“Souvenirs with a cheeky, playful, ‘erotic party’ vibe really make people laugh, and tourists snap them up for a bit of fun,” says María, a shop assistant in one of the Marina’s many souvenir stores. “Magnets, keyrings, bottle openers — bigger or smaller — in the shape of a penis. It is not something unique to here though; I have seen them everywhere”, she explains.
“They sell well, because maybe you have got a single mate or someone who owns a bar, and you buy it for a laugh”, María continues. The scene is easy to imagine: Paco the bartender popping open a beer for his next customer with a phallic-shaped bottle opener — proudly stamped with the word ‘Ibiza’ — given to him by a cheeky friend returning from holiday.
Tourists often ask the question — perfectly serious — when they see them on display: “So, are these typical of Ibiza?”. “Well… no! I have been to the Canary Islands and they sell the same things there”, laughs another shop assistant who has spent a decade working in Marina souvenir shops.
A penis-shaped bottle opener: the taboo on display
In fact, these items sell so quickly that some shops have to restock them every week, according to another worker. “What really makes tourists laugh, I suppose, is that it is something a bit taboo — but at the same time they see it right here in a gift shop”, suggests an assistant starting her second season in the business.
Among the many items — more suited to a hen party than a family stroll — you will also find novelty bells with the phrase ‘Ring for sex’. The funniest part, according to an assistant with four years’ experience, is watching customers stand there ringing them over and over again.
One of the longest-serving staff members recalls the oddest thing she has sold: a nail clipper. “You could think no tourist would come here to buy one — what do you even need a nail clipper for on holiday?” she laughs. But, much to her surprise, Ibiza-branded nail clippers sell extremely well. “I don’t have any left. Sold out”, she says.
The golden rule is simple: “anything that says ‘Ibiza’ sells really well”. One worker admits that when products arrive without the magic word on them, she will sometimes write it on herself when the tourists are not looking — otherwise, she jokes, “they will not buy it”.
Souvenirs are the same everywhere
One thing to keep in mind: “souvenirs are the same all over the world. It is just that some items sell better in one place than another”, explains another assistant.
In fact, she recalls unpacking a box of bracelets only to discover — to her horror — they were labelled with the word ‘Barcelona’. They could confused a city with an island. So back they went — for anyone still unsure: this is Ibiza, not Barcelona.
The star souvenir: magnets
Jokes aside, what is the number one best-selling souvenir in Ibiza this summer? Magnets — the cheapest option along with keyrings — a clear sign of the times. Among the most popular magnets are those featuring the iconic red cherries of Pacha, one of the island’s most famous nightclubs.
In fact, two tourists approach a shop assistant while we are speaking to pay for a magnet and a keyring bearing the familiar cherry logo. Still, she insists: “All the magnets sell — there is not one that outsells the others”.
María says she sells between 100 and 200 magnets a day. “People buy them in fives. And if they are little gifts, then maybe two or three”, she explains. Caps and fans also sell well, unsurprisingly, “because it is so hot”.
As for what sells the least? The assistants agree that if it is still in the shop, it is because it sells — anything that does not get removed. That said, the more expensive items — like large ceramic pieces — are the slowest to shift. And, for whatever reason, books do not seem to sell well either.
If Ibiza were a souvenir…
And if Ibiza itself were a souvenir? For some shop assistants, it would be a lizard — “because they are everywhere”, one laughs. When asked where to find one in the shop, she replies, “Better to ask where they aren’t”. You can spot the little reptiles on magnets, spoons, plates, mugs, ceramics, shot glasses, caps, fans, T-shirts, keyrings — and the list goes on.
For María, it should be the goddess Tanit, or perhaps the lizards. “But now it is all about the cherries. Everything is cherries now. The cherries have dethroned the lizards”m she laments. She concludes: “We really ought to promote more local products — something truly typical of Ibiza that you cannot find anywhere else”.
