It’s Sunday afternoon at 3:30. The rain has given way to a few minutes of sunshine as pedestrians move to and fro around Eugene’s Sixth and Seventh avenues. A young man and woman make their way into a store with the words “Adult Video, Books & Novelties” stretching across the sign above them. Inside, they’re greeted with bright fluorescent lighting, eight male customers in their 30s and 40s, and thousands of pornographic movies. They start their browsing, looking at penis pumps, dildos, vibrators and the like. Within a few minutes they’re in different sections of the store. The young woman, a college graduate, is looking at the movies, while her man is comparing prices on brand-name lubes.
A few of the patrons, all older men, have made their way to the area where the woman is browsing. The young man sees that the men are spending more time looking at his companion than at the movies in their hands. He approaches her, makes some small talk and within a few minutes the two leave.
To the uninitiated, this may seem like what one would expect from a store that sells porn movies, sex toys and sexualized novelty products, but in the Eugene/Springfield area, this is the exception, not the rule. For the most part, the seven local adult stores or sex shops are comfortable settings meant to provide guidance and selection for shoppers looking for something to spice up the bedroom or make sex safe and fun.
“Back when I started, they were all dirty bookstores,” said Steve Mattick, owner of Exclusively Adult, a Springfield store in its 24th year of operation. “Our attempt is to make it comfortable for females and couples.”
Many of these local sex shops do emit an air of comfort. They’re brightly lit, there’s space to move around, and employees are available for advice without being pushy. A sign hanging next to vibrators at Fantasyland, a Eugene store, reads, “We are a friendly, knowledgeable crew.” And the staff proves this when asked questions.
On a recent visit, Fantasyland employee Bill Dyball was personable and polite in explaining the subtle differences between a few brands of lubricant. Eros, he said, is silicone- instead of water-based, meaning it doesn’t dilute into the skin and a little bit goes a long way.
“It’s even hard to wash off,” Dyball said. “It’s the best.”
Besides friendly staffs, most of the local adult shops have a wide range of novelty products to break the ice with almost any uncomfortable shopper. Most of the stores carry products ideal for bachelorette parties or racy white elephant exchanges. A baking pan in the shape of a penis and the “Pin the Macho on the Man” game are two of the novelty items meant to elicit laughter instead of moaning.
Although these stores sell humorous products such as greeting cards, T-shirts and sunglasses in the shape of breasts, a main source of revenue is pornographic movies. At each establishment thousands of movies are available for customers to purchase or rent, and all but one of the stores has a room for viewing movies in the store or a series of channels with continuously playing porn. 
Employees at Fantasyland said 60 percent of their total revenue comes from movies, and an Adult Shop clerk believed more than 60 percent of the store’s earnings came from DVDs and VHS videos.
“Video makes up a strong one-third in rentals and sales. It’s a male-dominated area,” said Mattick, the only local owner of the adult stores in Eugene/Springfield.
Although men still have a tight grip on film and print-based porn, more couples and women are visiting sex shops than ever before. Castle Mega Store in Springfield, which sells trendy lingerie as well as sex toys and movies, had just as many female customers as male on a recent Monday afternoon, and most of the local shops have at least as many women working the counter as men.
Mattik said men and women are being influenced by television and movies’ growing candor with sex toys.
There are people who have never seen a sex toy, Mattick said, who flip on the Oxygen network and see some woman in her 60s talking about masturbation, which gets them interested. They might come in the store and be a little sheepish, but they still buy a toy.
Employees at local shops agreed that more females and couples are popping in to see what adult shops have to offer. But with seven stores in Eugene and Springfield, how can curious customers find out what store may be the best fit for what they’re looking for? Check the quickie reviews below to see which stores rise above the rest.
Adult Shop
Foreplay: The two Eugene Adult Shop stores are part of a chain; many of them do business on the Interstate 5 corridor. Tell your favorite trucker.
Sexummary: Although the generic brown and yellow exterior makes people think of the raunchiest German shizer films, the interior is clean and the employees helpful. Impress your friends by getting your kid sister an Adult Shop sweat shirt for $25.
Money Shot: The Doc Johnson Velvet Touch vibrators ($34.95) are selling like condoms at a swingers’ convention.
Arousing Laughter: Bad Taste Bears key chains ($9.95) have the cutest teddy bears mixing their genitals with things like vacuum cleaners, sandwiches and sheep. Ewe.
B&B Distributors
Foreplay: Come for the anal beads but stay for the photo collage of customers doing the darndest things.
Sexummary: Remember the story at the beginning of the article about the couple who went to the sex shop to browse around only to end up leaving because male customers were leering at the young woman? Yeah, that’s this place.
Money Shot: Although an employee said he didn’t know whether any DVDs were selling better than others, we’ll go out on a limb and say that “Insemination By Black Men 1” is selling better than “Insemination By Black Men 2.”
Arousing Laughter: Behind the counter is a butt plug nearly the size and shape of the Liberty Bell, but it only arouses laughter when it stays on the shelf.  
Castle Mega Store
Foreplay: “The Store Penis,” as it’s referred to, is nearly eight feet high and was once a stage prop for a band.
Sexummary: This is the Wal-Mart of local adult stores. This place carries 40 brand-name lubricants, and that’s not counting different sizes, flavors or individual product lines. The lingerie comes from Playboy, among others, and the store gets 240 to 300 new movie titles every month. Porn stars regularly stop by for autograph sessions. Sometimes, bigger can be better.
Money Shot: A female employee pointed out the Honeydew Camisol ($34.99), a piece of lingerie that, although sexy, would have trouble covering a tortoise in a basketball game.
Arousing Laughter: The Fatty Patty Love Doll ($32.99) is the perfect gift for the guy who has everything – and is somewhat sick in the head.  
Exclusively Adult
Foreplay: Owner Steve Mattick runs the oldest adult store in town, and remembers the good ol’ days: “So many large businesses are going, ‘This is a multi-billion dollar business and we want in.’ Before, our only competition was the Chamber of Commerce coming down on us selling a gay movie because they didn’t like gay movies.”
Sexummary: This spot has the funniest novelty area, a book section that’s actually books and some hand-blown glass toys that are so artistic you could keep them on your mother’s mantle. OK, maybe not, but they look cool.
Money Shot: The Cal Exotics Silver Bullet vibrator ($9.99) gives the ladies a lot of bang for their buck. But be aware, it’s not for use on werewolves or in Coors Light commercials.
Arousing Laughter: Does it seem like there are no jobs at the end of a student career as, say, a journalism or English major? Start you career as a bona fide gimp by purchasing your first full-hooded bondage mask ($130). The gimp won’t be sleeping with an outfit like this.
Fantasyland
Foreplay: If your wife sends you to the store for lube and a Bowie knife, this should be your first stop. Knives
at the counter don’t sell well, but they’re there when you need ’em.
Sexummary: Tell the mannequin with the voluptuous breasts near the front door that you read this article and she’ll tell you her most intimate sexual fantasies. If you believe that, this place probably doesn’t want you in there. It’s clean, has a nice selection and the employees are extremely down-to-earth.
Money Shot: Eros, the silicone-based lubricant mentioned above, is one of this store’s hottest products and works so well it stays on under water. Just stay away from the mermaids, sick-o.
Arousing Laughter: You forgot another anniversary and flowers just won’t work. So what do you get your partner that’s sure to overwhelm him or her with questions about your sanity? Try the Lover’s Colossal Collection ($99.95), a mix-and-match pack the size of a coffee table that comes equipped with pumps, lubes, vibrators, dildos, ticklers and your lover’s vexed looks.