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Why are glasses so expensive? The industry prefers to keep that blurry (2019)

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Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The industry prefers to keep that blurry (2019)

#151

Post by marvin »

imroot wrote: post #37
petilon wrote: post #19

Glasses are expensive because there is no competition. One company - Luxottica - owns pretty much everything. You go to LensCrafters and prices seem super expensive, so you go to Pearle Vision and that's expensive too, so you go to Target Optical and prices are still high and then you think maybe glasses are expensive, since you went to multiple stores and they all have similar prices. What you don't realize is that…

I worked on the retail IT side of things at Luxottica. I don't even think that you've scratched the surface of just how prevalent Luxottica is: you've touched the retail side of things, but, you also haven't touched the manufacturing side of things (Lux has patents on the hinges used in glasses), the wholesaling side of things (Lux supplies generic and branded frames to your local optician on less-than-preferred term…

Huh. That's interesting. I've wondered for over fifteen years why the parts of glasses appear to be so incredibly similar between brands, never really having stumbled across any quality stuff that's markedly different.

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The industry prefers to keep that blurry (2019)

#152

Post by bluecalm »

Great suggestions for cheaper alternatives in this thread! Does anyone knows if it's possible to get cycling sunglasses of similar quality as Oakley/100%? By cycling sunglasses I mean:

-shape (those need to be big and go over forehead so you see clearly from hunched position)

-lenses (tint, increased color contrast, preferably not polarized), anti fog -safe in case of a crash

I tried shopping around but couldn't find anything that fits as well as 165$ pair of Speedcrafts (the lenses are amazing as well). The glasses are just 4 pieces of plastic (frame, lenses, nose bridge, nose pad) but somehow it's not easy to find a decent cheaper alternative.

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The industry prefers to keep that blurry (2019)

#153

Post by roncesvalles »

rahimnathwani wrote: post #44
newyankee wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know, my family member bought a pair of cheap glasses for 2 $ in India. Granted it was probably not very powerful or may last long. But I am shocked at the definition of what is cheap. I am now skeptical if the glasses he bought actually work well enough for him.

$2 is extremely cheap. Sure, it's enough to pay for the materials (frames cost pennies, and cheap lenses maybe $1?). But someone still has to cut the the lenses to size, and fit them to the frame. This requires both equipment and skill. I don't think I've ever paid less than $15-$20 for prescription single-vision glasses. I've paid more even in the 'wholesale' optical market in Beijing. $2 is easily achievable for re…

Skilled labor is dirt cheap in India. Most car mechanics will do an oil and filter change for INR 200 (USD 2.46) if you bring your own materials. Practically a rounding error.

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The industry prefers to keep that blurry (2019)

#154

Post by Markoff »

Are they? I ordered for wife glasses including frames from Zenni and it cost me 7 USD for cheap ones, 20 USD for more "expensive" ones (frame was cheap but chose some fancy lenses addons) plus 9 USD for shipping, so paid total 36 USD for two frames. But she had to have measured eyes which cost us like 20USD, it would be probably free in hospital, but too much hassle in hospital with appointments.

https://www.zennioptical.com/

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The industry prefers to keep that blurry (2019)

#155

Post by blacklion »

petilon wrote: post #19

Glasses are expensive because there is no competition. One company - Luxottica - owns pretty much everything. You go to LensCrafters and prices seem super expensive, so you go to Pearle Vision and that's expensive too, so you go to Target Optical and prices are still high and then you think maybe glasses are expensive, since you went to multiple stores and they all have similar prices. What you don't realize is that…

Is it US-specific thing? In my country most offered branded lenses are Hoya (Japanese optical glass manufacturer) and Zeiss (German one). And, of course, a lot of cheap no-name lenses. Does Luxottica owns Hoya and/or Zeiss brands? I don't think so.

Frames are other story, of course, if you want Ray Ban you pay for (Luxottica-owned) Ray Ban. But, again, a lot of dirt-cheap non-name frames but, also, local-produced high-quality ones are available (cheaper than Ray Ban, much more expensive than no-name).

I know, that Luxottica owns all brands which will be sold to you in Tax-free shop or in in-flight magazine, but still.

For me there is one problem: Luxottica bought Oakley. Best technical sun shades ever. Now owned by Luxottica :-(

About ordering on-line: good to you if you can wear random frame without pain in nose bridge and ears :-( I don't need prescription glasses, but I've spent a lot of time to buy shades for cycling - something, which seems Ok in shop is painful after 8 hours of wearing for me.

