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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

#271

Post by billfruit »

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…

True, the kind of US centrism is quite boring, and kinds of gives the impression of Americans as insular.

In India one could get a fancy, top of line pair of glasses for around 50$.

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

#272

Post by cma »

asteli wrote: post #242
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]

Newer iphones now have an IR projecting depth camera built in

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

#273

Post by wlesieutre »

gibybo wrote: post #261
logfromblammo wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The receipt check is the mildest version of it. They can search your cart, and potentially also your person, for store items that you haven't paid for. If you are not a member, you have not consented to it, and the transfer of ownership already occurred at the point of sale. So you can walk past the exit line and right out the doors. Attempting to hold you in the store against your will could be considered kidnapping…

Doesn't Walmart do this without a membership? How do they get away with it?

(Disclaimer: not a lawyer) Walmart might tell you not to leave, but legally speaking they probably don’t have grounds to stop you from leaving, and it may in fact be illegal for them to try.

Some states have https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopkeeper's_privilege

But that still requires cause to believe you stole something, and as far as I understand it, declining to be searched on its own doesn’t provide cause for that.

Costco has a membership agreement where you consent to being searched, Walmart does not.

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

#274

Post by mtnGoat »

teilo wrote: post #260
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…

Right. Except that you have to buy eyeglasses if you want those numbers. The app will not tell them to you, and the frames alone are $349, not counting lenses. Total price starts at $600 and goes up. So, no thanks. I'll pass.

Spendy! Good to know, I'll skip the app and keep using zenni.

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

#275

Post by mtnGoat »

fma wrote: post #27
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…

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.

I second this, Costco is great for eye exams. No upsells.

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

#276

Post by outworlder »

todipa wrote: post #159
jimmydddd wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sad thing is that it appears that (in the US) for optomtrists, the eye exam is just a loss leader for the eye glass purchase in the "store" they also own. I assume my eye dr. went to college, medical school, and then some additional training (2 more years?). He does a very comprehensive eye exam, and my VSP insurance only pays him around $70 for the exam.

Such a waste of an education for a job that can be done by someone less trained. The only constraint is regulatory. I get my eye exam checked every year for other more serious and complex diseases so I think there is a role for the more trained medical professionals but these exams need to be disentangled from the expensive professionals. That is the way to bring the costs down to a fraction of what they are...

Is it, though?

My ophtalmologist wouldn't only perform measurements to see if my prescription had changed. She would do a proper eye checkup. Retina, pressure and a host of other things.

It wasn't expensive. Of course, it was also not in the US.

You are only there once a year at most, so it is an opportunity to catch things before they go wrong.

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

#277

Post by femto113 »

RandallBrown wrote: post #255
__jal wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Got me, but I just added Topology Eyewear to my list of companies to never do business with. Don't spam in my pleasure reading.

It's not really spam when it's a legitimately helpful comment.

It pretty clearly crossed the spam line for me: The parent specifically pointed out that doctors don't give you the PD to in order to force you to buy glasses from them, but suggests there are other ways to obtain it. Eric replies to talk about how much better their app is than any do-it-yourself PD measurement but does not disclose that their app also doesn't give you the measurements in order to force you to buy glasses from them. I did not find this helpful and it is clearly commercial, since the app has no utility other than to sell you their glasses.

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

#278

Post by fma »

samsol wrote: post #184
jimmydddd wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sad thing is that it appears that (in the US) for optomtrists, the eye exam is just a loss leader for the eye glass purchase in the "store" they also own. I assume my eye dr. went to college, medical school, and then some additional training (2 more years?). He does a very comprehensive eye exam, and my VSP insurance only pays him around $70 for the exam.

I am not sure where did you get the amount of 70$ per exam. My OD charges approx 258$ which was reimbursed by VSP . I know this since he sent a bill to me after exam that showed what the cost of visit was and what was covered by VSP .

That seems high. My local Costco is $70 and I've walked by Walmart where they advertise exams and I don't believe it's $250...

I also know of instances where you get charged more if you have insurance, just because the provider knows they can get more money.

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

#279

Post by coldtea »

>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 measurement if you're buying online. Fortunately, there are a variety of easy ways to take this measurement yourself after the exam, although if you're really concerned about precision, you'll want the doctor's measurement.

The doctor will leave off prescription information on-purpose? WTF?

I'm not sure what bizarro system the US has with opticians and buying glasses...

On a trip in the US I broke my glasses. I had to get a replacement, but I was in rural country, and it was a weekend. Now, even though there were shops selling eyewear open, I couldn't just get a pair, because they wanted a prescription from a doctor (I think I went to a Walmart, whose doctor that takes prescriptions was off for the weekend among other places).

In my country you can get a prescription on the spot at any shop selling eyewear (perhaps our law dictates that any eyewear shop has an optician in employment -- but any assistant can also take a lens of your old glasses and get the measurements). In any case, a prescription test costs nothing, and you can buy single use contact lenses with that immediately, or get the glasses in a couple of days.

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

#280

Post by outworlder »

Aunche wrote: post #85
dawhizkid wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

biggest scam is that glasses/contact prescriptions only last a year in the US

Needing a prescription for glasses is a bit absurd to begin with. The worst case of wearing the wrong prescription is that you'll get a headache. I suppose it could be a bit dangerous if some drivers were slightly disoriented, but I can't imagine glasses being more dangerous than something like Tylenol.

I... can't form a coherent response. How do you even know which prescription to get? Do you have astigmatism? How do you measure that?

It's not a scam. It's just overpriced in the US, because they can't get their stuff together in the health department.

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