Fab.com’s single bestselling product of all time? It’s not a pair of earrings, or a clever little teapot, or a framed poster about typography. According to CCO Bradford Shellhammer, speaking onstage at this morning’s session of Le Web in London, it’s a vibrator. Not only that, the site has sold “thousands and thousands” of vibrators–maybe even tens of thousands, he said. That’s a whole lot of sex toys.
Michael Arrington looked a little poleaxed and followed up by sharing that little data point on Twitter. Business Insider seemed even more flustered. “We’re not sure why” a vibrator would be so popular, the blog wrote through pursed lips. “Could be part of Fab’s former self shining through,” pointing to the site’s origins as a “Groupon-like startup with deals for the gay community.”
Frankly, we’re perplexed by all the prudishness. This is the same planet clamoring for 50 Shades of Grey, right?
Nor is this actually surprising if you know anything (ahem) about the vibrator business. Things have changed since Sex and the City shocked suburbanites with the introduction of the Rabbit. There are still plenty of cheapo pocket rockets on the market, but high-end products are the latest trend in the marital aid business. Besides JimmyJane, there are companies like Lelo charging a pretty penny. Hell, even Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member Kandi Burruss has her own line of sex toys.
However, at the moment, the only thing in Fab’s “adult” shop is vaporizers. We tried a search for these bestselling vibrators and were told, “No results found.” We reached out to Fab, who explained the search feature only covers products currently selling on the site. So we did a bit of poking about the “Inspiration” section and pulled together a little slideshow sampling of some of Fab’s naughtier wares. Don’t say we never did anything service-y for ya!
