Exactly what I was looking for!  Ordered b/c I'd lost one of my hoops (I have 3 in my ear) and loved these because I could then vary the size (use smaller hoops up my ear) so ended up replacing all 3 hoops. Love 'em! I have sensitive ears as well so dipped everything in alcohol before inserting, and no problems in the past week since I started wearing them.

WRT being hard to put in...of course they are if you use just your fingers - and these are way too tiny for non-nimble ones like mine!  However, I have small jewelry pliers which made it significantly easier.  (Cuticle clippers have also worked in a pinch but can possibly dent the metal.)

WRT to flimsiness... I found the stems to very sturdy: my earring-less hole had closed up, which I found out by trying to shove an earring in and it just wouldn't go and I kept pushing and pushing until I realized what had happened. The stem bent the tiniest bit but the fact that the earring didn't break is pretty darn impressive!

Would definitely buy again.