Dear Lelo: I Quit

There is always a proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back; This straw is named Ida. However, the ludicrous bullshit that stems from Lelo continues, and worsens, through the years. Every year I make sure to update this post.

 iquit

In 2008 when I first started reviewing sex toys, I got to review a couple of Lelo toys pretty early on in my career. Back then, “luxury” vibes were not as prevalent and seemed so….posh. So fancy. So very, very different from the garish, neon dreams of CalExotics and Doc Johnson, at 5-10 times the price. And with a price tag like that, surely they’re better, right?? So I felt let down when I didn’t love my first Lelo toys. They weren’t quite powerful enough for me. But I thought it was my fault. I was the problem, not Lelo. They were trying so hard, you see.  And so, I kept making excuses–trying to be objective, and state that just because it wasn’t perfect for me, Ms. Picky Clit-o-Steel, didn’t mean they weren’t great sex toys. After all, I was reading so many other glowing reviews.

I’ve become more jaded as the years pass, this is true. I’ve seen a lot of luxury sex toys come and go. And the opinions I tried to mold into objective statements years ago have lost their luster; they have chipped away like the metallic paint on their Insignia line.  I am left with nothing but unapologetic (harsh?) truths. I have replaced my old “trying to hard to be objective” with a tempered balance of honesty and realism. 

Let’s run this down, shall we? Abridged version, go:

  • Elise – Great size, and a promising two motors that sorta work for me, but the placement of that second motor was a bit odd.
  • Mia – Geek-appeal, the first USB rechargeable vibe I’d ever seen, but the vibrations were poor and buzzy. I was bummed.
  • Bo cock ring – Neat; for 2008, it was inventive – rechargeable, posh, etc. Vibrations were meh. It wasn’t silicone.
  • Gigi – Better than the bird-beak tips most toy makers thought felt nice on a g-spot, but unfortunate button placement combined with a too-short length and mediocre vibrations made for sad bedfellows
  • Luna Beads – They actually worked, and remain to be the most intelligent kegel ball system out there
  • Isla – They decided to put design over function. The metallic paint on the plastic portion chips off terribly after 6 months to a year of use. At first, Lelo wouldn’t replace them under warranty. Paint chipping off inside my vag seems to be a defect, you know?? Piss poor vibrations and a worthless shape.
  • Mona – Good shape, good length, vibrations seemed to be an improvement from all other models but could be more.
  • Tor II cock ring – No longer “inventive”, they now make it out of silicone but it’s less stretchy. Too tight for above-average. Better vibrations, though.
  • Tiani – Tiani 1st Ed was shit. Sense Motion failed, but then they fixed it. Vibrations were so weak it was pathetic. Internal arm offered nothing.
  • Tiani 2nd Ed – Internal arm slightly better, still meh. Vibrations improved, but not Wow. Better for couple’s play (but not sex) than the We-Vibe 3.
  • Luna Beads Noir – Total WTF. Better colors,  but the whole reason I liked the Luna Beads is negated. There’s no going up in weights gradually, since you only get 2 beads of the higher weight.
  • Luna Beads Mini – Also, total WTF fail. The ball is same size as regular Luna Beads, so it doesn’t provide as much sensation in use. They didn’t work at all.
  • Smart Wand  Medium – Again, the technology failed. SenseTouch was a bomb. Medium was a nice size but the vibrations were infuriatingly bland.
  • Smart Wand Large – Technology still shit, but vibrations knocked my socks off. Caveat: Works best with an attachment meant for the Hitachi Magic Wand. Doesn’t hold a charge in between uses very well; others have reported quality issues w the motor
  • Ina 2 – Better than the Original Ina in design and vibrations,  but somehow still not quite enough to be great for me.
  • Mia 2 – Still has design issues, unfortunate button placement/difficult to clean, but vibrations greatly improved. I still prefer my We-Vibe Tango, though.
  • Mona 2 –  Improved vibrations, still not enough for power queens like me and not on par with Smart Wand Large, but great shape and size.
  • Gigi 2 – Better vibrations (still less than Mona 1), but it’s not enough for me.
  • Ida – Saw Piph’s review, said NOPE. I’m done. A rotating internal arm, a flat disc that vibrates. My husband’s penis is thicker than average, and my body type won’t work at all with a flat disc. Did they even test this with human genitals?
  • At this point, I have to stop listing each sex toy failure out in this bulleted fashion and simply tell  you to keep on reading. I’ll talk about the ridiculous products every year as they come out, with an update for each year. Lelo has become a sideshow circus event.

