I asked twitter and facebook followers what was important to them in an online safer sex store. The responses mostly included free or reasonable shipping costs, wide selection (something they wouldn’t be able to get at the drugstore), discreet shipping, easy to navigate site, and customer reviews. I’ve combined that with my own ideas on what makes a safer sex supplier website great to come up with this review.

What follows is pretty long and feel free to read it. However, if you just want a basic overall review skip to the end.

Condom Selection

They feature a wide selection of condoms and condom brands including Trojan, Durex, Okamoto (you may know these as Beyond Seven and Crown), Lifestyles,  Caution Wear, Contempo, Impulse, Kimono, Night Light, One, Trustex, and Sensis. The selection is definitely much larger than most drugstores (both in your neighborhood and online) and many sex shops, but still smaller than Condomania.

They also sell several variety packs of condoms including by brand, size, and flavored. There is also a super sampler pack of 100 condoms for $29.95 which I imagine leading to a lot of fun.

They have latex and non-latex options which is great, but they prominently feature lambskin condoms without enough warning that they do not protect against STI transmission. Speaking of which, they sell many condoms with Nonoxynol-9 which is a spermicide which has been shown to increase the risk of STI transmission when used often. It does this by irritating the vagina causing small lesions.

Other Safer Sex Supplies

Undercover Condoms also has a wide variety of lube including Astroglide, Durex, Pjur, K-Y, Kama Sutra, Pre, Sliquid, System JO, and Wet. I am happy to report that they do not sell any anal desensitizing lubes. Had they had any I wouldn’t have agreed to do this review.

They also sell 3 different brands of Dental Dams including one that is non-latex.

There are unfortunately no gloves or finger cots offered on the site.

They also sell contraceptive gels, foams, films, and inserts containing spermicide.

There is only one safer sex kit on the site, which I found to be odd since it had it’s own category. I’d like to see a few different kits that included a variety of condoms, lube, dams, and gloves. I’d especially like to see one offered for those who are allergic to latex.

Other Products

Other products include men’s prolonging sprays containing lidocaine which numbs the penis. There are better options to prolong erections and I do not support the use of any sort of numbing agent use during sex.

There are also female arousal gels, sex toys made exclusively by condom manufacturers so most are disposable and of poor quality, 6 educational books that seem to have been chosen at random, massage oils, romance kits, pregnancy tests, ovulation kits, and the most surprising product: Nair.

Product Descriptions

This is the area I found to be most lacking on the site and I really hope they work on this to further develop it. Very few condoms have dimension info, very few lubes and other potions have ingredients listed, and sometimes there is info listed for condoms when that’s not what is being sold. The info given is copy from the condom companies, often exactly what is written on the boxes. That’s fine to include, but I personally prefer to get more information about shape, dimensions, and what makes that condom different from others. Condomania really excels in this department and it’s what I’ve come to expect in all of the websites I buy from and recommend.

Although, I do like the fact that they have a drawing of the shape of the condom which you can click to see other condoms that have a similar shape. Thats a pretty neat and useful feature.

Customer Reviews

Some of you said these were very important to you. I’m not sure I totally agree since all condoms that are approved for sale in the US have to undergo the same rigorous testing, but it can be nice to know what others thought of a product you’re thinking of buying. Maybe I just don’t care because I have a latex allergy and have very few options open to me.

There are customer reviews on the site, but from searching around I didn’t see a single review under 3 stars. This may be because, like I said, condoms undergo the same testing so you’re probably either going to love it or think it’s just ok because you didn’t catch anything but you didn’t think it was the best thing to ever go on/in your body. Either way, I’d take these reviews with a grain of salt.

Prices

This may be your best reason for shopping from Undercover Condoms. Their prices are pretty damn awesome. I didn’t price check everything because no one has that much time, but I did check several different brands and types of products comparing them to drugstore.com, Walgreens.com, and Condomania. In general, Undercover Condoms were less expensive than Walgreens and Condomania. The prices were pretty comparable to drugstore.com with some products being more expensive in one place or the other.  But Undercover Condoms had a better selection than both drugstore sites.

