Conversations with a sex doll trader
Updated: Mar 23, 2018
Photo credit: Leanne Hall
Over 20 million US dollars are made by the global sex toy market, and it is expected to grow by nine million US dollars in 2020. unsurprisingly, AI sex dolls are seen as becoming increasingly popular. And at $15,000 a pop, they're bound to be a reason for the financial boom in the industry. But who would sell them?
"I thought selling sex dolls would be a great way to annoy my mum." Paul said, he opened The Doll House two years ago, after becoming involved in the sex doll scene as a user. Paul was first introduced to sex dolls by borrowing a friends doll. Paul used sex dolls for a while before becoming a seller. “I used to work in website making, and as the price of dolls became cheaper, they became more popular. There was only one seller in the UK at the time, so I figured it would work and took the leap."
Photo credit: Leanne Hall, a display of different sex dolls in The Doll House.
The Doll House is the only sex doll vender in the UK since Love Doll, the first UK sex doll retailer was closed due to neighbourhood complaints. Although sex dolls are a taboo subject, Paul has seen a rise over the past year in popularity, with The Doll House now selling thirty dolls a month.
Although Paul thinks sex dolls are a positive thing, he also believes men should be cautious about buying them without having any experience of them. “Sex dolls are not something you should buy without touching one or talking to people first, my friend asked if I wanted a go on his doll, so I tried it. I sold one to a guy who had never used them before, and he turned out to be allergic to the TPE (a cheaper material than silicone that is used to make dolls).”
But what is it exactly that The Doll House does? The company is essentially a middle man between manufacturers and customers, Paul takes costumers orders on dolls and customisation requests and sends this over to the factories, where they will then make the doll and send it to The Doll House for shipping. Customisation allows buyers to select; breast size, bum size, height, eye colour, skin colour and anything else they desire their sex doll to look like. Some manufacturers have even made customised dolls that look celebrities, including the infamous sex doll Tyra, who looks surprisingly similar, to Tyra Banks. dolls can vary in price, you can bag yourself a doll for as cheap as £3,000, or if you're feeling creative, customisation can rank the prices up to over £15,000.
I sat down with Paul and asked him five questions you’ve always wanted to ask a sex doll trader and buyer. Watch the video below.
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