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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

#61

Post by notus »

traek wrote: post #50
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…

It's a US newspaper. Do you also ask the German media to specify Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel in every headline?

Knowing Germany they probably do tbh or at least it wouldn't surprise me if they did

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

#62

Post by notus »

The bridge of my nose is shaped weird apparently and it makes most glasses not fit very well, they tend to slide down all the time. I've gone to different places and perplexed the people there trying to help me find something that fit properly. They said everything sits too far off my face. I dunno what to do but push my glasses up. I basically cant buy any of the cheap online options though because they never fit.

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

#63

Post by Void_ »

tianmingwu wrote: post #51

A few years ago I found a technique on youtube to help myopia by wearing slightly lower prescription glasses. And the author recommended zennithoptical.com for cheap glasses. I was almost shocked to find their price to be that cheap. And when I bought a couple of pairs, it turns out their quality is quite decent. I have since bought more than a dozen glasses from zennithoptical.com, at a total cost of about $300. And…

Is this technique a real thing?

Can we get an expert's opinion?

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

#64

Post by xxpor »

dawhizkid wrote: post #46
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…

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

That varies by state. My NJ prescription lasts for 6 years IIRC.

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

#65

Post by jtwaleson »

I'm the CTO of an online eye test for the European market (https://easee.online). We work together with online retailers that want to offer prescription glasses at much lower costs and they need us to go fully online.

The industry has had pretty absurd margins for years, and that's fine for the fashion aspect of course, but I believe there should be affordable options for everyone, especially as the plastic only costs a couple of $ to produce.

I've been working in this space for one year and still have lots to learn, but I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have!

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

#66

Post by zrobotics »

munk-a wrote: post #44
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…

Hearing aides are also insanely cheap to produce, they are not complicated devices and that market is only surviving due to the medical device status of them causing a high barrier to entry.

There are actually some decent alternatives avaliable on alibaba and other Chinese outlets. I helped my father with getting a pair, they were 125 and have been performing well for 1.5 years now. Sure, I wouldn't trust alibaba for most medical devices, but something like hearing aids should be safe enough. His insurance wouldn't kick in anything, and while he could afford the price he would never spend it. Since he so badly needed them, I suggested he try a pair of the cheaper ones, and the difference in quality of life was staggering.

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

#67

Post by SiempreViernes »

traek wrote: post #50
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…

It's a US newspaper. Do you also ask the German media to specify Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel in every headline?

If you've written out the full name of a prime minister you've already uniquely determined which country you are talking about.

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

#68

Post by wsc981 »

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…

I believe in The Netherlands glasses are also very expensive (unless prices have changed in the last 5 years or so, which I very much doubt). Usually my glasses and frames had costs a total of around ~400 EUR in The Netherlands.

Recently I bought new glasses in Thailand and there (to my surprise) they weren't much differently prices compared to The Netherlands, which didn't make sense to me, because that would make glasses too expensive for most people here (it's about a monthly wage upcountry). Or perhaps the government provides citizens through health insurance over here, I am not sure.

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

#69

Post by lowercased »

michaelbuckbee wrote: post #56
lowercased wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i believe it. bose might be poised to get in to that market. their 'hearphones' struck me as a first attempt, although it's not marketed as a medical device (AFAIR).

I'm seeing more and more of these "smart headphones" that happen to maybe increase selective noises and cancel some others out but are not "hearing aids" due to the medical device designation.

i've been using bose qc20 for a few years for the noise cancelling. I'm curious about the 'hearphones' - to know if the effect is similar to the qc20 'pass through' mode - which still muffles some background noise but opens up to allow voice frequencies through. can't get any clarification if the effect is similar or something radically new, and don't want to spend that much $ to find out. :)
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