss some of those features. Make sure to thoroughly read the packaging and the instructions to ensure you're getting your money's worth.
• Keep Your Receipts. The manufacturer's warranty (and other high-end customer services from your toy's creator) will likely hinge on proof that you paid for it -- so make sure to keep the receipt. If you can, take a picture of the serial number on the box itself before you recycle it.

Conclusion

So, are luxury sex toys worth it? That depends on a few things: what you want, how much you're able to spend, how long you expect to have your toy and more.

Ultimately, the choice to buy a luxury sex toy comes down to your preferences -- however, if you want assurances of quality, longevity and pleasure, a luxury item is more likely to provide on all fronts.

READ: The Top 5 Things You Must Do Before Jumping Into Kink (Flogger First).