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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)

#271

Post by Kevguy »

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?

Zenni is a good choice _if you know your PD_ (pupillary distance) - the distance from nose to center of pupil. 1 mm off will turn your glasses into headache machines. And the phone apps that purport to measure this are universally bad. Get it professionally done at a place that will give you the value. Costco will do so.

If you don't want to purchase online Costco is decent price - $180ish for the progressives lenses I just purchased vs $400+ from LensCrafters. Downside of Costco is a limited selection of frames, but worth a look. Also heard good things about Warby Parker but have not purchased lenses from them.

Oh, Zenni's progressive lenses have a much narrower distance vision section in the lens than Costco's. So I get progressive glasses at Costco then single reading and computer glasses (for < $40 each) at Zenni.

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

#272

Post by wildzzz »

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?

My friend has purchased several pairs from Zenni but the frames kept cracking around the lens even though she only wears them for a couple of hours each day. They'd send her a new frame and it would do the same after a month or two. She didnt really like the metal frames they offered so kept choosing plastic frames. Finally she got fed up with Zenni and purchased slightly more expensive glasses from Warby Parker and has had zero issues since. It definitely feels like a "you get what you paid for" type of story here. Zenni is much cheaper than buying frames from Luxottica but there's definitely some happy medium where you aren't overpaying for glasses but still buying something of comparable quality to the overpriced brands. She used to get Ray-Ban frames while on her parent's insurance but when she got her own, she could get a free years supply of contacts or Luxottica-priced pair of glasses. So now she gets her big supply of contacts from a retailer using insurance and buys a new pair of Warby Parker glasses using HSA money.

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

#273

Post by y2bd »

mrguyorama wrote: post #255
banana_giraffe wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've asked for my pupillary distance in the past and got a talking to about how evil online ordering is and how it'll ruin my eyes before they would give it to me. All BS, and when I asked if they'd fill a prescription for lenses for my VR unit instead of ordering them online, they stared at me like I had grown a third arm.

My understanding is that they are legally required to give it to you, at least in some places.

In the US anyway, they're legally required to give you your prescription (SPH, CYL, prism, etc). However, PD and other ocular measurements aren't classified as part of a prescription.

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

#276

Post by olliej »

epmaybe wrote: post #182
olliej wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The fact of the matter is that few patients benefit all that much from toric lenses that fix astigmatism. Most people have less than 1 diopter of astigmatic error, which they don’t even manufacture a toric lens for at any usable tolerance (the FDA allows a +/-0.50D tolerance to all lenses including torics), and surgical modifications can nullify that to some extent. I do think the cheapness of astigmatism correctio…

My unpopular opinion is that Multifocal and extended depth of field IOLs are all attempting to cheat physics unsuccessfully and are a cash grab by ophthalmologists and manufacturers. The other option you have is some form of refractive surgery. Also the wholesale cost of a toric IOL is somewhere around $700 so unless the surgeon fee is thru the roof it shouldn’t be costing you $3k each eye.

multifocal ones work for some people, but also fairly often creates halos etc because as you say they're trying to cheat physics and rely on the brain learning what to filter out.

I cannot find any place that is offering $300 toric IOLs, patient cost of tonic IOLs is generally 1100-1500 (with insurance covering the remainder, however it does make me realize that I should get the receipt so I can submit that particular bit to my insurance company directly which I realize they may not have done)

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

#277

Post by ngokevin »

bluGill wrote: post #233
dzhiurgis wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Boycott zenni as they ignore Taiwan

Got a better suggestion?

I've tried Payne, and they have tons of styles to choose from, as affordable as Zenni. https://www.payneglasses.com/

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

#278

Post by doikor »

wikfwikf wrote: post #172
doikor wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a lot of people you can just take lenses from the production line and cut them to shape and be done but that is not always the case. Personally I always have to wait 2 to 3 weeks to get new glasses done as the lenses have to be made to spec and the lenses alone are around 350€ and no they are not any cheaper at any online retailer that operates here if they even offer to make lenses to my spec.

Which country and what is special about your eyes or glasses? I have noticed that in France glasses with decent but standard frames cost around 5 times as much as in the UK. My suspicion is that the difference is related to how supplementary health insurance works in France rather than any special manufacturing requirements.

Frames you can find for cheap if you look around a bit. The lenses cost a lot as I need massive amounts of prism (took me a bit of looking around to find an optometrist/eye doctor with equipment that could even measure it as it is outside of the range of normal measuring machines) on both to ensure that my eyes focus on the same point

The amount of prism is now to the point that adding more is not really possible and thus if it gets worse next step is surgery on the muscles controlling the eyes or intentionally letting one eye look away. Over time the brain starts to ignore the other eye for focused vision (it would still get used for peripheral vision)

But yeah without the prism the lenses are like 30€. Once you add prisms the lenses are around 350€.

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

#279

Post by yarg »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #14
yarg wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Clearly not (and you're replying to a sarcastic comment).

It was practically dripping wasn't it? :)

Yeah, but HN isn't exactly the least autistic forum on the internet.

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

#280

Post by andirk »

dotancohen wrote: post #221
andirk wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there some way to make this comment a billboard? The lenses are manufactured per individual according to their need. Granted it's within a spectrum of choices such as it's -1.5 or -2, not -1.66421 (right?). Then one can add features to the lenses like anti-glare, anti-scratch, spectrum, blue light filter. Insurance covers 100%, and it's not a lot. But the frames?? They're very, very small amounts of metal and mass…

> anti-glare, anti-scratch, spectrum, blue light filter What does "spectrum" mean in this context? Thanks.

Sorry the word is "prism", not spectrum.
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