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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

#81

Post by jtwaleson »

wsc981 wrote: post #68
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 g…

In NL you have a couple of good and affordable options now, such as Ace & Tate and Charlie Temple where you'll get glasses for under €100. Lots of movement in the market the last couple of years.

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

#82

Post by chucksmash »

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

It varies by retailer and also contacts vs glasses.

If I remember correctly, thr Warby Parker storefront near me accepted a glasses prescriptions given out less than either five or ten years prior.

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

#83

Post by klodolph »

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.

I wouldn't say "insanely cheap", from what I understand the production costs are something like $50-$150 per unit (not per pair!) and that's with cheap overseas labor, although cheaper devices exist. They are not complicated devices inasmuch as we don't consider circuits complicated, any more. There's a lot of R&D that has gone into making those things work the way they do.

I do think that the prices are inflated, and will drop, I just also think that they're complicated devices that aren't so easy to make.

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

#84

Post by aj7 »

One word- Walmart. The most durable frames and AR coatings I have ever bought. The frames are a Chinese knockoff. This industry is completely automated and relies on CNC automated finishing and batch costing. Walmart evidently made a centralized investment.

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

#85

Post by Aunche »

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

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.

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

#86

Post by Jemaclus »

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…

Yes, this is true. I'm actually fortunate in that I'm completely deaf in one ear and "only" profoundly deaf in the other. That means I only have to spend $3000 instead of 2x that. It's ridiculous. My hearing aid is 6 years old and I'm sure it's about to fail, but I can't afford a new one right now. It's absolute insanity.

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

#87

Post by ThirdFoundation »

dawhizkid wrote: post #17

Jins (Japanese company) in SF makes glasses on site in 30 minutes for https://www.yelp.com/biz/jins-san-francisco-3 Also, this story seems a few years behind given the rise of Warby Parker to address this very problem. If the person who felt compelled to spend $800 because they actually did not think they had any other option then they are living under a rock and/or being scammed by their optometrist.

I personally had a great experience at Warby Parker. I probably saved $200-300 and didn't feel pressured to buy anything.

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

#88

Post by Epskampie »

Void_ wrote: post #63
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?

I'm not an expert, but I researched it a bit online since I found a charlatan who was promising people they could get rid of glasses completely.

Expert opinion is that this is not possible, myopia is a physical condition that cannot be reversed easily. It is possible to get used slightly weaker lenses, but this is mostly your brain learning to adjust to the slight fuzziness. This seems in line with what tianmingwu experienced.

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

#89

Post by Semaphor »

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 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.

Uhm. Maybe this depends on the glasses you need? I'd not even come close to paying that little and my parents are paying even more.

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

#90

Post by demygale »

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.

Zenni is amazing. At less than $20 a pair, I can buy new every month. Everyone in my family uses Zenni and I get compliments on my glasses all the time.
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