It isn't a white whale, but it will still drive you mad.

There are a few brands or terms in the industry that seem to have scoured the entire range of products until that single label is the definitive summation of the type. For example, take the word "rabbit." I believe the whimsical little toy originated in Japan, probably with Vibratex which is not a minor company in the novelty making business. Now it's a hot commodity in the manufacturing/marketing world. California Exotic and Doc Johnson especially have seized that word and run with it to coax every last cent out of that lagomorph's product reputation churning out a variety of items integrating the concept.

For the most part this unconscious labeling is a good thing, it points out trends in what people enjoy sexually, driving refinements in those areas. At the same time, the market gets glutted with crap knock-offs looking to skim some of the dollars off the popularity. There is also the marked tendency for designers to just add to the hot trend instead of creating something new and innovative.

It's an endless dynamic that will exist until man stops crafting sexual toys; the desire to produce the next "must have" novelty versus the desire to go with the proven sure thing. Largely, this is not more than a cerebral contemplation for me.

What gets under my skin and irks me is when there is a solid outcry for a specific product that fails to reach the shelves. A certain product, a pocket pussy cunningly camouflaged to resemble a flashlight, for example is immediately at the top of this list. On occasion, we will take calls or have a walk-in looking for this specific item.

I've been selling sex toys for years. I have yet to see even a scrap of the packaging for this chimera. Orders to get some into stores have languished "backordered" interminably. Messages and emails have been answered with silence or "boiler-plate" form answers. Not once have I ever encountered the actual item for all that their ads are pervasive. Somehow, they have cultivated a highly fixated following.

Perhaps they have strategically placed paid plants.

I still want to beat their entire board of directors to death with a steel pipe for the atrocious customer service.