 

Decline in Quality

I’ve heard rumors from trusted industry people that the quality of Lelo sex toys has drastically dropped over the years. More and more people are returning under warranty.  If you were around in ’08, you’d have seen the gradual, subtle decline in packaging to cut back on costs. They cut back on costs of packaging and clearly cut back on costs for materials and workmanship, yet their sex toys keep the ridiculously high price tags. And then, this summer, they raise their wholesale prices. What does that mean for the consumer? Not a lot. You’ll probably not really see much change. The stores won’t want to raise prices, because they need to stay competitive, both with each other and the Lelo direct sale site. It just means that the retailers now make a good bit less from a Lelo toy.

Inconsistent Customer Service

A lot of readers come to me with problems with their Lelo toys, and tell me that they tried to contact Lelo for a warranty exchange, but were ignored or told they couldn’t be helped. I would, each time, take it to social media and get their issues fixed that way. But I shouldn’t have to do that.  In my post about Lelo’s metallic paint flaking off, I had readers contacting me who were reading the warranty info and thinking their issues were not covered under warranty. Lelo said that they would honor a warranty replacement; however I did have to mediate between customers and Lelo a few times, when Lelo would just flat-out ignore customer service emails and warranty repair requests.

Since I’ve been working with Lelo, I’ve gone through more “handlers” than I can count. Turnover is normal in these businesses, but this is excessive. In the beginning, the info they would provide to me would be correct and helpful. In the past year, it’s been frustrating and wrong, often.  The saga of the Luna Beads cleaning method was the worst of them all. I looked like an ass, but at least I was able to get Lelo to send them new Luna Beads.

Anti-Plus-Size

In addition to their overpriced vibrators, Lelo also has a small line of way overpriced lingerie. A $400 robe, anyone? They won’t make plus-size options. They just won’t. Their XL is a US 12.  If you really want a pair of their overpriced PJ pants, you’ll have to pick the “Men’s” version, because the men can have pants that fit up to a 46″ waist.  The men’s robes also go up to XXL. In the land of Lelo, it’s ok to be a husky man, but they only want to cater to thinner femmes.  This trend is not unique to Lelo. Not at all. It’s just simply another nail in the coffin.

*New* Patent Trolling

Sarah picked up on this gem while I was on hiatus due to moving house. When Lelo created the Tiani they were violating a patent held by Standard Innovations, makers of the We-Vibe. Standard Innovations sued and eventually won the rights in the US – Lelo cannot sell the Tiani here anymore. So in 2015 Lelo decided to become a patent troll – they bought a patent for “inductive charging” as it relates to “personal massagers”. What’s inductive charging? In short, exactly how the We-Vibe is charged – it simply sits on the cradle, no magnets are involved. Lelo doesn’t make any vibrators that charge this way. They could have, since they created their stupid Wave vibrators after they bought the patent, but they didn’t. Why? That wasn’t their purpose. They didn’t invent this type of charging, that’s for sure. They sought out the original 3rd-party patent owner and bought it from them.

On April 28th, XBIZ reported, “The final decision has cleared the path for LELO to seek monetary compensation from Standard Innovation Corp., as well as all distributors and retailers that sell infringing items.” Standard Innovations fully believes that “LELO’s claims are baseless” and will absolutely continue to fight this drawn-out legal battle which will continue into 2016. The charges were initially filed in 2013, but this wasn’t reported on until April of 2015, as far as I know. Do you know what happens during a multi-year legal battle? A lot of dollars are paid in legal fees. Dollars that could be spent in R&D, developing a new, awesome product (well, if you’re Standard Innovations. If you’re LELO, dollars that could be spent creating the next overpriced gimmick). Between the legal fees of both lawsuits, it’s no wonder the products from both companies are pricey!

