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

latimes.com

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

#551

Post by gambiting »

rikkus wrote: post #165
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…

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.

My problem with that is that my frames needed adjustment few times after I bought them(they felt fine in the shop, but after few days they felt a bit too tight). The retail shop I got them from corrected them for me for free, but had I bought them from an online store I don't know what I would have done.

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

#552

Post by hema_n »

“Eyeglass sales are becoming a very competitive market, with frames and lenses available in a range of prices and quality levels,” Bajwa said. “Today’s glasses aren’t the glasses of 20 years ago, and the price can reflect these technological advances.”- This is exactly a true statement.!

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

#553

Post by seszett »

jimmydddd wrote: post #126
themodelplumber wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went to a local business a while back, where the optometrist was about 2-3 years away from retirement. I didn't want to offend them but politely and clearly stated that I would like to get my prescription. Still, they made a big act about parading me through their small collection of frames, and even suggested a few they thought I should try on. Just to humor them for a bit, I put on a pair and they made me look li…

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.

> only pays him around $70 for the exam

Is that low? Ophthalmologists get 28€ per consultation in France for something basic like that (although they can charge more but the patient will only get reimbursed for 28€, so they will try to avoid those who overcharge).

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

#554

Post by 0x38B »

tvanantwerp wrote: post #448
themodelplumber wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife was an office manager at an Audiologist's office. She has some crazy stories about that. Unfortunately, lots of people who don't hear well also shout all the time. Just part of doing business. :-) (Edit: She corrected me. SHE had to shout all the time.) Also, many people purchase hearing aids and then never wear them, because they can't stand the "new" influx of noise and most of it doesn't seem necessary or…

I know if I started to lose my hearing--not all, but maybe 30-40% reduction--I'd probably be quite happy with the turning-down of all that noise I deal with daily. I'd especially like it when spending time with my Cantonese in-laws. Shouting is the default conversational mode there.

As far as turning down noise, I highly recommend Etymotic's ER-20xs[1]: they reduce noise by 20db, and do so more evenly than, say, earplugs. I use them every single day. When walking near roads (cars), on buses, on the subway, at concerts. It's automatic to the point that whenever something gets louder than my comfort level, I pop them in. 99% of people don't notice them, just friends and family.

It's also changed my perception of noise, in that the expected noise level of the roadway is what I hear with them in, for better or for worse. In truly loud environments, such as bars, I find that I actually hear better.

1: https://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/er20xs....

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

#555

Post by Kurtz79 »

Improvotter wrote: post #336
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…

Why does that make the glasses so expensive though? The frames from my glasses were about 100 EUR and the glasses were a lot more expensive. If I ask my parents or other people, they are paying 1000 EUR or more for the glasses by themselves (not the frames). I'm about to get new glasses next month because my current glasses are 6 years old now, I'm looking forward to some new glasses.

"They are paying 1000 EUR or more for the glasses by themselves"

Where is that?

I have strong short-sightness and astigmatism so I need special lenses, and on top of it I usually ask for the thinner model.

Together with frame it cost me about 300EUR just recently, in Madrid, Spain.

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

#556

Post by farslan »

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'm using hearing aids for almost 8 years now. Without them I can't interact with people without shouting or repeatedly asking them to repeat what they have said. I always have to take them out if I want to listen to music, when it rains very heavy, have to take shower or want to wear some headphones.

Initially it was very hard, but after a while you create habits around them and they become very natural. But still, even with a hearing aid, dont' forget that it doesn't improve your hearing, it just normalizes to a level where you can hear normal. In fact, because you're now running all the sound through a filter, a lot of frequencies get lost (in addition to the ones you're not able to hear anymore).

Anyway, I agree that nobody talks about the pricing. A good pair (say Oticon OPN 1) would cost me minimum $6.5K. Looking forward to see how Bose disrupts the whole industry with their entry level "hearphones".

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

#557

Post by kfarr »

themodelplumber wrote: post #23
flavor8 wrote: post #5

Zenni is very good. There is a slight difference in quality between them and the Armani Exchange glasses I got from an optician, but it's not significant. I got a basic pair of black framed rectangular nerd specs for $8 last week, and I'd happily wear them out. Measure the frame of a pair of glasses that looks good on your face and then try to find glasses with those measurements on Zenni.

I have had good luck with Zenni, but I know others who have not. For example, a friend of mine unknowingly picked a coating that seemed to make his lenses appear slightly yellow. It was borderline visible so he kept the glasses but later regretted it. Another friend used his cotton T-shirts to wipe his lenses free of dust, and quickly filled them with scratches. I personally EDC lens cleaning cloths now because I nea…

They're also so cheap that you can order a couple variants and assume that a few won't work out for some reason. You'll then have a bunch of spares still at a fraction of the cost of the US monopoly eyewear companies.

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

#558

Post by 3chelon »

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.

Me too. Even though my eyesight continues to deteriorate, a pair of old prescription glasses is many times better than no glasses at all in an emergency!

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

#560

Post by Markoff »

one would think in free market US economy you will have tons if brands to choose for each budget but the article imply opposite, is it really truth there it's unregulated monopoly? can't you buy cheap glasses in supermarket for few dollars or some event brands for let's say 50-200$ online? looks odd from Europe

of course luxurious brands cost more, bit who is forcing people to buy luxurious fashion brands? that doesn't sound like monopoly to me

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