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Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

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Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#41

Post by rale »

Semaphor wrote: post #26

I just went to Mister Spex [0], they are more expensive than Zenni, but far cheaper than where I got my glasses before. My lenses at Zenni end up $221, at Mister Spex I paid 285€ (For comparison Optiker Bode: 524€). I paid 115€ for the frames, but that was because I actually liked those, they have cheaper frames going down to 20-30€ as well. [0]: https://www.misterspex.de/

Mister Spex is utter trash, the way they fit the lenses in the frame is atrocious. My gf brought one of their glasses to a third-party optician for repairs, and it turned out they had used superglue to fit the much thicker lenses inside the frame. It was very visible and low quality.

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#42

Post by tgsovlerkhgsel »

nivenkos wrote: post #15
nannal wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they don't deliver to europe.

And if it gets stopped in customs, the handling fees, etc. will wipe out any saving.

Very dependent on which country you're from and how expensive your order is. Mine tended to be well below the local threshold which means customs can rummage around all they want, it's not gonna cost anything.

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#43

Post by tgsovlerkhgsel »

I would just go with Zenni, but if for some reason you can't or don't want to:

- Fielmann is likely the cheapest with in-person stores and optometrists, but of course significantly more expensive than the online options. I believe they exist in many countries, although there may be better local alternatives.

- brillen.de and brille24.de are two options that used to be decent, but may have changed in the many years since I used them (especially the former seems to have raised prices significantly). Probably only ship to Germany. One of them also used to offer local service at an optician if you needed adjustments etc.

Shipping times can be long even with "local" online stores because they have the glasses made abroad (typically on the same machines everyone else uses).

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#44

Post by rapsey »

nivenkos wrote: post #15
nannal wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they don't deliver to europe.

And if it gets stopped in customs, the handling fees, etc. will wipe out any saving.

I don't know where you are from but from my EU country I would pay whatever the tax is and not much else. Still vastly cheaper than anything local.

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#45

Post by tmikaeld »

jfk13 wrote: post #37

We used to use Zenni, until they stopped shipping here. More recently, my wife tried https://www.polette.com/ and has been quite happy with the result.

I've used Polette two times, both times have been wonderful.

Just keep in mind, most of their glasses are very wide! So check the measurements.

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#46

Post by buybackoff »

colinjoy wrote: post #39

What constitutes good quality glasses? Or rather: good quality lenses? The frames are mostly a matter of taste, but for the optical component, is a €150 piece of glass significantly better than a €100 piece of glass? Who has the lead in material science here? Japan, Germany? Any good sources on that topic?

Essilor 1.7 aspheric lenses cost me 235 euros each. An alternative is Japanese Seiko and German Zeiss. Essilor is probably the cheapest of them. Good lenses cost much more than a nice Luxottica frame and are covered by insurance in France. A frame is covered by up to 100 euros.

Good lenses are not a piece of glass (very dangerous for eyes) or just a piece of plastic, they have multiple anti-reflection and protection layers and must be very precisely done. High refractive index is also very important for a reasonable thickness at edges. So I would not go for some no-name cheap lenses. Given the math, the price of a frame becomes less important.

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#47

Post by Semaphor »

rale wrote: post #41
Semaphor wrote: post #26

I just went to Mister Spex [0], they are more expensive than Zenni, but far cheaper than where I got my glasses before. My lenses at Zenni end up $221, at Mister Spex I paid 285€ (For comparison Optiker Bode: 524€). I paid 115€ for the frames, but that was because I actually liked those, they have cheaper frames going down to 20-30€ as well. [0]: https://www.misterspex.de/

Mister Spex is utter trash, the way they fit the lenses in the frame is atrocious. My gf brought one of their glasses to a third-party optician for repairs, and it turned out they had used superglue to fit the much thicker lenses inside the frame. It was very visible and low quality.

Conveniently, I currently have exactly the same frames, so I’ll be able to compare.

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#48

Post by Ao7bei3s »

colinjoy wrote: post #39

What constitutes good quality glasses? Or rather: good quality lenses? The frames are mostly a matter of taste, but for the optical component, is a €150 piece of glass significantly better than a €100 piece of glass? Who has the lead in material science here? Japan, Germany? Any good sources on that topic?

More expensive lenses get you:

* A material with a higher refractive index (-> thinner glasses) and higher Abbe number (-> less dispersion). Scroll down to the "Optical Glass Selection" in this article for a diagram: https://www.edmundoptics.com/knowledge-center/application-no... - the stronger the prescription, the more it matters, but generally the step up from the cheapest material is much more significant than from the mid priced tier to high priced tier.

* Coatings (anti reflective, anti scratch / oil / water, and for sunglasses also: polarizating, and the tint itself of course, ...). These are all worth it in my opinion. I cannot praise the polarizing coating on sunglasses enough. And the anti reflective coating. "Computer vision" coatings are not useful in my opinion. Mirror coatings for sunglasses are a personal/aestetic choice.

* Glasses for people with astigmatism or with both near and far prescriptions are more expensive.

More expensive frames get you:

* Lighter, thinner frames and frameless options.

* Hinges that open a bit more than 90deg and flex back with a spring, so the temples will adapt to the head better. Better hinge materials (e.g. I've had hinges wear out).

* Titanium or memory metals instead of plastic of aluminum.

* "Aesthetics" and minor add-ons like laser engraving.

Obviously price only correlates with quality, paying more doesn't guarantee getting more.

Re: Ask HN: Where to buy cheap but good quality glasses in Europe?

#49

Post by timonoko »

timonoko wrote: post #7
m00dy wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

looks like a scam website.

You need better glasses. I have about 30 favoptics.

Apropos. I remember one disaster. I wanted "Leningrad Cowboys" wraparound sporty glasses, but they informed that they do not work too well beyond -2 .

I ordered anyways, and they sort-of worked, but while rollerskating all those peripheral distortions threw me of balance and I broke my rib. Money refunded, no hard feelings.

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