(800) 658-9119
Shopping Advice 
Vandalism and Theft at Seattle Babeland
On Friday, Seattle Babelanders arrived at the store to find the front window smashed and the toys from the window display stolen. Someone threw a rock through the window and then made off with old vibrators and dildos dressed up for Valentine’s Day.
I find myself hoping that this was motivated purely by greed and not by what Babeland is or stands for. I can’t believe that someone would feel so threatened by a sex-positive, female, queer space that they would need to physically assault it, but I guess that’s entirely possible given that actual people who are female or queer are assaulted all of the time.
Also, I hope they have fun with the sex toys they stole because I’ll let you in on a little secret: they’re mostly broken! The sex toys used in the window displays are old toys that have seen better days. We recycle them by putting silly hats on them or doll clothes or sunglasses. Unless the person who stole them has the most unusual doll-house collection I’ve ever seen, they’re not going to get much use out of their purloined goods.
The saddest part of this is that Babeland employees work really really hard on all of our window displays. It takes so much time to design them, decorate the sex toys and set it all up. People always appreciate the cuteness of the displays and I heard this one was awesome. Now, it’s destroyed.
I’ll post an updates as I find out more, especially if they catch the thief/thieves.
UPDATE: I stand corrected. I thought the Valentine’s Day display was something completely different than the gorgeous thing that it actually was before it was ruined. The toys these people stole cost money, lots of money. Here’s what the display looked like:
February 9th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
You know there is a pub/bar type place like right next door, someone probably just go drunk and stupid. That’s a serious bummer though.
February 9th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I felt heartsick when I read this. What a horrible violation of everything Babeland stands for and provides for customers and the sex-postive and sex-inquisitive communities.
I would guess that the perpetrators were intentionally violating Babeland rather than just hoping for free sex toys. It would have been less risky to shoplift. They were making a statement.
And we’re making a different statement, and will continue to do so.
Joan Price
author of Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex After Sixty (http://www.joanprice.com/BetterThanExpected.htm)
Join us — we’re talking about ageless sexuality at http://www.betterthanieverexpected.blogspot.com
February 10th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Thank you both. All of the staff in New York were shocked today when I told them. It’s really awful that someone would do this.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
[...] At least the staff at the Seattle store have a sense of humor about their broken window. I love the note! It says “our window may be broken, but our hearts aren’t”. It’s hard to see in the picture but the rock is still in the window with little hearts on it. [...]