The Kink Shoppe: Bring in Your Copy of Fifty Shades of Grey and We’ll Give You Something That’ll Really Teach You About BDSM


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Old City adult boutique The Kink Shoppe is kicking off a new “Fifty Trades of Grey” campaign, urging those interested in incorporating BDSM into their sex lives to bring in their copies of Fifty Shades of Grey for, as store owner Fred Hovermann puts it, “a more credible and well-respected book of similar subject matter.”

While supplies last, customers who bring in their copies of Fifty Shades will receive one of two books: Carrie’s Story: An Erotic S/M Novel by Molly Weatherfield, or Tristan Taormino’s 50 Shades of Kink: An Introduction to BDSM.

Hovermann says the idea came after the release of the film version of Fifty Shades of Grey, which he says promotes and “romanticizes an unhealthy and abusive relationship, depicting stalking, lack of consent and ignoring safe words.” That’s not what BDSM is all about “If Fifty Shades opened people’s eyes to something new and different that’s great. However, being an education-based shop, we want to make sure people are exploring their curiosities with a more appropriate frame of reference.”

In that vein, customers can also trade their books for free admission to an upcoming BDSM workshop, “50 Shades of Reality: A Legit Intro to BDSM.” The one-hour class takes place on Sunday, March 1st at 2 pm. It’s $10 without the book swap, and proceeds will benefit local domestic abuse organizations.

If it’s the books you’re after, you better hurry: There are only 50 copies available—25 of each. The deal is limited to one trade per customer.

One question is still looming, though. What is Hovermann going to do with all those extra Fifty Shades books lying around? “Once we’ve collected enough, I’m going to make a window display of the books in a trash can or something.”