Rubber products No. 2, originally from Asia, may not be suitable for European and Russian men
It has long been known that Asian online stores and clothing brands are guilty of running small: they declare, say, shoe size 43 , in reality, the shoe does not fit on such a foot. What if… it’s not on your leg? In October, condom sellers complained that condom products from Asia were “too small.” MK found out whether Russians really risk losing essential but delicate goods at affordable prices.
Photo: freepik
The story began with a message from one of the Russian condom manufacturers in the media: as the company warned, due to the sanctions of Western countries against Russia, latex blanks now have to be purchased in the countries of East and Southeast Asia: these are primarily China, Thailand, and Vietnam. However, and all publications, of course, could not help but jump on such news — the blanks made according to the patterns of men of the Mongoloid race, they say, are too small for Caucasians. This means that for the average Russian, a latex product tailored for the average Chinese or Vietnamese will be too small. Therefore (most of the media missed this part of the condom maker’s statement!) the blanks will have to be purchased on an individual order, and this will be more expensive.
Meanwhile, the choice of number two product brands in Russian pharmacies and stores is now unprecedented: much more than before 2020. Let's say a pharmacy in the Central Administrative District, belonging to a premium chain, offers a dozen brands at once. There are, and these are the top sellers in this pharmacy, “global” brands familiar to middle-aged people — at a price of up to 1,500 rubles per dozen. Or 400-500, but for three things: for the evening, so to speak. And there are also unfamiliar ones, but judging by the design, they are clearly youthful: you can buy them for half the price.
I remember stories from the late nineties — early 2000s: advanced students, getting ready for a party in the spirit of “the nights are fraught with surprises”, put nothing in their pocket or wallet, namely “Durex”, in order to casually demonstrate — oh, hehe, it fell out, thank you! — level of material claims.
The pharmacy is simpler and closer to the Moscow Ring Road: the prices and assortment are the same, but the “products” are not visible at all on the display case. According to the pharmacist, people here most often choose by price, not by brand. True, usually buyers still ask whether the products are normal — and most often ladies, as well as men over 50, enter into conversations.
— Do they run small? — a rare example of a male pharmacist in a pharmacy on Aviatsionnaya is thinking. — In general, each brand has its own standard; for some, “Durex” was fine before, but “Contex” was cramped. All manufacturers usually have XXL lines, but not every pharmacy has them in stock. In general, the vast majority have switched to online orders.
And it’s true: there is an abundance of this product on the Internet, or more precisely, on marketplaces. Both departed and new brands. Moreover, such a variety of thematic packaging (anime, Potter, even Moomins!) and designs definitely did not exist before the era of online stores. And the prices are 20% lower than pharmacy prices — well, yes, this happens with other categories of goods.
The pharmacists interviewed by MK said that there is no shortage of “full-size” products from familiar brands and is not expected. Perhaps all the noise, by the way, is nothing more than an attempt to justify either an increase in prices for “popular”, new brands, or advertising of old and “bourgeois” ones. Like, why pay 1500 instead of 600 rubles? But because my masculine features are not like those of some Japanese…
Only two things confuse me. Funny condoms with cartoons — how reliable are these “craft” ones? And most importantly: in online stores this product has the “18+” attribute: they say, this is not a toy for minors. However, our teenagers are excellent at answering “yes” to questions that pop up. And “government services” have not yet been “connected” to the sale of condoms.