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One Dollar Glasses – Help for 150M people

323 points by tiplus 10y ago

nickff 10y ago
This is fantastic, and I will definitely be making a donation, but I think they would benefit from taking a page out of the Lucky Iron Fish book, and sending a pair of the glasses to donors who contribute 50 dollars or more. I have found the Lucky Iron Fish I have to be helpful in convincing others to donate, and I think having a pair of these glasses could similarly make the project more tangible to prospective donors. http://www.luckyironfish.com/ http://www.luckyironfish.com/
deleted 10y ago
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randyrand 10y ago
I got 4 pairs of glasses on amazon (needed the opposite of reading glasses which are hard to find in stores) for $8. I was pretty darn impressed by how cheap the free market is vs doctors offices.
- JustSomeNobody 10y ago
  Having worked in the optical business to put myself through engineering school, I know that glasses can be very expensive; there's a poop tonne of overhead at those places. That being said, be very careful of cheap glasses. If you have a strong Rx, you need the OC to be aligned properly with your P.D. otherwise you're inducing prism. This can cause severe headaches and eye fatigue. You should also make sure you go see a Dr regularly; those exams test more than just your vision. You could be going blind in a preventable way and not know until too late. Oh, cheap frames just aren't as comfortable at the end of the day as not as cheap frames. Buyer beware. * Not a Dr myself. I worked in the labs. Don't take anything I say to be any sort of medical advice. I'm merely saying be very careful with your precious eye sight.
  - randyrand 10y ago
    Hmm. I got the least strong one they had. I think 1.5. Hopefully that's okay. I only use them sometimes.
- digler999 10y ago
  I think it's great that places like Zenni are undercutting optometrists' prices. But as soon as I read "Amazon" the first thing I thought of was knockoff products from China and how harmful those could be to ophthalmology. It's one thing to get a phony "1 TB" USB stick, its another to get two pieces of clear polycarbonate labelled "-3.25, 0.5" that could actually harm your eyes by looking through it.
tiplus 10y ago
The guy is a physics teacher who invented a small wire bending device which is used to make the glasses locally anywhere at material costs of 1$.
rtfs 10y ago
why are these glasses so cheap?
- Alupis 10y ago
  > why are these glasses so cheap? The frames are being made from cheap materials (plain wire) closer-to or at the location of the recipients. Another HNer mentioned the person behind this invented a small wire bending device, and that's being used here to form the frames. I would wager, as well, that the lenses don't have all the fancy coatings and such that you might get from an Optometrist (anti-scratch/fog/glare/shatter, etc)... although when your options are cheap glasses vs. no glasses, most people will opt for having glasses.
- jandrese 10y ago
  The pictures show what look like some very flimsy wire frames. I saw the picture of the 8 year old boy wearing those and thought "good thing they're cheap, because they'll be broken in a week." I kind of wish there was a $2 glasses charity that used solid (if ugly) plastic frames that will stand up to some abuse. Even if the kids value the glasses (they will), it's easy to forget they are on your face when you trip and fall or take a soccer ball to the head or any number of possible calamities.
- ceejayoz 10y ago
  The real question is why are other glasses so expensive, and the answer is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica.
  - Alupis 10y ago
    It's a bit disingenuous to compare these $1 wire glasses to glasses you would buy from an Optometrist. There are some very clear and distinct differences. Yes, there is a lot of bloat in prescription glasses pricing, but it's not 99% bloat (ie. it's not a $1 cost-to-manufacturer product being sold to you). Frames are overly expensive, but a trivial comparison will reveal most frames are a lot more sturdy/well-constructed than a simple 18awg wire bent into shape. The real expense is the lenses, and their coatings. The lenses in the $1 glasses surely cannot have anti-glare/fog/scratch/shatter coatings, otherwise the lenses alone would cost far more than $1! Also, the quality of manufacturing plays an important role, as other HNers have pointed out (the precision shape of the lenses, etc.). The real "meat" of this thing isn't to highlight how over-priced prescription glasses are, it's to showcase a well intentioned charity that's providing clear vision to people who would not be able to get it any other way. These people will accept less quality, because the alternative is not being able to see. The $1 donation price-point enables a wider range of folks to be able to donate, which feeds the cycle.
Namrog84 10y ago
The site makes it look like exclusively a charity? I can donate and that means someone gets glasses. But can I buy them for myself or a friend as well? I couldn't find the answer (on mobile)
