51–60 of 74 posts
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We don't claim to be the cheapest on all products yet - there's some bizdev work to do before we can say that.
the title of this post is literally "Lowest Prices on Contact Lenses" it's reasonable for someone to interpret that as "cheapest price for the contact lenses I wear".
FWIW, the biggest pain is the prescription. My doctor only does 1 year prescriptions, my prescription hasn't changed for 15 years. It's important to get your eyes checked, but every year is a bit nuts. I guess we have some federal organization to thank for that. I'd love to see you guys figure that problem out. Maybe you could figure out how to ship from out of the US or something. Hell, I'd pay more if I didn't have…
> It's important to get your eyes checked, but every year is a bit nuts. Sounds pretty reasonable to me, and it's not just to update your prescription, it's also to check how healthy your eyes are.
The treatment for the hole in the retina was one of the most awesome procedures I've ever had. The doctor puts on this big headset that completely covers his face, with multiple microscope-type lenses and a visible green laser shooting out the front. Looks like the borg. He holds your eye open and using the visible laser to aim, points at the edge of the hole and activates the IR laser, blap, blap, blap (it actually makes that sound) as it stitches the edge of the hole down. It feels like you're getting poked in the eye hard each time so he has to stop after a few cause your eye freaks out and moves. Wait a few seconds till it settles down and continue. My eye felt like it had been punched hard, but that faded by the end of the day. Repair is still holding coming up on 3 years.
Go to to your annual medical checkups.
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Also from Europe. Weird that lenses need a prescription in the US.
It isn't like prescription for medication, it's just the numbers that were measured. You don't need a doctor signature to get eyeglasses or contacts (although your insurance company might want an optometrist confirmation that your eyesight isn't perfect).
Any retailer on the web will need a confirmation from a doc or optometrist before filling.
As YC company, I would prefer if you could offer me to improve my vision. I have presbyopia which is normal after certain age. Innovate and offer me something better. I don't need another dollar shave club. At least this is how it looks to me. :)
https://www.reviewofoptometry.com/article/ro0617-can-an-eye-...
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It isn't like prescription for medication, it's just the numbers that were measured. You don't need a doctor signature to get eyeglasses or contacts (although your insurance company might want an optometrist confirmation that your eyesight isn't perfect).
Contact lenses in the USA most certainly need a prescription, they can only be filled by a precise brand match, and it expires after a year. Any retailer on the web will need a confirmation from a doc or optometrist before filling.
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You should check out Opternative. They do eye exams using your computer, though I'm not sure if they're licensed in every state.
I just order from the UK
I have my vision checked in the contact store itself (for free) if I need it and then a proper eye exam during my annual physical check up (which is fully subsidized by my employer - a common practice, albeit at varying levels of support).
Can you elaborate a little bit more on this, what do you optimize, what statistics do you use, etc > We also use statistical models for ad optimization Thanks!
Essentially, the problem (like all other ad opt. problems) boils down to estimating the expected value of a particular click. This is a particularly challenging/weird problem in this space because unlike other segments of ecommerce, you can't successfully optimize for correlated metrics such as engagement. So, it's a heavily imbalanced problem (i.e. few positive examples, lots of negative examples). In addition to that, the buying characteristics of specific products are heavily related to one another so sales on one affect how we advertise the other. There are a number of other subtleties discovered over time.
Our software produces good bid estimates despite these characteristics.
Curious if 10 years ago yc would accept a company that just sold contact lenses online.
I assume the owners have good communication, and persuasion skills. Which is admirable, since I lack them.
ContactLensKing.com is substantially cheaper than JetLenses for the contacts I wear, the Bausch & Lomb Ultras. $43 for a 6 pack on JetLenses, $30 on ContactLensKing: https://www.jetlenses.com/Ultra-6PK_p_76.html https://www.contactlensking.com/prodDetail.aspx?ItemGroupCod... Why is there such a discrepancy in the pricing on these?
Basically: scale and supply chain. On some lenses, where we're on an even playing field, we're able to dramatically beat everyone else on price (e.g. Biofinity Toric XR, MyDay Toric, Proclear Toric XR). As we grow and we can add more suppliers, we'll be able to have the best prices across the board.
This doesn't seem to be true (by almost 50%!).
If your primary method of competing is on price, you NEED to be the cheapest.