The prices get even better when you consider Undercover Condoms loyalty program which gives you 10% of your purchase back to be used towards future purchases. You can either use your rewards dollars right away or save them up to get free stuff. They do expire after 1 year though.  And the more you buy, the less you pay. Many condoms have a choice of buying 100 at a time for a big discount.

This is the cheapest place I’ve found to buy Female Condoms. Stock up now!

Shipping

Undercover Condoms ships discreetly in a plain white box or envelope with the company name in the return address as PCPD, LLC. Unless your neighbors or mail carrier order from the same company, you have no worries about them knowing what is being delivered. They also offer online order tracking so that it’s easier to intercept your package if you live with nosy relatives or roommates.

Shipping costs are very reasonable. If you purchase more than $29 in products you receive free shipping, otherwise their cheapest option is just $2.95.

Education

This is always an important one to me. I believe that sexuality retailers need to educate the population because there is so much misinformation out there. Undercover Condoms does have a decent education page. However, it is so difficult to find that it might as well not be there at all.

Overall Site Design & Navigation

The site is clean and easy to navigate from the time you first arrive through the checkout process. With the exception of the education page, most pages are easy to find and understand.

There are always improvements that could be made for navigation and design and I would like to see a little stronger search functions, but that’s my main criticism of most sites.

I found very few broken links in my searches which is extremely important for the shopping experience and I liked how I always received suggestions based on what I was currently viewing.

Return Policy

I’m actually not totally clear on this because I found different information in a couple of places. There is a 30 day guarantee, but I’m unsure of whether or not the product can be opened or not. You may want to contact customer service if you are at all worried about wanting to return a product if you are not satisfied. They do take back all damaged goods. Returns are actually exchanges for other products or store credit. No money will be returned.

If you buy wholesale (cases of 1,000 only) then they do not accept returns on opened boxes.

Other

During the month of December $1 of every order is donated to AIDS prevention and research which is a good cause for sure. However, it only goes to help residents in Ohio which is where the company is located. Being that the internet is an international store I’d like to see that donation going to a more international, or at least national, source.

Undercover Condoms accepts all major credit cards as well as PayPal. Their site is McAfee secure and Verisign verified.If you are not buying in the US it is very easy to change currency type to pounds, euros, Canadian dollars, or Japanese yen so that you know what you’re paying before you buy it.

All orders over $49 receive a 5 pack of disposable vibrating cock rings and all orders receive a 3 pack of Undercover Condoms brand condoms.

Contact info is clearly displayed in many locations making it easy to get a hold of the company if necessary. Never shop from a website that doesn’t clearly display contact info.

There is a blog, but it is not updated too often. They also have Facebook and Twitter accounts but do not have much of a following.

Overall Thoughts

The website is clean and easy to navigate. The selection is large and the prices are very good especially if you participate in their rewards program. Shipping is cheap to free and very discreet. Descriptions need work so if you want to learn more about the condoms visit Condomania, but buy from here because it’s cheaper. If you use Female Condoms then by god stock up here! There are some dental dams, but no gloves or finger cots. Lube is usually more expensive though so get that elsewhere unless you can’t get free shipping from those other places. Don’t buy any numbing products for sex ever. Educational aspects of the site are lacking mostly because they are not easily found. I would like to see those featured more prominently. If you want customer reviews, they are here, but I’m not sure how trustworthy they are since I didn’t find any under 3 stars.

Shop at Undercover Condoms.

*Edit* Their Reaction

I opened my email this morning to find a message from Undercover Condoms.

The review looks great and we appreciate your honesty. I think there’s several actionable items we’ll review internally to see if we can improve the visitor and buying experience. I think the health section and added information for lambskin and non-oxynol 9 products will be a priority.

Thanks much!

Disclaimer: I received payment and products in exchange for my time reviewing this site. My opinion is my own and was not influenced by the payment I received.