- jakebellacera 10y ago
  Based on this page[1], it looks like they provide the machine and training required to produce the glasses on-site in remote locations by locals so that they can operate their own businesses. This makes a lot of sense, because it's a lot cheaper to deploy X quantity of materials required to produce the glasses all at once vs hundreds of individual glasses. Also, it helps boost their local economies. [1]: http://www.onedollarglasses.org/the-glasses/production-on-site.html http://www.onedollarglasses.org/the-glasses/production-on-si...
  - rogerdpack 10y ago
    If they really want this to go wide spread, they should make a way for locals to "make money" on the machines, like they can resell them for $2 then it could spread and be self-sustaining, and everywhere would have $2 glasses, which is actually somewhat affordable, even in developing countries. My only other concern is what about astigmatism? Are they teaching the people that distribute it to accomodate for that (like "2 hour optometrist training" LOL)
Johnny555 10y ago
My glasses cost $39 from one of the many online cheap glasses makers. So now I have more money to donate to the $1 glasses campaign :) Last time I got glasses, I tried a test, I bought the $300 glasses from my eye doctor ("only" $200 after insurance), and I bought a pair of $39 glasses online. I found no difference between the two other than price (and the ones I bought online arrived by mail the day before the expensive pair was ready from my eye doctor). And I bought a second pair of backup glasses for less than my eye doctor wanted for his "lens protection insurance". Though admittedly, I have a simple, low-power prescription (< -3.0, no astigmatism), so your milage might vary with a more complex prescription.
- cookiecaper 10y ago
  Online glasses still come out to about $80 for me based on the requirements of my prescription, but yes, the markup that optical places charge is through the roof. Outlets like Zenni Optical are seriously giving local optometrists a run for their money, to the point where the industry is panicked over it.
  - mundo 10y ago
    "The industry" is mainly Luxottica[1], a company that controls the majority of the world glasses market - prescription and non, production and retail, and even (through a vision insurer) purchasing. There's a ton of "look at this horrible monopoly and how many damage they do!" type articles about. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica
    - criddell 10y ago
      I love to know if Luxottica has tried to buy Warby Parker.
- criddell 10y ago
  Last time I got a new prescription I asked them to include the PD number and they refused. They would only give that to me if I bought glasses through them. I couldn't even pay them for just the measurement (I suggested $10-$20). It's easy enough to measure myself, so that's what I did. My glasses were $45 and he said his costs were more than twice that. Where's all that money going?
rosstex 10y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDdq2rIqAlM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDdq2rIqAlM Luxottica currently owns 80% of the eyeglass business
Arcsech 10y ago
Glasses are a total racket. Purchasing your glasses online is many, many times cheaper than going to Lenscrafters or basically any other brick & mortar store in the US. I've been buying online for years and they're every bit as good as usual ones. You do need your pupillary distance, but you either measure this yourself with the help of a friend, or ask your optometrist. If they refuse or tell you how evil buying glasses online is, get a new optometrist. The best sites I'm aware of are: http://www.zennioptical.com/ http://www.zennioptical.com/ (what I use) https://www.goggles4u.com/ https://www.goggles4u.com/ https://www.39dollarglasses.com/ https://www.39dollarglasses.com/
- dsr_ 10y ago
  I've had satisfactory results from all three of these. One of our salespeople was rather upset that my titanium memory-wire glasses looked about the same as his but cost an order of magnitude less.
  - HiroshiSan 10y ago
    Try eyebuydirect.ca, I've tried zenni, loved them until I found eyebuydirect. (Wow that really sounded like a commercial LOL) in all seriousness, great style, cheap prices, lots of sales.
- Declanomous 10y ago
  I order my glasses from Zenni, but I don't think it's for everyone. For one thing, they always locate the pupil at the exact midpoint of the lens. Unless you wear very small frames, your pupils are probably located somewhat higher in the lens when you are wearing the glasses in the most comfortable or attractive manner. This can result in double vision, chromatic anomalies, headaches, and worse. It's far more likely to be an issue if you have a strong prescription than a weak one, but inexpensive glasses may be a false economy if you have any of these problems. edit: Also, one pair of glasses I ordered from Zenni gave me a rash around my eyes and on my eyelids. I've gotten contact rashes from watches before, so it wasn't entirely unexpected, but I'd never had it happen with glasses before. I thought I had just gotten a sunburn at first, and it took me a while to convince myself it was my glasses. (I basically didn't wear the glasses for a month, and then wore them again.) It's either the plastic used for the frame, or maybe a mold release. Regardless, I've tried washing the glasses with a strong detergent, and I've had them ultrasonically cleaned and they still give me a rash. They cost $30 though, which basically makes them disposable compared to normal glasses.