As Sarah pointed out, this not only will hurt Standard Innovations (makers of the best goddamn clitoral vibrator on the freaking planet) but retailers AND future innovators and manufacturers – since no one can use inductive charging now without paying Lelo. Of course, Lelo would have to go after them legally and it seems like they’re only interested in attempting to harm Standard Innovations in retaliation.  So they’re patent trolls, give no fucks about creating a sex toy that steals someone else’s designs, and have the maturity of your average 9-year-old playground bully.

Wherein I am an Island

You’ll continue to see amazingly positive reviews everywhere about Lelo, but mixed in with a healthy amount of negative reviews. I’m not saying they’re wrong, those positive reviews. The vibrations are strong enough for some women. But these days, there are other options for sex toys made from safe materials that come with a warranty. Options with better workmanship and better vibration, or a lower price point.  Nobody is perfect and no one sex toy/sex toy manufacturer will be perfect for every person. I’m just saying that I personally am done. I can’t fully support Lelo anymore. I can’t keep agreeing to try more and more Lelo toys, only to be let down time and again. I can’t get more and more jaded, as I read their copy (which frankly feels like outright lies many times) that promises “intense” vibration or “intense” g-spot stimulation, when it’s truly mediocre at best. Intense. Lelo, you keep using that word, but I do not think it means what you think it means. I KNOW INTENSE. You have missed that mark by a lot, in all cases but one or two.

I’ve been brewing with these thoughts now for months. However I’d managed to still hang on to a little shred of hope…..a hope that was flat out obliterated when I finally heard the full dirt on the Lelo Ida. And for the first time ever, I “reviewed” a sex toy without owning it (perhaps it should be called a commentary OpEd post instead of review) because it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I retracted my agreement to review it for Lelo and suddenly in a matter of minutes, a decision I’d been wibbling and wobbling on for ages was made in a snap.  Why couldn’t I just keep on reviewing for them, and take the “free” toys? Because I die a little each time, lately. Writing that review for the Gigi 2 was not easy, because I was so fucking over it already. Usually I relish the opportunity to go all OH HELL NO in a review against a bad toy, and I would have with Ida, but frankly the thought just fucking exhausted me. Ain’t nobody, especially me, got time for that shit. I’ve cut back; I want to still largely enjoy what I do, not have the life sucked out of me.

Bottom line: Lelo isn’t worth the price.  They’re not worth the hassle of dealing with their promised warranty that they try to wiggle out of. They’re not retailer-friendly. They’re extraordinarily hetero-centric (and they do such a bad job at it, too).  If you own a Lelo toy, and you are having problems, of ANY kind, contact them for a warranty replacement. If they ignore your email, take it public– to Facebook and Twitter. They don’t like the bad press, so they’ll help you. I’ll still recommend the Luna Beads, the Mona 2, and maybe even the Mia 2 but with warnings, caveats and presenting other options.

2014: Even Worse than 2013

I didn’t think that Lelo could sink lower than the Ida. It was a dumb fucking idea all around.  Then they came out with the Ora, something that claimed to simulate oral sex. It clearly failed because less than 12 months later we have Ora 2. They’ve introduced two more “Beads” that are for the vagina and are largely gimmicks – the Hula, which just rotate oddly and the Smart Bead which you have to squeeze and may not even work as intended for everyone. Naturally. They’ve come out with a $3000 set of Luna Beads, in gold, because hey why the fuck not, right? And then…..then they come out with the Pino cock ring which was marketed exclusively for “bankers”. Only men can be bankers in Lelo’s world. This cock ring comes with a money clip and cuff links, both Lelo branded. Naturally.

2015: The Circus Continues

So far in 2015 we have the Mona and Ina Wave – I’m seeing a few positive reviews but more negative reviews. It’s nowhere near as “intense” and “mind-blowing” as they tried to claim it would be. I fucking hated the Mona Wave with a passion.

The Great Price Hike: It was announced towards the end of 2015 that all Lelo items would see a price hike, some items by as much as $30 or $40. They haven’t raised the quality; they’ve also made life more difficult for their retailers by raising the wholesale price while keeping the prices on their site the same. A number of retailers have complained about shitty treatment by Lelo reps.

