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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

#321

Post by sudosteph »

patorjk wrote: post #143
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…

This kind of blows my mind. A few years ago when I went to the eye doc, they refused to give me my prescription, I had to buy glasses from their store in their office. Last year when I went, they gave me my prescription at the end, without me asking. It felt really nice and at the time I figured they were doing it to create a better relationship with their customers. Now I wonder if someone knew about this rule and r…

I just got my eye exam done this morning, and I agree it really does make a way better experience.

I think it's a state-level law thing. Here in WA State it's illegal for a optician to refuse you a plain eye exam or refuse to give you your prescription information, including pupillary distance: https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=18.195&full=tru...

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

#322

Post by schaefer »

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?

when they ask - you say "no, thank you".

They get away with it by training the vast majority to consent for no particular reason.

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

#323

Post by rikkus »

RugnirViking wrote: post #189
rikkus wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK it’s expensive to buy glasses from the high street, but you can order them from one of several ‘online’ shops for cheap. I’ve bought several pairs of metal, rimless glasses for 30 quid a pair and they’ve been excellent. They would have been around £250 from the high street.

Do you think perhaps you could link to a site you have good experience with? I would love to get some backup pairs but I worry about the cost

As others have commented yes Glasses Direct are who I’ve used. They let you choose some frames to have sent to you to try on in a selection box. I did this the first time.

They require you to send your prescription (a photo is fine) before they make them, which makes me think they are being required to do that legally, or at least concerned they don’t want to get it wrong.

So this doesn’t turn into an advert for one company, I did notice that lots of other companies seem to offer a very similar service and they all seem to offer various guarantees regarding your happiness with the product, presumably because people are still wary of this way to buy glasses.

Another reason I’m slightly evangelistic about using these ‘online’ glasses services is that the high street opticians are obviously overpriced and I don’t think it’s right to make so much money unnecessarily from people who just want/need to see well - some of whom really struggle to afford the costs.

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

#325

Post by Aunche »

jolmg wrote: post #262
Aunche wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> The worst case of wearing the wrong prescription is that you'll get a headache. Doesn't using the wrong prescription worsen eyesight faster? At least, it's been my general experience that when a child is curious about people's glasses and is given the glasses so they can experience the effect, they only let them try it for a couple seconds and are explained that using them for too long can cause damage to their eye…

The eyes don't care about what's in front of it. The brain does the image processing, so that's the only thing that's affected by a bad prescription. If your glasses are so wrong that it causes eye strain, it may cause damage, but you'd have to purposefully put yourself into that ordeal.

https://mayoclinichealthsystem.org/locations/la-crosse/servi...

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

#326

Post by MentallyRetired »

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…

I worked at Oakley when it was acquired by Lux.

Oakley puts an INSANE amount of R&D into their products, particularly their eyewear. They have laser stations to make sure the optics of the lens doesnt change the perspective of things (the difference between catching a baseball in the glove and in the mouth), "shotgun" tests, weighted spikes, and even have a machine that opens/closes the sunglasses several million times. They test each design and material very thoroughly. Or, at least, they did when I worked there.

If the design didn't survive all of the tolerance parameters, back to the drawing board.

We also subjected our competitors glasses to the same tests. You wouldn't believe how many name brands just fell apart, or blew up into shards of plastic into our dummies' eyes, etc.

When Lux bought us, they made us take down the videos of exploding ray-bans we had on our website (And some other brands). Then they ran our entire department into the ground. Real piece of shit company. Those of us who didn't leave between 08-12 got laid off in ~16 or so.

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

#327

Post by lovetox »

yitchelle wrote: post #251
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…

Which German company are you using for your glasses? My wifes' glasses cost 750€ about 12 months ago. Nothing special in her prescriptions, except perhaps that she needed prisms. The German glasses shop also have a bad habit of keeping the perscriptions after they have tested your eyes and not giving you a copy. Very frustrating!

Em just tell them to make a copy and don't give the original to them? Its your property.

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

#328

Post by Baeocystin »

dharmab wrote: post #305
traek wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They are so cheap there is no reason not to do it this way. Besides the environmental cost, maybe.

I don't throw away my old glasses. I keep them in various places as backups, such as in car gloveboxes, in the home emergency kit, in a bag while traveling and so on.

When I was younger I used to tease my Mom & Dad for essentially treating their reading glasses like pens or pencils, and letting them diffuse around the house as the acquired new pairs.

Now that I'm in my mid-40's, I take it all back. Having a pair, even if it isn't the exact right one, always with reach is a godsend.

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

#330

Post by yonifrandzel »

Ever wonder why you cannot get glasses made of glass anymore? (At least that’s the case in Israel).

Glass used to be a lot cheaper than plastic, more durable and long lasting. You rarely needed to replace them every year or two like with plastic, unless you really smashed your lenses hard and got a nasty chip.

All plastic lenses get scratched within a few years and your sight becomes gradually foggy until one day it dawns on you. “I can’t see anything!” - and then it’s time to renew the... What? The SUBSCRIPTION!? Sorry, the prescription. Right.

With glass that would never happen.

The repeated mantra I’d always get from the optometrists is that glass isn’t sold anymore because it can shatter and splinters could get into you eyes.

I don’t know about others, but I’ve been hanging on to my glass pair for over 18 years now, not a scratch or a chip or anything, and they are on a half frame! And I’ve done sports with them too... maybe not the smartest thing to do, but I will not give up seeing cristal glass clear!

At one of the optometrists I used to go to where they’d sell me plastics I discovered they would use acetone to clean the glasses. Yes, acetone, which eats the plastic away. Something to make your subscription a little more often. I’m Never going back there.

What’s funny is that my glass pair has lasted so long they have gone in and out of fashion multiple times now.

I really wish they’d bring back the glass. I’m in the off fashion period now.

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