Sellers began to complain about expensive condoms: they threaten that they are too small

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, but in reality the shoe does not fit on such a foot. What if… not on your leg? In October, condom sellers complained that condom products from Asia were “too small.” Are Russians really at risk of losing essential but delicate goods at affordable prices, MK found out.

The story began with a message from one of the Russian condom manufacturers in the media: as the company warned, due to Western countries’ sanctions against Russia, latex blanks now have to be purchased in the countries of East and Southeast Asia: primarily China, Thailand, and Vietnam. However – and all publications, of course, could not help but grab onto 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 (but this part of the statement of condom makers was missed by most of the media!) 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 at this pharmacy, “global” brands familiar to middle-aged people – at prices 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 accidentally demonstrate – oh, hihi, 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. 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? – thinks a rare specimen of a male pharmacist in a pharmacy on Aviatsionnaya. — 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 prices are 20% lower than pharmacy prices – well, this also 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 pop-up questions. And “government services” have not yet been “screwed” into the sale of condoms.