24K Gold Plating: Yeah, because that’s just what we need. They took the Lelo Tiani 3 and did 24K goldplating on the remote and the metal band on the vibrator; because the price is so high, they gave a “relationship warranty” of sorts. If you break up within a year of purchasing it, they would replace it with another Lelo item. Except that the retail price of the Tiani 24K is $399 (at first they offered it at 50% off). To add insult to injury: The 24K edition doesn’t even feel any better than the regular Tiani 3. I tried it but couldn’t give enough fucks to write about it.

Scented Vibrators: Because it wasn’t enough to simply increase the intensity of the motor in the Lelo Lily, a flagship vibrator, they had to add a gimmick: Scent. some reported the odors were offensive, many were skeptical, many were uninterested, a few liked it. JUST MAKE A FUCKING VIBRATOR, LELO.

2016: The Year of the Penis

Because “male lingerie” is needed, apparently, in the form of a dry-clean-only silk “penis tuxedo”. It wasn’t a joke, although we sure thought so. In what turned out to be really poor timing, Lelo gave us a sneak peek at their next project for 2016: A condom. They told us about this shortly before April Fool’s Day so a number of people naturally assumed it was a joke – both due to timing and Lelo’s reputation. Sadly it’s not a joke, although it sort of is. They unveiled a latex condom with a honeycomb structure, are doing crowd-funding for it and, wait for it….

They named Charlie Sheen their spokesperson. A man who has beaten numerous women and who lied about his HIV status to women he fucked (without condoms).  Sarah summed up my feelings on this matter perfectly, so go read her post. But then, I just couldn’t help it after I heard about what Lelo employees actually think of most reviewers, so I wrote a rage-y rant-y post about how Lelo doesn’t give a flying fuck about everyone pissed off about the Hex condom and also a rant about the Hex condom in general.

Publicity is publicity to them – negative doesn’t matter. They referred to sex bloggers and educators who were rightfully questioning their decisions as ‘whiney SJWs’. Our opinions mean zero to them – and in fact, the more we tweet, the more they can say they’re the hottest topics of conversation.

They feel they are too big to fall, too trenched in the industry to lose out. The more attention, the better even if it’s folks throwing out their Lelo toys in mass droves and swearing off never working with them again.

It’s like they know their products are just like 6 others on the market and won’t stand out on their own merit, so they resort to trickery in marketing and “innovative” or “revolutionary” technologies that barely even work.  Lelo went from being first to the party to the late, drunk, rich frat boy that nobody invited. Is it going too far to now say they’re the Charlie Sheen of the sex toy industry?

 

29 Responses

  1. Sassycat says:

    I had always wondered about those sex toys. They never really spoke to me, curiosity yes. But never strong enough to spend the money. I remember seeing Lelonas the “new thing” and now it’s just there. Too overpriced for me.
    I now see reviewing sex toys as a overdone niche. Every where I turn on, blogs there are affiliate banners & review pages. There has got to be something else out there. Thanks for sharing your opinion because it kind of sealed the coffin of curiosity on that style & company of sex toys.

  2. Heaven says:

    I quit before I even began. I was seeing lot’s of stuff going out and contacted them about reviewing for them and the response they sent me pissed me off. Then I had trouble even when I started their affiliate program. I only own one thing from them and that is because I won it on a giveaway. From the sounds of everything you posted I am kind of glad. They can go fly a kite somewhere. I was going to send them a rude email too.

  3. I’ve yet to try anything from Lelo, but based on the vast number of reviews out there – of which you’ve contributed in no small part – I feel like I have a good sense of which of their products might work for me personally. So thank you for your efforts, and also thank you for taking care of yourself by saying “no” to something that makes you die a little bit each time. If all bloggers did that the community would be much improved.

  4. Susi says:

    Thx for that article… it’s awesome and VERY helpfully.

    I can understand your feeling of trying to extenuate the disappointment with Lelo, because they invest so much effort in advertising that you can’t imagine that they save money on the product development. That’s the only explanation I can find. There are so many better products on the market that are much better but less popular/known.

