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Why are glasses so expensive? The eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry

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Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry

#211

Post by pkaye »

rsynnott wrote: post #59
blackbrokkoli wrote: post #40

Title correction: Why are glasses so expensive in the US? The American eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry. Please stop using the US as the "that's how it is"-standard. In Germany, you pay a very reasonable (from my layman perspective) price for the lenses, maybe about 40$ plus another 30$ if you want to have non-reflective glasses or product from big name producers and stuff like that. Like every fashion pr…

Yeah, it's pretty weird. Test and basic glasses are free or near-free for most people in Ireland (if you've got a job it's covered under PRSI, if you don't it'll be covered by the medical card). If you're covered by neither (ie fully private), ~60 euro. I'm not sure what's stopping US vendors from just importing glasses from Europe...

They do import them... and then mark them up a huge amount. Unless you go to a few discount places like Costco or online vendors.

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry

#212

Post by cryptonector »

One word: protectionism. Nothing else can explain it. The U.S. healthcare system is rife with protectionism, and it's disgusting. From how hard it is to become a doctor, to how hard it is to build a new hospital (you need a "certificate of need" in just about all States to build one), to FDA regulations on drug manufacturing being extremely expensive, to too many drugs not being over the counter (thus requiring a trip to your general practitioner), it's all protectionism, all the time. On top of that we have huge distortions, like the non-insurance insurance schemes that have caused there to be no single public price for anything anywhere, thus destroying the single most important feature of free markets (price signalling). It's all a mess.

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry

#213

Post by evarady »

I'm Eric, the founder of Topology Eyewear. We agree that "stock" eyewear (a.k.a. off-the-shelf eyewear) is overpriced. Worst than overpriced, it doesn't fit you very well, because it wasn't made for you! Everyone is different, so we have figured out how to make every one of our glasses different: 100% custom made to fit each individual, like a custom suit; made from the same luxury Italian acetate (plastic) and full-hard stainless steel you'd expect from a high-end frame. And our optics are BETTER than you'd get from your doctor, b/c we compensate for 3D position of wear. And it's all done via an iPhone app using 3D face scanning. Check it out at http://www.topologyeyewear.com or on the App Store at http://bit.ly/topologyapp I'm happy to answer here any optical or technical questions anyone has - just hit reply!

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry

#214

Post by amalcon »

checkdigit15 wrote: post #96
bunderbunder wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nit: An optometrist is usually fine if all you need is a refraction. It's when you're dealing with something that requires medical intervention (glaucoma, pars planitis, etc.) that you need to shell out for an ophthalmologist. An optometrist can still catch that stuff, but will need to refer you for treatment.

This is a good point and also worth pointing out (in the US at least) that most ophthalmologists will be covered under your medical insurance not your eye insurance (if any) because they are medical doctors. I was getting my contact lens exam/fitting recently and the optometrist wanted me to get something checked later by an ophthalmologist. He said it was probably nothing to worry about but made it clear that it was…

> This is a good point and also worth pointing out (in the US at least) that most ophthalmologists will be covered under your medical insurance not your eye insurance (if any) because they are medical doctors.

Make sure they code it correctly! I once had a rather large bill because the ophthalmologist's office accidentally billed me under a "routine" code that my medical insurance didn't cover. It took several hours of phone calls with the insurer and the ophthalmologist to get it corrected.

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry

#215

Post by jandrese »

wuliwong wrote: post #151
jandrese wrote: post #26

Walk into any eyeglasses store and what do you see? Tons of designer labels on everything, labels that were clearly just sold to some third party outfit to slap on their frames. As someone who generally avoids high fashion it drives me crazy to see all of those expensive and useless logos on everything along with $400 price tags. I'm glad to see all of these online outfits so ready to undercut them.

Walmart wanted to charge me $180-240 just to replace lenses in my frames. Even without a brand name it's still expensive!

There are a lot of upcharge possibilites on lenses. High Refractivity, UV block, Anti-scratch, Anti-glare, Auto-tinting, etc... It gets expensive in a hurry if you say yes.

No-frills plastic can be ground out cheap but nobody wants to sell a low margin product like that.

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry

#216

Post by jackhack »

sftwds wrote: post #75
jawns wrote: post #15

Reminder, if you're in the US, the FTC says your eye doctor must give you your prescription after your exam. If a doctor refuses to do so, they can face legal action and penalties. https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2016/05/buying-prescriptio... That said, I don't think the FTC stipulates what information must appear on the prescription. Many docs leave off your PD (pupillary distance), which is a necessary measuremen…

It doesn't hurt to ask! The last time I got my eyes examined was at some cheap lenscrafters-type store which had a promotion for 2 pairs of glasses and an eye exam for ~$60. The PD wasn't on the prescription, but the doctor made the measurement after I asked about it. There was a very limited selection of glasses that were available for the 2-for-$60 promotion, and they really tried to upsell me to more expensive fra…

dittos. Another very pleased Zenni Optical customer here.

I bought three complete pairs of eyeglasses for $105 total, delivered. If you can be patient, about once a year, they'll run a buy-two-get-one-free sale. I now have prescription sunglasses, distance-only, and a set of hidden-line ("transition") bifocals. All with low-reflection coating, and high refraction index plastic. All three are holding up well after three years.

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry

#217

Post by evarady »

I'm Eric, the founder of Topology Eyewear. Our 3D face scan (via our iPhone app) is way more accurate than a standard pupilometer used in a Doctor's office (and WAY WAY better than a ruler or dots placed by a sharpie!). We solve for monocular PD, so no need to beg your doctor for this piece of info that isn't technically part of your Rx. Check it out at http://www.topologyeyewear.com or on the App Store at http://bit.ly/topologyapp I'm happy to answer here any optical or technical questions anyone has - just hit reply!

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry

#218

Post by hart_russell »

justfor1comment wrote: post #199

Have to share this related story. I recently got a new prescription and the glasses salesman at my optometrist said that my insurance is super generous and willing to pay upto $200 every year for new glasses, so I should definitely get a pair before the end of the year. So I looked around and picked a frame I liked. The salesman measured my PD and started offering me options on the lenses. Coat this, photo reflect th…

Hallelujah it's a miracle!

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry

#219

Post by RandomTisk »

crankylinuxuser wrote: post #169
wlesieutre wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that’s the case here in Connecticut for alcohol, though I’ve not gone and checked.

I know for a fact that Indiana is a state that cannot put membership barriers on alcohol. I first saw a sign declaration in Sams Club stating that. When I went to the front desk, it was much gnashing of teeth to get the manual override for "alcohol exception". And then they demanded I do the mandatory member search. Members agree to. I'm not a member. I dont consent to searches. Maybe it makes me an asshole ; they're…

What is a "mandatory member search"?

Re: Why are glasses so expensive? The eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry

#220

Post by pokstad »

interlocutor wrote: post #107

The reason glasses cost so much is because one company owns: (1) nearly all brand name frames including Ray-Ban, Oakley, Prada eyewear, Armani eyewear and so on, (2) nearly all retail stores such as LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical and Target Optical and (3) EyeMed, one of the largest vision insurance companies. See this eye-opening 60 Minutes story on Luxottica: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDdq2rIqAlM…

Costco till the day I die.
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