sangd 10y ago
I wore cheap glasses for the last ~15 years, my eyes are still 20/20 the last time I checked which was ~3 months ago.
- dublinben 10y ago
  Why do you wear glasses if your vision is already 20/20?
  - pavanky 10y ago
    I am assuming he meant sun shades ?
    - sangd 10y ago
      correct :).
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
kefka 10y ago
So, where can I buy high quality sunglasses (have 20/15 vision)? Obviously junk doesn't cut it, and I really don't want to feed the Luxottica monster.
- waterfowl 10y ago
  Maui Jim sunglasses are reportedly exceptionally high quality, also not part of Luxottica. My brother loves them, I don't wear sunglasses.
- sprawl_ 10y ago
  I've heard only great things about Maui Jim. Pricey, but high quality and not Luxottica.
- warkdarrior 10y ago
  http://www.sporteyes.com/ http://www.sporteyes.com/ worked great for me.
- eikenberry 10y ago
  How about high quality clear/prescription frames that aren't Luxottica?
StephenConnell 10y ago
I have found purchasing glasses can be hit or miss weather I buy $600 glasses or less that twenty dollar glasses. I may miss a bit more with cheap glasses, but I can take a lot more shots. I've used zennioptical.com and it has worked really well. I've run into frames that do not fit, but they were cheap mistakes and once I found something I liked, I just reorder every few years. Paying attention to the frame measurements is pretty important if you buy online.
ren01r 10y ago
I am using prescribed glasses since I was in 3rd grade. I feel like I'm wasting money when I spend more than 1000 INR (around 15 USD) on glasses. I can't imagine spending 700 USD on glasses. I can live on that money for about 4 months with that money.
- branchless 10y ago
  People spending $700 are buying it from a store that has to pay US rent, US employers paing US rent. You need to adjust for local wages.
PinguTS 10y ago
The comments are very interesting. I think glasses are a very specific issue. The question is: do want perfect view or just want to see something better. For better view this is great. But for the developed world it is not comparable. Either because the eyeglass frame should follow some trend, or the glasses itself needs some additional threatment. For example, my glasses are 'cheap' even as I need special glasses. Yes, the diopter are different between left and right. But much more important is the parallax compensation for me. My optician exchanges the glasses even for free, if they don't fit. So online, is realy not an option.
dba7dba 10y ago
I've heard that all these different brands in eye glasses industry are mostly owned by just a few holding companies. Hence the high price for everything related to eye glasses. Never bothered to actually check but I remember hearing that in a podcast.
saboot 10y ago
It's pretty amazing how much extra cost most glasses cost. And this comes at a very steep cost for most people. I've worked with a charity organization called Remote Area Medical (RAM) which provides free medical, dental, and vision care. Lots of people are there because they can no longer see, cannot get a job because of it, and thus have no money. RAM can create a vision prescription, prepare the lenses on the spot, and give a patient glasses for a cost of $15 in an hour, patients dont pay anything. We really need to do more in making cheap glasses more available to people in the US. Here is one person's struggle in getting glasses while poor (clip from 2008, but we see this at clinics constantly) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TfraBGSGg8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TfraBGSGg8
ohstopitu 10y ago
I will definitely be donating. I've had glasses since I was 3 and I understand how expensive they can be. (as a kid, I used to break mine often and my parents would have to pay insane amounts of money to get new ones). From what I understand, the frames themselves are just overpriced[0] [0] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7H-_8UkmFU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7H-_8UkmFU
sboselli 10y ago
Why aren't these kind of hardware driven campaign fully open source? Why is there not a pdf with plans and clear cut instructions on how to build the wire bender (which at 2500 Euros is absolutely insane)? I understand using the money for funding more glasses makes sense, but in reality if your mission is for this hardware breakthrough to improve everyone's life all around the world, why hide and hog the design? I'd like to build this in my machine shop in the other corner of the world, why send 2500 Euros to Germany? I just don't get it. It makes me think of ulterior motives and when that happens I quickly lose faith in the organization. Everyone loses, the cause itself being the most affected.
