CheapTRX

I’m still giving CheapTRX 4 stars, but I have to say, I’m under the impression they’ll be closing their doors soon. I went back a few weeks ago for the first time in 2 years or so, and not only is 90% of their inventory gone, but just about everything else is clearance, and almost all of their collections are incomplete. No more clothes. No more pins and buttons and stickers. No more books. No more cards. (all except for the handful of things on clearance, of course). And so on… Further, unless I’m crazy, the size of the story literally shrunk. Presumably they added more space to the tattoo shop, I think?. It looks nothing like it used to, and it carries nothing like the products it used to. I’m afraid this story is coming to an end. :(

This is a fun «alternative» store. I discovered it when I was shopping for my friend’s bachelorette party. I was able to find something great in the downstairs area with a little help from their friendly employees.

I placed an order for a product in their downstairs area and they told me it would be in in about a week. When I returned, the product was not there. Apparently, they don’t hold special orders for you unless you put money down first, which is understandable, but no one told me that! Very disappointed because I drive from the IL suburbs to shop at a local gay-​owned business. However, I want my merchandise more than I want to shop local, so I’ll just order online next time.
UPDATE: I got a message from the manager apologizing and explaining that there’s been some confusion/​growing pains in the store since it’s switched its management. I appreciate that, so I’m switching my review from 1 star to 3 stars.

I too have experienced rudeness from staff at this store & have not been back since. You cannot take people’s business for granted.

I’ve been coming to cheap trx for 10+ years but I have to admit this time was not a great experience. Everyone used to be friendly, kind and helpful without judgement. My last visit was so uncomfortable, I hurried out because the energy was dreadful. The downstairs, which again I’ve patronized for years, was even worse. For the first time in years, I was intimidated to ask any questions. Hopefully this was just an off day as I like to support local, small queer friendly businesses. For now, I’ll go elsewhere; super unfortunate!

It was my first time in the store. over priced, over rated. And the gentlemen downstairs tried to pull a fast one on me when he tried to sell me a small bottle of Amsterdam for $ 29. Either he thinks I’m an idiot or that store is crazy expensive. Either way. I will never go back

reading the previous rude review, I can honestly see why the woman was asked to leave the store. its apparent she isn’t able to act like a responsible adult, so needs to reflect her immaturity in her reviews. one must act like an adult when patronizing an adult store. while she may not see giggling at the dildos and other assorted items in the store as being immature, have a little bit of respect for the other shoppers that are/​could be in the store.
On with the review:
I have been a shopper of this store for many years as have been lots of friends. the employees are awesome and do their job well. The store offers an incredible selection of toys and adult merchandise downstairs, and upstairs is where you can find a huge selection of gifts, cards, clothes. they are connected to a tattoo & piercing shop if your in the mood to get a little crazy while your shopping. The store has been in business on Grand avenue for over 20 years now, so it’s apparent that they are doing something right, with operating their business.

