My wife just told me she has new lens's ordered, but decline on new frames, $375.

Why so much?

It’s like the diamond business. 200% markup or more.

I'm guessing like hearing aids, people need them.

Profit motive,

I buy my prescription glasses online.

Generally, I pick out a low-cost frame. Couple of dozen to choose from. Then enter my prescription and place my order.

I think the last order I made was around $50 for four pairs.

EyeBuyDirect... and I forget the other company right now. Easy enough to Google.

EssilorLuxottica corners the market

https://www.zennioptical.com/b/glasses-under-20

$9.00 at Walmart.

Exactamundo. Im wearing some now.

This! My wife used to work in the industry. 200-300 % is common.

In fairness, my wife has a much stronger prescription than I do so her glasses cost a little more.

Costco, everything in one place and high quality product and service.
Consumer Reports (I know, I know) did a report on all the big eyeglass outlets for value and the precision of the lens matching the prescription and Costco was #1.

They are made out of left-over primers.....(grin)

When frames are cheap, guess where they're made? How much is your patriotism worth?

Or you can pay big bucks for an Italian designer's name. Last I heard the Italians are still our friends.

Her deal, she works hard, I let her decide those things.

The reason theyre high is sometimes you let the same eye doctor do the exam and lenses and the frames. A triple gotcha

Like going to an audiologist MD to get hearing aids.

Go to Costco, save $3000. We just figured that out a few months ago with a family member. Same manufacturer.

add a zero

Used and recycled unobtainium??

Zinni


^^^^ This

FIXT

Eyeglass frames, hell, have you priced cars or fried pigskins lately.

Oakley

Its crazy. Freaking set of glasses now go for more that my Zeiss 15x binocs, of course, i didnt get the expensive ones. Daniel Boone would have thought mine were the cats meow.

If youre good, you can get it done without the best.

I use Zenni with complete satisfaction.

Had a guy about 65 or so iirc come in with distorted vision in one eye for a good while. I asked how long since hed had a complete eye exam. Never. Just buys readers.

Dilated exam revealed a choroidal malignant melanoma. Choroid is the vascular layer of the eye lying just behind the retina which feeds the outer layers of the retina. The retinal vessels seen exiting the whitish optic nerve into the retina in this pic feed the inner layers.

Caught early, radio active implants can often save a life.

Young kids with retinoblastoma intraocular tumors can be saved if the condition is caught soon enough.



Complete ocular health exams with dilation can pick up retinal tears or holes before they become full fleged sight threatening retinal detachments as seen here in the lower left field and noted by dead retinal tissue from loss of blood supply from the choroid the retina detached from.
If this detachment progresses through the central area of the retina called the macula, no amount of surgery can restore clear central sight due to loss of viability of the detached retina due to loss of blood supply and subsequent tissue atrophy.

.

Jewish Sales 101:

Charge $200 for the glasses and if no complaints say, "For the frames. The lenses are $100." If no complaints say, "Each."

I get my glasses and hearing aids at the VA. All are free.
Beats Costco all day long.
George

Yep. I bought a pair of nice sunglasses from one of their brands (Oliver People's). They're nicer than my Ray Bans, but I did pay for them.

Because they can.

Same with hearing aids.

Huge markups.
A friend graduated in Opthalmology and told me that they have insane MSRPs on most frames.
The lenses are also like that.

Because you'd get tired of holding the lenses in your hands.

Like everything medical in the US, government interference increases cost. Gal I knew in college always waited to buy new glasses until she went home to visit. Home was in Hong Kong. Much less expensive and lenses were made thinner than allowed here.

I bought my last frames from Zenni with no intention of using the lenses. Had lenses made locally and still came out ahead.

Who needs frames? I just have willicd76 tape them to my head with packaging tape. You know those arent going anywhere! Lmao

That exam is worth a hundred pairs of Zeiss glasses.
That reminds me that I'm due to get one.

Save 1/2 - use Col. Klink's monocle:

I have several sets of very expensive titanium frames that nobody will put a lens into.

The frame markup is 6X. That's why.

I know. It's a conspiracy.

Day9m. Unreal.

There are cheaper frames available.

I live about 90 minutes from the Mexican border and encourage everyone I know to buy their prescription eyeglasses from Mexican optical shops. They're every bit as clean, modern, and professional as US opticians except their frames, even "designer" frames, are always at least 1/2 the price of the identical frames in the US. The cost savings is absolutely amazing.

I just bought new frames for $70.00

She is lucky that they would put old lenses into new frames. Around here they don't do that. My last pair was over $650 with an exam.

I only wear glasses in the evening when contacts are out.