- Hydraulix989 10y ago
  Very nice! I only wish your web site had og metadata so that I could socially share your site on FB, LinkedIn, etc. and have the title, description, and preview image show up in my posts.
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HoyaSaxa 10y ago
This is obviously a really admirable cause, and as someone who wears contacts, I couldn't imagine not having access to corrective lenses. Just a word of caution to anyone considering making a donation, their donations page is not served over HTTPS. Their unsecured page renders an iframe [1] from their payment processor that is served over HTTPS though. I haven't tested it, but you should be able to make a donation securely via that link. I reached out to them to let them know and offered some assistance. [1] https://secure.fundraisingbox.com/app/payment?hash=UuYpAgAJ0Hx7eupPM9waOFGDallJQMgpPR%2BuRijuDzdHgGleT3LxJTsbnksg9Rs%2FG5whDWRy%2BmkXSMtbIq4SNn3dfUMtaq05RA6PAg%2B%2BGBx8hCkpLTS8OXJY015Gpk9LMtUmLx0HvCsnNodWV%2FcdTQ%3D%3D#http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onedollarglasses.org%2Fdonations%2F https://secure.fundraisingbox.com/app/payment?hash=UuYpAgAJ0...
dingleberry 10y ago
mass produced chinese glasses beat it first i bought a dozen negative glasses for $15 five years ago at chinatown in Jakarta, Indonesia; should be cheaper in china. same model, same power, but can't choose color. the retail is available so i can choose model, power, color, etc for $2 per glasses I also bought a +4 glasses for less than $1, metal frame. positive glasses are cheaper maybe because there's less demand. their quality depend solely on material, not price. my more stylish glasses (no-frame-around-glass, flexible handle) lasts about 3-6 months on heavy use. sturdier styles (harry-potter-styele, thicker plastic frame) lasted more than a year till my-then-baby-boy tore it forcefully from my face. my <$1 positive metal frame glasses seem to last forever. nb: i wear positive lens everyday for my eye training and choose to no longer wear negative lens; therefore, i haven't bought any lenses for about three years; however, the prices are still about the same last time i checked at jakarta's chinatown.
Animats 10y ago
How do they do cylindrical axis with a small inventory of lenses and non-round lenses? The three parameters for lenses are spherical radius, cylindrical radius, and axis of the cylinder. A complete set of a good range in all three is large, which is what leads to custom lenses. There's a known way to cut costs with round lenses. With round lenses, you can have a small inventory of premade lenses with only two parameters. The axis is set with a little notcher that makes a notch which locks it to a bump in the frame, so it can't rotate. These have been used in India for decades. There's an optical store in an attache case. If the One Dollar Glasses guys only use 25 different lenses, are they just blowing off the cylindrical correction entirely? Are these just "readers" like the ones available cheaply at most drugstores? Those you can get on Alibaba for $0.75 each in bulk.[1] [1] https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Premade-Distance-Glasses_121759902.html https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Premade-Distance-Glas...
- codingdave 10y ago
  That is the impression that I got - they are just like off-the-shelf reading glasses. But so what? They are giving cheap glasses to people in poverty who had nothing before. Sure, you can buy similar thing in bulk for similar prices, but can you then also deliver them to these people for the other quarter? Even if you can do so, are you actually doing so? These guys are. I'm not going to criticize them for it.
dirkg 10y ago
Buying glasses in Asia or online is so much cheaper than the scam run by Lenscrafters, most optometrists in the US. Its sold as a designer product where you spend $$$ on frames, the glass material with fancy treatments, and they charge you maybe 5-10x the actual costs. I have ordered from Goggles4u, Zenni etc and these places must have razor thin profit margins, they always have coupons and its dirt cheap, never had issues with the quality of the lenses. You can always go to any optometrist/Costco etc and get the lens checked out to confirm.
fmavituna 10y ago
It's a bit (actually a lot) worrying that their donation page that you enter personal and credit card info is not over HTTPS. Possibly it will significantly decrease the donations they'll receive online.
Tempest1981 10y ago
Related: work is also being done on a $1 microscope -- to identify disease in poor countries, and/or for education/classrooms. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/525471/the-1-origami-microscope/ https://www.technologyreview.com/s/525471/the-1-origami-micr... and http://www.popsci.com/article/gadgets/origami-microscope-less-dollar http://www.popsci.com/article/gadgets/origami-microscope-les...