10/​14/​2010
I don’t care how many reasonably-​priced dildos you shove in my face while I gag on your incense, your rude, elitist, ohhhhh, I-work-in-a-sex-store-so-I’m-going-to-roll-my-eyes-and – be-​annoyed-​by-​your-​questions attitude isn’t going to get you my business.
Try «ladies, we are closing in ten minutes, just wanted to let you know, did you have any questions?» next time. «Girls, we’re trying to close,» barked impatiently at me as we wrestled over an apparently not-​lucrative-​enough purchase makes me never want to shop here ever again.
I don’t care how horny I get. I don’t care if there were no people left on earth and only the dildos in this store remained to give me pleasure. I don’t care if they shut down casual encounters on Craigslist, effectively ending my sex life. I don’t care if Oprah makes me Maid of Honor and this is the only store in the country that carries the crap she wants at her Bachelorette Party. No. F-​ing. Way.
Edited 2÷17÷13… Wrote this a while ago, but Cheap TRX and TRX Tattoo are separate businesses, so I am moving my review to this new listing. I’ve had multiple return visits here which were just as bad, if not worse. The staff here is beyond rude. I cannot fathom how this place stays in business. Do yourself a favor and shop at one of the other thousand novelty stores in the area. Missouri is like an underground sex Mecca in the adult world. Believe it or not, there are far better options for buying all your weird fetish crap. Ask any truck driver you know.
Edited 2÷12÷14 in response to owner comment… I understand that my online persona is disrespectful. I know my review is not respectful. However, at no time did I ever disrespect any employee at this business. In real life, I typically conduct myself with the utmost respect. The only thing we did that could have been perceived as disrespectful is that we came in very close to the time of close, which we did inadvertently. The employee could have easily and respectfully taken care of that. Instead, he barked at us that they were closing. Immature? Is it immature to giggle at all of the funny buttons and random gag gifts that you guys have? We were giggling at items that were intended to be funny, specifically buttons. And even if we were giggling at other fun products… If you own a sex store and you feel you can be disrespectful to customers who giggle or sometimes get slightly uncomfortable, then I have to wonder why you own such a business if you cannot tolerate slight discomfort. Also, you are located next to a bunch of bars (aren’t you asking for people to be coming in here in groups and in fun moods?), and I came in here with some girlfriends looking for bachelorette party gifts. Yes, we were acting like a group of young girls, but not outrageously so. Not deserving of the rudeness of your staff. I have been in here no fewer than four times since my first experience, and every experience an employee was either outright rude to me, or just… gave bad customer service. While I understand why the owner is defensive, please understand that it is possible, in the 20 years you’ve been in business, that a customer legitimately had a bad experience and that your employees are not perfect. When I’ve asked friends about this business, the general consensus has been that the staff is very rude. I’ve heard nothing but good things, though, about the staff at the tattoo place next door. As far as not contacting the manager… I don’t feel this was a situation where it was necessary to contact the manager. It’s a retail business. Your employees made it clear they didn’t care about my business. Why contact the manager at that point? And also, to clarify, we were never asked to leave the store or kicked out, we just weren’t helped and then told the store was closing, which it was.

Cheap TRX is a neat-​o retail shop located in the Tower Grove/​South Grand Neighborhood. It’s your one stop shop for unique and novelty gifts, cards, books, candles, incense, jeweler, T-​shirts, adult toys, movies, etc. Also located inside Cheap TRX is a separate business or piercing & tattoo parlor called TRX Tattoos. Where else in St. Louis can you go to get a tattoo on your ass, your nipple pierced, buy a nudie birthday card and unique gift for a friend, and buy a dildo, lube and porn movie all in one stop! Of course you really don’t have to be into all that… I come here when I’m looking for a unique gift for that person who’s always hard to buy for.
I really like the fact that it’s locally owned, and the uniqueness adds to the growing and diverse neighborhood on South Grand. Street parking is available, or you might find a spot in the small parking lot off to the south side of the building. Once you enter, you will find the main floor packed with various items. If you feel secure enough with yourself, you might want to venture into the basement to check out the adult oriented items. The staff has always been friendly on my visits and helpful when looking for that special gift.
5 stars for unique store that’s locally owned in a swell little neighborhood!

I was kicked out of there a few years ago for having a sleeping 5 month old baby on my back. I guess I understand the policy but the guy was EXTREMELY rude and I haven’t been back since. I see that I am not the only once who has had this experience.
Update…
I needed something only available locally there, so I went back recently. The employee downstairs was smoking cigarettes and was, well, a jerk. I miss the sex positive female oriented sex stores of other cities I have lived in — Good Vibrations, Toys in Babeland, Forbidden Fruit. Luckily, they all have online stores.

I’ve been a customer at Cheap Trx since I was a young’n! Back when they had a soft drink bar on the tattoo side. Needless to say, this is one of my favorite retail places in St. Louis and the Midwest. Their selection of kitschy and funky odds and ends will keep you in the store for hours! It’s part gift shop, part retro inspired boutique, with plenty of gay friendly items that you won’t want to take your eyes off of… not for the children!
The staff is always friendly, helpful, and hilarious. And downstairs you will find ALL of your adult toy needs. Leather, latex, whips, chains, lube, you name it! Need some emergency breath mints and a new flogging device? Cheap Trx has it! Need to pick up a last minute birfday card for your boss? Why not walk through the connectin corrodor and get a navel piercing while you’re at it? It’s true, there is a tattoo/​piercing shop attatched to the retail side.
Usually everything is reasonably priced, the only things that are a little outrageous are the clothing items. The can be a bit pricey for a burlesque gal on a budget like myself.