Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

latimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

241–250 of 610 posts

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

#241

Post by munk-a »

kazinator wrote: post #164
munk-a wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canada is sadly also in the same boat as the US in terms of eye glass cost, so while the article is definitely American slanted it does effect more than just those folks.

As consumers, Canadians are not in the same boat at all, but in a tiny life boat which broke away from that boat.

I'd love to agree with that, but I think you're underestimating the impact the FDA and other US regulators have in Canada. It is possible that Canada will reorient to serve the asian/european market more, but right now most trade ends up going south of the border.

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

#242

Post by asteli »

evarady wrote: post #217

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…

Curious about a couple points:

- How does the 3D scanning work? Presumably photogrammetry? What kind of accuracy are we talking about here in terms of typical measurement tolerances?

- The frames are actually custom-fit? Are they machined or 3D printed or do you just have access to many permutationsof a given frame?

[edit, formatting]

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

#243

Post by deckar01 »

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…

My optometrists have all used color-coded stickers that represent the price tiers of frames. Only one of them ever seems to be under my insurance allowance. They don't really have an incentive to make them any cheaper than the average allowance otherwise they would be leaving money on the table.

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

#244

Post by badwolf »

munk-a wrote: post #44
pugworthy wrote: post #19

You want to know what's outrageously expensive, yet equally important for basic ability to function in the workplace and other situations? Hearing aids. Hearing aids are glasses for your ears. But compared to them, glasses are unbelievably dirt cheap, and basically fully covered by a lot of decent company insurance plans. Hearing aids? Not the case. Imagine if glasses cost $2-3000 per lens. PER LENS. And your company…

Hearing aides are also insanely cheap to produce, they are not complicated devices and that market is only surviving due to the medical device status of them causing a high barrier to entry.

Bose just recently got FDA approval for their first non-prescription/self fitting hearing aids.

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

#245

Post by afarrell »

munk-a wrote: post #44
pugworthy wrote: post #19

You want to know what's outrageously expensive, yet equally important for basic ability to function in the workplace and other situations? Hearing aids. Hearing aids are glasses for your ears. But compared to them, glasses are unbelievably dirt cheap, and basically fully covered by a lot of decent company insurance plans. Hearing aids? Not the case. Imagine if glasses cost $2-3000 per lens. PER LENS. And your company…

Hearing aides are also insanely cheap to produce, they are not complicated devices and that market is only surviving due to the medical device status of them causing a high barrier to entry.

I think this is why Bose entered the market with “hearphones” to help hear people in crowded bars. So they could try to market them without spending the money to be a medical device.

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

#246

Post by badwolf »

lowercased wrote: post #37
pugworthy wrote: post #19

You want to know what's outrageously expensive, yet equally important for basic ability to function in the workplace and other situations? Hearing aids. Hearing aids are glasses for your ears. But compared to them, glasses are unbelievably dirt cheap, and basically fully covered by a lot of decent company insurance plans. Hearing aids? Not the case. Imagine if glasses cost $2-3000 per lens. PER LENS. And your company…

i believe it. bose might be poised to get in to that market. their 'hearphones' struck me as a first attempt, although it's not marketed as a medical device (AFAIR).

Bose recently got FDA approval for their "self-fitting hearing aid"

https://www.hearingtracker.com/bose-hearing-aid

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

#247

Post by aaronmdjones »

uf wrote: post #55
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…

70$ for glasses in Germany? I have to pay about 200€ per glas. Maybe weaker glasses are cheap. After all you can buy glasses in the supermarket for a few bucks. Those modern glasses get scratches after just a few years of careful handling and cleaning only with „Mikrofaser“ in my experience. No fun having weak eyes in Germany.

I had an eye exam today, and I need new lenses. The exam is vouchered on the NHS. I'm keeping the existing frames. The lenses will have an anti-reflective and anti-glare coating. I've never had a scratch, that I can see anyway. Total cost: £39.

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

#248

Post by webwanderings »

sf_rob wrote: post #229
nomel wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why aren't people using them? I've converted several people, but not being able to touch them and try them on first appears to be a significant problem.

I'd pay a fee to "borrow" the empty frames of 3-5 selections from Zenni and then return them prior to ordering. I've had mixed success on fitment from Zenni.

I tried this. They wouldn't take the return of empty frames. In any case, the cost was cheap enough to try. The frame quality is good enough for the price.

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

#249

Post by bluGill »

byproxy wrote: post #186
fma wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did my vision exam last week at Costco. The Costco optometrist is independent from the eye glass department, which is owned by Costco and you need a member ID to buy from. The prescription had PD on there. When I used to do target or lens crafter... I had to ask.

Wal-mart also has optometrists that will give you your complete prescription for (last time I checked) the same cost as an eye-exam at Costco. Been my go-to for the last few years.

Both Wal-Mart and Costco have fully independent optometrists: they lease the space and equipment and are not employees. (sometimes state laws don't allow this in which case they are employees)

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

#250

Post by pkaye »

evarady wrote: post #225
pkaye wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does that include the high-index material? Anti-scratch coating? Frames that don't look pathetic? Progressive lenses? Those are the things that really bring up the costs in the US.

At Topology Eyewear, we DON'T charge extra for super-high index (1.74) lenses, and all lenses come equipped with the best anti-reflective AND superhydrophobic coating. Because one shouldn't be forced to cut corners to deliver the best and most comfortable vision possible. Happy to answer any questions. Check it out at http://www.topologyeyewear.com

How do you customize nose fit? Sounds interesting but I don't know how a picture would be enough to determine the nose contour?
Post reply on HN