An unexpected piece of official mail landed at a Toronto-based adult boutique, and it was not the kind of package anyone was hoping to unwrap. Bonjibon, an online shop that sells sex toys, received letters tied to returned orders that had somehow ended up at a U.S. Navy base in Bahrain. Instead of disappearing into the usual shipping void, the parcels boomeranged back months later with a message that felt equal parts stern and surreal. Grace Bennett, the company’s co-founder, said the whole situation only became clear once the boxes returned to them.
Bennett explained that Bonjibon used to ship widely, but now keeps its deliveries focused on regions where import rules are clearer, including Canada, the U.S., parts of South America, Europe, and Asia. Even so, the company does send packages to military bases, so she suspects the items were forwarded to someone stationed overseas. The shop does not ship directly to Bahrain, which made the reroute even more confusing. The first clue came when staff noticed one of the returned boxes had been opened, with its contents disturbed.
Inside was a letter stamped with the seal of the U.S. Department of Defense, which Bennett noted had been renamed the Department of War under Donald Trump. The notice came from a U.S. Navy logistics hub in Bahrain and stated that adult materials or devices had been identified during an X-ray screening by Bahraini customs. The package, the letter said, was being returned to the sender because those products are not permitted in the Kingdom of Bahrain. A second letter arrived about a month later, turning what could have been a one-off oddity into a full-blown workplace story no one could top.
Bennett chose not to specify which items were in the parcels, but she said the wording made it clear the warning was aimed at the buyer, not the business. The message asked recipients to inform Bonjibon, in blunt terms, to stop sending certain intimate products to Bahrain. Bennett said the tone made her laugh, especially because her company’s approach is simple and nonjudgmental. If someone wants to order something private, she believes they should be able to do so without shame, provided it is legal where it’s going. Instagram post 18+.
The past year had already been difficult for the business due to new tariffs and frequent border delays, so the dramatic return of these packages felt like the final plot twist. The Pentagon declined to comment on the incident, offering nothing further. Bennett also wondered why service members were not being guided more clearly on what can and cannot be shipped into the country where they are stationed. It left her with a lingering question about who is meant to manage those rules, and why the frustration seemed to land on a small retailer thousands of kilometers away.
What do you think, should overseas shipping rules for personal purchases be clearer for everyone involved? Share your thoughts in the comments.
