561–570 of 610 posts
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Does anyone know the non-Luxottica options in Europe, where the market is much more fragmented across countries?
I know about Ace And Tate (NL), GlassesDirect (UK), and Quattrocento (IT) .
I ended up buying La Coste frames. It was on a sales. Both the frame and the glasses cost less than $100. I think it is a fair price and one that makes me not think much about. But if I find cheaper frames, I have better use for that money.
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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)
I think it's the other way around. Most states don't allow optometrist clinics to be owned/controlled by non-optometrists. When they do, Walmart/Costco may find it worthwhile to own/operate the clinic themselves.
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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…
To be fair, I've had 'scratch proof' lenses from an optician that I have ruined in 2 months doing exactly that. And the addon coatings upsell is something many retail opticians do as well, unfortunately. Although that doesn't excuse the practice, it still feels shady to me.
20+ years of wiping several coated plastic glasses on tshirts several times every day and it takes 5+ years to put enough scratches in them to even be noticable (and most of those are probably sports artifacts and from the few times the glasses were put down glass-first).
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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.
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This. The prices are unbelievable! And $3000 is for the "cheap" ones! I was about to post the same thing and then found your post. I will add, that getting access to the frequency curve adjustment software for each device is difficult (everybody needs a different adjustment curve and other params tweaked), prohibited and also expensive. They are often set incorrectly in the first instance and require repeat visits to…
Wow. USD 3000 is a bit too much. Can you show an example of which kind of device this is (some link)? When I search on Amazon.com for 'hearing aid', the ones that show up are pretty cheap (e.g. USD 54 to 100ish)? Apologies for my ignorance.
The person above wasn't being hyperbolic when they said it can be $3K e.g.: https://www.healthyhearing.com/help/hearing-aids/prices
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…
> 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. The vast majority of my glasses' cost is the lenses, last time around they cost me >$200 each…
If you're paying $400 for just lenses, you're badly over-paying.
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…
In almost every eye exam I’ve gotten the doctor doesn’t even measure my PD, but rather the glasses sales people once I’ve found a pair of frames I like.
In years past, those optical departments were a major part of the ophthalmologist's/optometrist's business model. With the rise of big-box store optical, though, that changed. (And has now changed MORE with folks like Zenni and Warby Parker, etc.)
For example, my late stepfather's business (he retired in '99) depended on that optical department, but for most of his career (and his father's before him) there WEREN'T places outside doctors' offices to get glasses, especially where I grew up.
OTOH, the eye doctors I've used in Houston, where I've lived since the mid 90s, have generally not even HAD an optical department.
Oh, and one more bit: ISTR that Warby Parker will do a PD measurement for you gratis if you visit one of their stores. You might even find glasses you like -- not as cheap as Zenni, but definitely cheaper than a traditional provider.
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Medical training in the U.S. requires first a non-medical degree.
The non-medical bachelor's degree is not the expensive part of becoming a doctor.