Filing a Warranty Claim on a Sex Toy
If you read my last post, you probably already know that I really, really hated the Blush Hop Jessica Rabbit Vibrator. In that post, I alluded to the fact that in addition to being an overall shitty sex toy, the first incarnation I got of this toy was actually defective and I had to send it back and request a replacement. My ADHD hates having to do tasks like following up on warranties, cashing checks, sending emails, etc., so I was mad from the beginning about having to do the cumbersome task of figuring out warranty/replacement stuff.
Once I accepted the fact that I would have to file a warranty claim, I first took to Google to see if other people had dealt with this problem before. I’ve actually never filed a warranty claim for any product, and I was hoping I could find some reassurance or guidance about the process. I also just wanted to try and get some insight on the process, period. But unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any info written by anyone else.
While this blog post risks being more boring than my other ones, I’m choosing to write it anyway in the hopes of filling the gap I noticed in my own search. What’s it like to have to file a warranty claim on a sex toy? You’re about to find out!
Step One: Figuring Out There Was A Problem
When the Blush Hop Jessica Rabbit Vibrator arrived, several other toys I had purchased were part of the same order. The Hop Jessica Rabbit was one of two rechargeable vibrators I had ordered (the other one being the Pillow Talk Sassy), so I plugged them both into my power strip and didn’t think much else of it as I went off to kill some time while they charged. The Sassy charged without any problems, but when I went to try and turn the Hop Jessica Rabbit on….nothing.
At first, I assumed I had to be the problem. Maybe there was something wrong with my power strip—but no, that couldn’t be it, because my other devices were charging without any problems. Maybe I hadn’t read the instruction manual correctly—but no, I was following the directions to charge it. The problem was that the light I was told would come on…wasn’t turning on.
Then, I turned my attention to the charging port itself. The Hop Jessica Rabbit has a magnetic charger, which can be notoriously finicky. I poked around for what felt like forever, trying to connect the charger with the port together in that magical way that would, hopefully, finally get the toy to light up and indicate that it was charging. After many attempts, I finally saw a flicker of light. Hooray! The problem was solved! I was just a fool who was uninformed and incapable of doing things!
Nope, that wasn’t it.
The light on the toy would come on, but it would stay on for less than a minute. While the charging light on this toy is supposed to emit a slow, steady pulse of light when charging, the light was instead going berserk. It looked like a light effect at a rave or dance party. The light would slowly pulse for a second or two, then the slow pulsation would start rapidly flickering while pulsing, and ultimately burning out altogether.
At this point, I was still trying to delude myself into thinking there was hope for this toy. However, after chatting in On Her Back’s Discord server with some other sex toy enthusiasts, I was told the toy most likely had a short in it, and that for my own safety I should immediately stop trying to use it.
I freaked out! Not only was this toy not charging, but also it had an electrical short that (in my mind) had the potential to blow up and set my apartment on fire?! AAAAAUGH!
I knew that the only options now were to either cut my losses or file a warranty claim. Since I felt an obligation to review this toy for the sake of my blog…I knew the warranty claim was the path I had to take.
STEP TWO: Contacting the Retailer
My first thought was to reach out to PeepShow Toys, but they told me that no, I had to contact the manufacturer and file a warranty claim. After dealing with the burden of sending emails to PeepShow Toys, I promptly had to lay down and recover for a week.
STEP THREE: Contacting the Manufacturer
I couldn’t put it off forever. I had to contact the manufacturer, Blush Novelties, and file a warranty claim on their website. The form I submitted required that I submit proof of purchase, packaging images, and product images, because my torment is never ending. I also had to submit my name and address (as you would expect) and the specific number of the product, which PeepShow Toys kindly provided me with, in addition to another copy of my receipt. Because I have executive dysfunction, another copy of the receipt wasn’t necessary, though—my original receipt was still sitting on the kitchen counter, buried under a pile of unopened mail and Arby’s coupons.
There was an opportunity to upload images showing how the product was defective, but my trouble was that my problem was best illustrated by video. This was my message I sent:
Hi,
I purchased this vibrator on November 25, 2020 and it arrived to me on December 31, 2020. I have tried repeatedly to charge this toy, but I have not been able to get it to charge or even properly connect to the charger. While the light is supposed to stay on while charging, according to the instruction manual, if you look at the video I uploaded to my Twitter account, you can see that the light flickers rapidly instead of holding a steady pulse. Additionally, it only maintains this flickering light for a minute or two before it stops working entirely.
This toy has not been able to charge or turn on since I received it, despite the outlet itself working fine to charge my other electronics. I have not used this toy in any sexual context since receiving it, as I have not been able to get it to work.
Please note, while my receipt says I purchased this toy in purple, Peepshow Toys ran out of stock of the purple color option toy and instead sent me the pink version. I can provide additional proof if required.
The video on my Twitter has since been deleted, but it showed the flickering light problem. I was trying to provide as much evidence as possible out of fear that the customer service rep would think I was lying (because I’m paranoid), but it turned out to be no problem. I got an email notifying me that my warranty claim had been accepted, and the next step was to send the toy back.
STEP FOUR: The Exchange Process
The exchange process required that I send back the toy to the address they provided me with, in addition to a warranty return form I was required to fill out. This was probably the biggest inconvenience, because I’m a millennial and how DARE you assume I have a printer. I obviously couldn’t print it at my workplace due to the fact that it was (gasp) related to a SEX TOY!!! and I couldn’t go to a public library due to COVID-19. Fortunately, my partner was able to print it off at their workplace, which is a lot more relaxed than mine is. My partner also, mercifully, took it to the post office and mailed it for me, because I absolutely hate mailing things.
Do you think I know how to mail a letter? Fuck you. What the FUCK is a stamp? I’m Insane Clown Posse singing “fucking magnets, how do they work,” but with stamps instead of magnets. My ADHD is a constant balance of selecting a limited smattering beneficial traits at the expense of rendering other beneficial traits completely inaccessible. Writing long winded blog posts is the trait I gained in exchange for sacrificing my knowledge of how to mail a letter.
I was required to pay shipping to send the toy back, but Blush covered the shipping cost to send the replacement toy back to me. This was ultimately painless, and after mailing the defective toy out on January 25th, I received an email on February 8th saying the replacement had been shipped out to me.
This is where my only real “complaint” comes in—in the email notification I got where I received the tracking number for the replacement toy shipment, I wasn’t told what service the toy was being shipped through. When I replied inquiring where to input my tracking number, I just got “POST OFFICE” back in all capital letters. I’m not saying this with the intent of faulting Blush in any way, because all customer service representatives deal with a ton of shit every day and they all need to be paid more. I just laughed when I got the email saying “POST OFFICE” because it looked funny to me.
STEP FIVE: Receiving a Replacement
The silver lining to this whole situation is that in the end, I got the color of the toy I had originally wanted. You see, when I placed the order with PeepShow Toys, I had initially requested the purple option for this toy, but it was out of stock so they sent me a pink one instead. When I sent the toy back to Blush, I made note of this, and they sent me back a purple version of the toy as opposed to a direct replacement of the defective pink toy I sent them.
I would be a lot more excited about this if not for the fact that the toy itself had just turned out to suck fundamentally, but alas, we can’t have everything we want in life. At least the vibrator I have now sucks the way it was designed to suck, and doesn’t suck as a result of a defect.
I hope that this blog post wasn’t too boring and helped provide some insight into what it’s like to file a warranty claim on a defective sex toy! Thanks to the Blush Novelties customer service team for resolving this issue for me!
This post wasn’t sponsored in any way and I bought the Blush Hop Jessica Rabbit vibrator with my own money.
