After nine years, eXtreme Restraints owner Ari Suss has come a long way from his days of hawking fetish supplies on eBay.
But from what were extremely small beginnings, eXtreme Restraints quickly morphed into a highly successful business venture that has taken the fetish supply industry by storm.
“I was fascinated with it [the industry] and I wanted to carve a niche within the fetish sex-toy market,” said the Baltimore, Md., native. “And the timing was perfect since there was a huge demand for them for Halloween costumes. Even after the holiday, people were looking for quality fetish gear and that’s how eXtreme Restraints was born.”
Selection, pricing, and content are what make eXtreme Restraints an industry leader, according to Suss.
- Almost nine years and 4,000 more products later and eXtreme Restraints is one of the largest, most diverse fetish retailers in the world.”
Offering consumers discreet, online, high quality BDSM and bondage gear, eXtreme Restraints specializes in products that include, but are not limited to, bondage toys, bondage equipment, BDSM toys, chastity belts, fetish gear, dildos, fetish clothing, dungeon furniture, fucking machines, and butt plugs as well as countless other BDSM items.
“We are very proud of our fucking machines selection specifically,” Suss noted. “With more than 30 unique machines, we have one of the largest selections available. Some of the machines we offer are handmade exclusively for us by talented inventors. Our most successful fucking machine is the Power Box, which is an item that is exclusive to eXtreme Restraints.”
Another popular item is the Zeus Electrosex product line, which focuses on sexual stimulation by using small amounts of electricity.
“There are few competitors in this niche market,” Suss explained. “And the Zeus product line (www.ZeusElectrosex.com) is, in my opinion, the most user-friendly and affordable. Our top seller is the Zeus Digital Power Box and the Zeus Masturbation Penis Bands. Those two and the Zeus Electro Torpedo Plugs make up the essential products that retailers should carry if they want to capture a part of the market.”
Staying two steps ahead of the competition while offering the latest in market trends is nothing new for Suss and eXtreme Restraints, which is constantly looking for new, innovative ways to tempt today’s kink enthusiast.
“There’s more competition coming from the number of online adult toy stores out there now since we started,” said Suss. “The cost of entry into the online market is low, and as unemployment has increased, more people are looking to get in. Fortunately we have a variety of competitive advantages that we will continue to focus on, and we believe with continued hard work it will set us apart from the competition.”
eXtreme Restraints launched its newest brand, Kink Industries, in November 2008, to fill a gap in the market for many who are looking to find all of their kinky needs in one place at an inexpensive price.
Suss told AVN Novelty Business shortly after the opening that anyone familiar with more risqué products will quickly recognize Kink Industries as offering great prices on many essential goods.
“Whereas some brands might include only medical implements, anal hooks, or penis jewelry, Kink Industries offers all of that and more,” he said. “We appeal to more sexually adventurous people who are looking for a non-traditional sex toy to fulfill their fantasies.”
And while recently sales may have cooled a bit on the more costly items, sales on less expensive products maintain a steady course.
“The economic recession has showed us people are more price sensitive,” said Suss. “For example, our high-end adult toy lines are taking a greater hit than our Trinity Vibes essential line, which features products under $30.”
And like many other companies, eXtreme Restraints has tamped down its own spending.
“We now expect a ROI on all ads and promotions versus spending money solely on branding,” said Suss. “Our CFO is looking at our costs and working on ways for us to become more efficient in areas that need improvement. Currently, we are revamping our fulfillment process and we hope to obtain is a higher package output per shipper.”
Recession or not, eXtreme Restraints will continue to push forward with its product development as well as adding new features to its affiliates.
“From a new product perspective, we look forward to growing our Zeus Electrosex, Magnum Enlargement, and Trinity Vibes product lines with exciting new products,” Suss said. “Recently we offered the Trinity Love Seat, which is a hot accessory for the Hitachi Magic Wand. It allows women to obtain hands-free orgasms. And we plan to devote more money and technology to our affiliate program in 2009. Last year we made tremendous progress in offering great new features to our affiliates, like our wish list program, advanced co-branded stores, extensive sales support, and many conversion-optimizing features, and plan to expand on it. I see eXtreme Restraints evolving with the new technology and becoming an even stronger brand in the fetish community.”
For more information, visit eXtremeRestraints.com.