    On the other hand I have to give Lelo some credits to enhance that bad image that sex toys have, by promoting them as lifestyle products. Of course the main reason is money making and not some (high) feminist values… but at least they help women to stand behind their sexual needs because they aren’t that “dirty” any more. Their vibrators are luxury products and not some shitty jelly stuff that has nude women on its package.

    Greetings from Vienna (Austria)
    Susi

  5. Guest says:

    Had terrible experience with them. Placed order in Jan. and got nothing in March. Customer service sounds extremely rude that I don’t even want to read their emails. No refund, nothing they can do, suck it up yourself. The fact that it will be shipped from Shanghai is not listed on the website. Neither is fact that they had terrible customer service. Clearly their products are overpriced becaues they knew you will only do business with them once. I wonder if there is a way to share my experience with someone else, to bring more people’s attention to this so-called “luxury” vibe?

  6. Well, you can try taking it to social media, like their Facebook page. I realize not everyone has a Facebook account where they feel comfortable sharing such things, but many people have two accounts for reasons such as this.
    Share your story with other reviewers.

    You are absolutely right, it SHOULD be made clear on the Lelo site that it ships from China. Then again….I can’t really say I’d support shopping on their site, for this and other reasons. When it ships from outside the country you’re in, there is a customs form. This removes any discretion.

    Did they provide you with a tracking number, as proof of delivery? Not that the tracking number really does much. I’ve had a few items stolen after delivery.

  7. InquisitiveClam says:

    I recently felt a little miffed after contacting LELO. I won LELO’s HULA Beads in a giveaway hosted by Cara Sutra, and she lives in the UK. She sent me the prizes from her giveaway, and the HULA Beads came with the UK power cord (naturally and understandably), but I can’t use it because I live in the U.S., so I contacted LELO. I asked about sending them the power cord I can’t use in exchange for the U.S. power cord, which I thought was perfectly reasonable. Like I said, I had even offered to send the UK cord back. When LELO responded to my inquiry, they said that “it will be impossible to return the European plug in exchange for the U.S. plug” and suggested I buy a converter. While an adapter for the UK plug isn’t expensive, the point of winning a toy in a giveaway is getting the toy for free. Fortunately, Cara Sutra was more than willing to send me an adapter she had, and – being the great hostess she is – even threw in a special gift of bondage tape from her new toy line, which she didn’t have to do to make me happy, but it was a wonderfully thoughtful gesture. Plus, I recently received the ORA from LELO’s Insignia line, which uses the same power cord as the HULA Beads and came with the U.S. cord, so I can now charge and use my HULA Beads. I just don’t see what the big deal is about LELO working with me to exchange the plugs.

  8. Goodness that’s crappy of them!!! Wow. Really shitty.

  9. Janis Bouchard says:

    On the 17/04/2014 i brought the large smart wand , and yesterday after maybe 3 used it stop, like that and no possibility to charge it, nothing happening, no light even after 4 hours plugged! Contact them and they contact me back whit questions like : did you used it in water like bath or shower? **** don’t get it, why it’s suppose to not be a treat to it, in the instructions it said waterproof to 1 meter!!! So what the point??? Do they trying to un valid my warranty whit that! When they sell it as waterproof??? I’m confused, i didn’t have the time to but, what the point in this question! Please if someone already had those kind of problem with them let me know! Thank

  10. I don’t know why they ask that. They’re not the most people-friendly bunch, sadly. There is one person that I’ve met from Lelo recently who is pretty wonderful, and maybe she can get you some help. I’ll check with her.

  11. Janis Bouchard says:

    I think it will be ok, they send me the rma number already, if they give me problem I’ll come back, thank a lot!

  12. Jenne says:

    I’m with you on this one for sure. I hate the toys I’ve tried from the Insignia range as well. I tried the Ora and Ida and in my review of the Ora I mentioned that if this was how Swedish guys gave oral, I would give it a miss for sure. It also spurred me to write an open letter to sex toy companies, and a piece for Kinkly.Com. I have no idea who or what Lelo are testing their products on but I’m pretty sure they are not human and definitely not female. They have a great marketing company, but not with the products as they stand. They are not worth the money or the time of people who work hard for both, so I feel your pain.