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This post, Website Review: Undercover Condoms, originally appeared on Ask Garnet on 12/13/2010. Click over to leave a comment or ask a question: Website Review: Undercover Condoms. Thanks for visiting!
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Whoa whoa whoa. That is a lot of questions right there. It will take me a few blog posts to answer all of these so stay tuned for all of the answers over the next few days.

First, let’s talk about condoms. Putting a condom on correctly is really important so here’s how you do it:

1. Check the expiration date printed on the condom to make sure it is still good. If it is not, throw it out and get a new one. If it’s good, move on to step 2.
2. Carefully tear the condom wrapper open. Do NOT use scissors or anything sharp as you could make a hole in the condom.
3. Unroll the condom a little bit to figure out which way it goes.
4. Squeeze a drop or two of a water or silicone based lube into the condom. This will make it more pleasurable for the wearer.
5. Squeeze the first 1/4-1/2 inch of the condom to make sure there is room for semen to go when you ejaculate.
6. If you have foreskin, pull it down gently so that it is under the head of your penis and then roll the condom down the shaft of the penis.
7. Rub some water or silicone lube on the outside of the condom.
8. Stick in hole and thrust in and out.
9. After you ejaculate pull out immediately before your dick gets soft. Make sure you hold onto the base of the condom as you pull out.
10. Then just throw away. If you want to have sex again use a new condom.

Here’s a demo video I made because sometimes it’s just easier to show than tell.

Many condoms come prelubed, but adding a little extra lube can never hurt and in fact will often make sex more pleasurable for both partners. It will also keep the sex safer since the condom will be less likely to dry out and break. Latex can actually dry a woman’s natural lubrication out.

Condoms can fall off. It isn’t usually because the vagina is too tight though. It may happen if it dries out, but it can also happen just from the friction of thrusting or if the condom is too big. Guys, don’t pretend your cock is bigger than it is because condoms that are too big are more likely to break and/or slip off. Get a condom that fits. If you are worried about slippage I suggest using a cheap cock ring around the base of the condom to keep it on.

Stay tuned for the rest of the answers!

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This post, How to Put on a Condom, originally appeared on Ask Garnet on 04/05/2010. Click over to leave a comment or ask a question: How to Put on a Condom. Thanks for visiting!
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Cock Curious

I’m glad you’re enjoying the site and thanks so much for the question. To all of you readers out there, if you think there is something missing from my blog, please don’t hesitate to send an email letting me know what you’d like to see more of.

Yes, cock rings can help to keep a man from ejaculating as soon as he might normally, but they also have lots and lots of other uses too! And they also come in a number of different materials from stretchy jellies and elastomers to rigid rubber and steel.

My boss over at Early to Bed recently made a video about cock rings so I figured that would be a great way to share the info you’re looking for.

There are a couple things I would like to add to what she said. First of all, the leather vibrating cock ring she shows can also be used around the testicles as well as the shaft.

Also, a great beginner cock ring is this bolo tie style cock ring. It is really easy to put on and adjust and is pretty inexpensive. It is a great way for men to figure out if they like cock rings or not.

Finally, I’d like to add that there is one more use for cock rings not mentioned by my boss. Sure they’re great at making erections last longer, making them harder, helping to delay ejaculation, and stimulating the clit, but they’re also great for keeping condoms on. If you find that you have difficulty with condom slippage, cock rings are great for keeping a condom secure. This can be especially helpful with polyurethane condoms which often have slippage issues, men whose penises are smaller than average, and sex toys that don’t quite have the size and shape of a penis but you would prefer to have sheathed for hygienic reasons.

As far as what I think is best, well I feel that is a matter of opinion. But I do stress that if the man in question is new to using a cock ring, he should use one that is easy to remove if necessary. So it should be stretchy, adjustable, or easy to cut off. Stay away from metal! I’d even recommend not using the rubber o-ring style ones right off the bat as they can be difficult to cut off if you’re panicked at all.

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This post, Cock Rings, originally appeared on Ask Garnet on 10/22/2008. Click over to leave a comment or ask a question: Cock Rings. Thanks for visiting!
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