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The industry prefers to keep that blurry (2019)

#156

Post by jwr »

planetsprite wrote: post #23
petilon wrote: post #19

Glasses are expensive because there is no competition. One company - Luxottica - owns pretty much everything. You go to LensCrafters and prices seem super expensive, so you go to Pearle Vision and that's expensive too, so you go to Target Optical and prices are still high and then you think maybe glasses are expensive, since you went to multiple stores and they all have similar prices. What you don't realize is that…

Why can't a new company simply undercut the competition? I don't imagine the barriers to entry are too high for manufacturing glasses, are they?

Not for manufacturing, but you need good designs first, something people will want to buy. And most people will want to buy something with a BIG BRAND NAME on it.

I tried buying glasses online and discovered another problem: the industry hasn't standardized on measurements. It's very difficult to buy frames online. The numbers/measurements will be, for example, for lens width and nose bridge width only — go figure how large the entire frame is. I tried, and failed, accepting that I pretty much need to visit a store.

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The industry prefers to keep that blurry (2019)

#157

Post by Markoff »

eyelidlessness wrote: post #71

I’ll add another pro-Zenni comment. Not just because the glasses themselves are inexpensive (they are though, when I broke my favorite frames it cost $36 to get two replacements), but because it’s a godsend to get glasses you need if your prescription has “expired”. I’m sure there’s good reason for regulating routine vision checkups, but refusing to sell glasses to anyone who can’t get to the appointment isn’t servin…

Yeah, I have never understood whole "prescription" thing in US, here in many (all?) European countries, you just go to eyeglasses shop, they measure your eyes and you get what you want, no prescriptions, nothing. Measuring is usually free if you buy frames from them, if not it cost like 20USD, though you could still go to ophthalmologist to have them measured professionally and it would be free, but you would need to get appointment and there is quite long waiting time and still not sure if they would provide you results for free.

By US logic it's better if people don't have any glasses than bad glasses, strange logic to me.

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The industry prefers to keep that blurry (2019)

#158

Post by jwr »

rich_sasha wrote: post #145
ohgodplsno wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Leica (makers of lenses for cameras and phones) is moving in the market. They have the knowledge and the tools to make it, but they are still very small compared to Luxottica.

While it's good news and fun for photography nerds, I don't associate Leica with price-based competition.

Yes, the prices aren't really competitive. You do get really good quality, though, especially with their "individual" lenses. Also, in the EU at least, Luxottica is less dominant. There are many smaller designers (like ic berlin for example). I don't see much price competition, though — it's all ridiculously expensive.

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The industry prefers to keep that blurry (2019)

#159

Post by Semaphor »

chasil wrote: post #90
imroot wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked on the retail IT side of things at Luxottica. I don't even think that you've scratched the surface of just how prevalent Luxottica is: you've touched the retail side of things, but, you also haven't touched the manufacturing side of things (Lux has patents on the hinges used in glasses), the wholesaling side of things (Lux supplies generic and branded frames to your local optician on less-than-preferred term…

Glasses aren't that expensive. I buy them from https://zennioptical.com I don't think that I'd ever pay more than $100 for a frame again. The sunglasses that we buy in a drugstore can be had for paltry sums, why not prescription eyewear?

They charge $167 for my transition lenses, last time I got them locally I paid 262€. Per lens O.o I guess I’ll try them.

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The industry prefers to keep that blurry (2019)

#160

Post by yywwbbn »

blacklion wrote: post #155
petilon wrote: post #19

Glasses are expensive because there is no competition. One company - Luxottica - owns pretty much everything. You go to LensCrafters and prices seem super expensive, so you go to Pearle Vision and that's expensive too, so you go to Target Optical and prices are still high and then you think maybe glasses are expensive, since you went to multiple stores and they all have similar prices. What you don't realize is that…

Is it US-specific thing? In my country most offered branded lenses are Hoya (Japanese optical glass manufacturer) and Zeiss (German one). And, of course, a lot of cheap no-name lenses. Does Luxottica owns Hoya and/or Zeiss brands? I don't think so. Frames are other story, of course, if you want Ray Ban you pay for (Luxottica-owned) Ray Ban. But, again, a lot of dirt-cheap non-name frames but, also, local-produced hig…

Luxottica is an Italian company, though. I’m not sure its presence is much stronger in US than in Europe. I think they focus more on the frames than on lenses.

Essilor which merged with Luxottica is pretty big in Europe as well. And it’s also a French company

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