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Actually there are four types of boning a corset can have: continuous steel, spiral steel, plastic, and actual (real or synthetic) bone. The corset style tops that you can get at lingerie shops, or most mall stores that sell "corsets," have plastic boning instead of steel boning. They also usually have hook-and-eye closures instead of lacing (they may have lacing, but it's for decoration) or a busk as the way to get in and out of them. They usually cost between $25 and $70. You might get a 1-2 inch reduction from these, but the boning will start to bend and become misshapen immediately. These are for people who want a top that looks like a corset, but don't care about shaping and don't want to spend a lot of money. They look okay if you are naturally slim and don't really need shaping, but they usually don't look right if you are curvy, busty, or full figured. I can usually tell by looking if someone is wearing a plastic boned corset because you can usually see a bend somewhere in the boning. Spiral steel is coiled, flexible steel with plastic over the top of it. Most of the corsets that you can find online that cost between $50 and $200 that claim to be steel-boned have spiral steel boning. It holds it's shape better than plastic alone, and you can get up to a 4-5 inch reduction with it, but it will start to lose its shape in time. I have 3 corsets with spiral steel and, while they are worth what I paid for them ($50-$75) I personally don't think they shape as well as the ones with continuous steel, nor are they as comfortable. Plus they wear out faster. Continuous steel is a solid, flat strip of steel with plastic over it. This is what is (generally) used in the expensive (starting around $200 and going considerably higher) corsets. It holds its shape well, and allows for a pretty good reduction. In my opinion it's more comfortable because the bones don't shift and end up poking me in the hip or ribcage. I have one corset with this type of boning and it has lasted years, after being worn dozens of times. I can't necessarily tell by looking whether a corset has continuous steel or spiral steel boning, but I can tell which it is when I put one on. In the "old days" whale bones were used for corset boning. You can get synthetic whale bones for corseting now, but I have never personally owned one or tried one on, so I don't know much about them. I would imagine they are pretty inflexible. Aside from the boning, what the corset is made out of, what type of lacing it has, how well the seams and busk are sewn, whether it is lined or reinforced, etc. all contribute to the quality of a corset as well.