    I felt bad because the reviews I did where for stores that had sent me the items for review but my reviews always come with the cravat that I promise to write honest reviews. The Ora was I believe the first toy that I actually refused to put up a link for in 10 years of reviewing. Simply put I wish Lelo would get it together but somehow I doubt they will survive…

    I’ve reviewed for companies like Tenga and I did not give their female line great reviews but they never tried to change my mind on posting the reviews and I respect that. Instead they asked for me to send them a detailed list of all the things I did and did not like about the toys. If nothing else it makes me feel valid as a reviewer rather than simply a product pimp which I refuse to be for any company. I’ve never had any first hand experience with Lelo in all fairness, but their products pretty much spoke for themselves.

  13. MrsJoJo says:

    fair points, although i liked the mia, alia and isla. Never had the paint chipping off mine, had it for about 3yrs now. LELO sent me the Ora 2 to review, a few weeks back but I just dunno what to do with it. It’s got that nub pokey out thing that moves slower than a snail, even playing about with the motions etc, I just couldn’t build up the excitement to test it out. I did though and it failed…………..miserably

  14. MrsJoJo says:

    how did you get on with this? Did they send you a replacement?

  15. MrsJoJo says:

    See, I like tenga and other companies that go that extra mile

  16. AntiLelo says:

    Do not buy anything from them in case you have to deal with Nathalie from customer services. It’s the worst service by far that I have experienced in my life! Terrible! She dared to lie saying she didn’t receive an email from me, when their system was showing that it was received. Lame! WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER! The products used to be good, but now they are descartable.

    Does someone know a reputable and serious brand? Lelo is a no way for me! I don’t like that people lie to get away with their interests!

    I have spent almost 3 months and I still don’t get them to send me the replacement product, which I don’t even want anymore. Terrible service! Very bad!

  17. Wow. I’ve heard others complain similarly, sorry you’ve had such a bad experience though!!

    I can’t say I favor one brand over another really, it’s more a favoring of products. For example I adore the We-Vibe Tango but am bored by the We-vibe itself and the We-Vibe Thrill. There’s a lot of decent brands, but I can’t speak for their customer service on warranty issues (except for We-Vibe).

  18. bacteria can grow on the surface yes, but mildew/mold and bacteria won’t penetrate the material.

    I can’t think of anything that can be done, honestly. Butter knife covered in cloth, and run in along the seam?

  19. Alexandra says:

    Hello ladies ! I want to share with you my awful experience with Lelo products.
    A month ago i finally decided to buy a sex toy, so invested in what i though a high quality product- Lelo Mona 2. After a month if using it only externally beucase internally was painful for me, it started to make an awful sound, very very noisy. The retailer that i bought it from replaced it ,and i got another one, that was already defective. The – button was stuck, i couldnt stop it from vibrating.
    I was so so so dissapointed. I contacted their Custom care, they apologisez and asked me to return it to their official offices, but i would have to pay the shipment . Not a change im payging another cent for this product.
    Another aspect i dislike, is their securty sealing. The package is sealed with only 2 little duct tapes. I expected more, this is a sex toy afterall.

  20. K says:

    Just found out Lelo won’t honor the statutory 2 years warranty in the EU http://fruli.krunch.be/~krunch/txt/lelo-warranty.html

    In Europe all sellers are supposed to provide a minimum 2 years guarantee. Many don’t advertise it but will actually honor it when you point it out to them. When I pointed this out to Lelo, they insisted their policy (1 year) trumps the law. I wonder how much they could be sued for this: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-04/03/apple-eu-warranty