Got my last pair of glasses at the Sams Club.

Nothing fancy. Just wanted spring loaded hard to break frames. $79 models.

Just had a pair made,over 500.00
Can't see schit with 'em

Eyeglass outlets for value is like fast food joints for a great meal.

Dilated peripheral fundus exam for holes, tears, tumors, and more than a cursory optic nerve head evaluation for early papilledema for elevated intracranial pressure from brain tumor, optic nerve pallor from optic sheath tumor, real optic nerve head cup evaluation designed to reveal early normal tension glaucoma to prevent early central vision loss, real rather than pupillary light reflexes to pick up early neurological conditions or Horners syndrome from early pulmonary apex lung tumor, ..........

Or just cursory pos evaluation so the sucker can show in court he did it to cover himself legally?

Ding Ding Ding we have a winner. Monopolies once were fought tooth and nail, not so much anymore.

Remember that guy here who Col Klink as a user name?

Yep, I remember him. He could get pretty wound up at times.

Warby Parker dot com.

I buy titanium with the fish line holding the bottom of the lenses. Since I need them all the time weight is a concern. Walmart the last 4 times.

WM is one of the few places that isnt married to luxottica

Daughter got glasses at doc.
A week later, she picked them up and the arm broke off at the hinge.
Didn't believe it, of course.
So I checked them out. No bends, no twists, just a little tab, snapped off.
Back to doc, little snotty rip claimed companies aren't warranting
them like they used too. Only defects, not "Whoopsie" accidents.
New frames, $140, fix old ones $50.

3 weeks without glasses, finally get them back.
Less than 3 weeks later, broke.
Same place. When she took off a shirt with them on.
Again, no signs of abuse.

Went to Wal-Mart. The girl was great. Found several
frames that would accept her lens, swapped them, adjusted
them. $55.

And, "If she has any problems, at all, come back. We will
take care of them!"


Called the manufacturer of the broken ones, told the tale.
They told me all warranty was through the doc.
They were the ones that handled it all.

Then they put me on hold while they called the doctors office.
Took almost a half hour.

Within a week, docs office called. They had a new set of frames.
No idea what to do with them. Probably have the same bad steel in
the hinge as the others.

But I run one in that little lying bitch.

I don't know, my doctor spoke English.

No doubt. Could read the words. Only understood a few.
About like when I try to read German.

Whew. Good news, bro. Sounds like you're PROBABLY good to go.

It's no wonder so many folks can't see the difference bewteen $200 and $2000 binocs, they can't see to begin with.

Anyone buying Polycarbonate lenses is starting in the deepest optical hole available.

Could get em from your buddy gophergunner but they would probably be missing an arm or some chit.

And they look great on you, too.

Folks do NOT need Savages and look at the crap that $375 buys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a nice set of Ray ban frames that I had prescription lenses in. 300 bux for anyone to put lenses in them. Zenni sent me 2 pair of glasses in ti frames with photochromatic lenses for 30% of the replacement lens cost.

Anyone have a source for lenses in your frames? Love the Ray ban frames.....but not that much.

this

I forgot who it was, maybe 60 minutes, did a special on them. Crazy, pretty much a monopoly

Last fall I got new glasses. After my check-up I told them that I want my prescription since Walmart is cheaper than they are. That was interesting! She immediately said that they will be able to match Walmart. Asked what I was willing to spend, told her I would be happy if I could keep it in the 250-300 range. She took an immediate 40%off the glasses. What they originally said would cost me 500 ish cost me right around 300. That told me right there that they do have a lot of margin to play with. Tell them you plan on going where glasses don't cost as much and see what they do!

......and vision insurance pays for a lot of it....

Too big to fail. Gotta compete with the Chinese too, dontcha know? (Even though they buy frames from China.)

We have an independent lab here that makes glasses. They're kind of pricey but very good. I had as many as 3 sets of lenses in 1 frame from them. I had to switch this last time, though. They don't take Medicare Advantage. That saves a bundle.

It's been my experience that high dollar 'designer name' eyeglass frames are pretty much all sales hype and no better than many if not most much cheaper off-the-rack reader and sunglasses frames.

Also, regarding getting eye exams and glasses from opticians versus ophthalmologists, it's been my experience of late that the ophthalmologists I've been going to for the past year and a half seems to come up with some kind of surgical eye procedure to try to sell me every appointment, but when questioned further, none are anywhere even close to a time sensitive necessity.

Who makes trifocal glasses at a reasonable price ? I didn't see this offered in the above listed sites.
Thanks
Charlie

I only wear reading glasses so Dollar General gets my business.