  21. Hmmm very interesting!

  22. Tzipora says:

    Damn. Such a shame. I have the Gigi, the original and I love it to bits internally and internally only. Was my first luxury toy AND I got it half off at a holiday sale (Lovers Lane and their 50% off the whole store new years day thing… High five to me getting that and my favorite glass wand considering all the crud they carry!) I keep contemplating something newer with higher power but I have looked at so many of their products in stores… Just was at a shop last month and surprised because they just didn’t seem as good. I will say my Gigi must be about 6 years old and still holds a charge like a champ, like longer even than I think it’s even supposed to. Lol. It at high power and with I think the middle pulse pattern are so amazing for me internally. I squirt if I really want but honestly even beyond that I actually have days where for HOURS I can feel my vagina pulsating afterwards. I’ve gone to sleep and woken up and my vagina felt so so good deep inside… I have no clue how else to explain it and it doesn’t happen every time and somewhat varies but feels so fantastic I actually crave it. So I adore my Gigi. And the head and the little nubby part… It works fantastically with my anatomy. My g spot is buried just behind my pubic bone and when thrusting it sort of catches on my pubic bone in the most fantastic way. (though once my g spot is engorged/ swollen it stops “catching” much). Maybe that’s just me and my body. But dang it, I adore it.

    But I’ve really started seeing that specific toy as an anomaly from them. All the weird twisty toys that seem frankly much weaker than the twisting internal parts of many far cheaper rabbit style vibes and whatnot… So much of their designs in the last couple of years as you said here, just suuuck. So I adored them for the Gigi and being my intro to what a great luxury toy should be and I’m still grateful but I’ve been so disappointed and then reading all this other info about shady company money grab nonsense… That’s a low blow for a company that back in the day was really leading the industry… On the upside at least there’s so so many more luxury brands to support. Thanks though for sharing this concisely on one page. Such a shame.

  23. Tom Seaker says:

    I fully agree with you Lelo produce average, low quality products. But they spend their time and money on hyper advertising and false marketing claims, which no one can verify.
    I purchased a Mia which all of a sudden failed and stopped working. They replaced it with the Mia2 which was advertised as the best etc etc. well it only lasted 3 months and stopped working. Then I had a battle arguing with them about its failure, they agreed to replace it with a new mia2. Well 3 months again it stopped charging. Well I rest my case, Lelo is out of my life now and I have 3 faulty Mia products. I’m done with them, they have the worst Adult Toys quality I have ever come across or ever purchased. Just don’t waist your money.
    T.S

  24. BananaBoat says:

    I think the thing that upsets me the most is that Lelo – or at least the individual(s) at Lelo that are in charge of creating the most recent rounds of campaigns – simply don’t care.

    I don’t say that as a ‘they obviously don’t care as they’d be back tracking if they did’. I say that as someone who is acquainted with at least one individual who orchestrates these decisions, as far back as the Pino shitstorm. I watched their personal Twitter account and their interactions with their peers who were asking them WTF they were thinking. They were proud of it. They *are* proud of their Hex work, and have made that abundantly clear.

    They. Don’t. Care.

    Publicity is publicity to them – negative doesn’t matter. They referred to sex bloggers and educators who were rightfully questioning their decisions as ‘whiney SJWs’. Our opinions mean zero to them – and in fact, the more we tweet, the more they can say they’re the hottest topics of conversation.

    They feel they are too big to fall, too trenched in the industry to lose out. The more attention, the better even if it’s folks throwing out their Lelo toys in mass droves and swearing off never working with them again.

    They. Don’t. Care.

  25. Passionfruit The Sensuality Sh says:

    ‘The Charlie Sheen of the sex toy industry’. GOLD!

  26. Dzee says:

    Guess I should’ve read this post before even bothering to buy something off of this company.. Toy broke within 2-3 days and now I just spent 150 usd on an expensive paperweight!

    Been trying to get in touch with them for over a week now and they’ve just stopped replying, even tried calling them and even then they just refuse to do anything.. Excuses and promises all the time and they simply try to refuse honouring the warranty by ignoring customers! Terrible!

    They even ignore me on Twitter:
    https://mobile.twitter.com/Gth980/status/773442750855413760

  27. Shirkit says:

    I have to admit that I have a Lelo Insignia and it broke in 2.5 years. Where’s the 10 year satisfaction guarantee? They never even responded to my emails. Lelo is a horrible company, and I want them to go bankrupt.

  28. That “satisfaction guarantee” only really gets you a percentage off of purchasing a new toy. From them directly. I’m not surprised that they have not responded to emails. I used to offer to try and harass them on social media for people but I’m not well liked by them now :)

  29. Yes, that is how they do warranties after the first year.