323 points by tiplus 10y ago

This is fantastic, and I will definitely be making a donation, but I think they would benefit from taking a page out of the Lucky Iron Fish book, and sending a pair of the glasses to donors who contribute 50 dollars or more. I have found the Lucky Iron Fish I have to be helpful in convincing others to donate, and I think having a pair of these glasses could similarly make the project more tangible to prospective donors. http://www.luckyironfish.com/ http://www.luckyironfish.com/

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

randyrand 10y ago

I got 4 pairs of glasses on amazon (needed the opposite of reading glasses which are hard to find in stores) for $8. I was pretty darn impressed by how cheap the free market is vs doctors offices.

JustSomeNobody 10y ago
Having worked in the optical business to put myself through engineering school, I know that glasses can be very expensive; there's a poop tonne of overhead at those places. That being said, be very careful of cheap glasses. If you have a strong Rx, you need the OC to be aligned properly with your P.D. otherwise you're inducing prism. This can cause severe headaches and eye fatigue. You should also make sure you go see a Dr regularly; those exams test more than just your vision. You could be going blind in a preventable way and not know until too late. Oh, cheap frames just aren't as comfortable at the end of the day as not as cheap frames. Buyer beware. * Not a Dr myself. I worked in the labs. Don't take anything I say to be any sort of medical advice. I'm merely saying be very careful with your precious eye sight.
- randyrand 10y ago
  Hmm. I got the least strong one they had. I think 1.5. Hopefully that's okay. I only use them sometimes.
digler999 10y ago
I think it's great that places like Zenni are undercutting optometrists' prices. But as soon as I read "Amazon" the first thing I thought of was knockoff products from China and how harmful those could be to ophthalmology. It's one thing to get a phony "1 TB" USB stick, its another to get two pieces of clear polycarbonate labelled "-3.25, 0.5" that could actually harm your eyes by looking through it.

tiplus 10y ago

The guy is a physics teacher who invented a small wire bending device which is used to make the glasses locally anywhere at material costs of 1$.

rtfs 10y ago

why are these glasses so cheap?

Alupis 10y ago
> why are these glasses so cheap? The frames are being made from cheap materials (plain wire) closer-to or at the location of the recipients. Another HNer mentioned the person behind this invented a small wire bending device, and that's being used here to form the frames. I would wager, as well, that the lenses don't have all the fancy coatings and such that you might get from an Optometrist (anti-scratch/fog/glare/shatter, etc)... although when your options are cheap glasses vs. no glasses, most people will opt for having glasses.
jandrese 10y ago
The pictures show what look like some very flimsy wire frames. I saw the picture of the 8 year old boy wearing those and thought "good thing they're cheap, because they'll be broken in a week." I kind of wish there was a $2 glasses charity that used solid (if ugly) plastic frames that will stand up to some abuse. Even if the kids value the glasses (they will), it's easy to forget they are on your face when you trip and fall or take a soccer ball to the head or any number of possible calamities.
ceejayoz 10y ago
The real question is why are other glasses so expensive, and the answer is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica.
- Alupis 10y ago
  It's a bit disingenuous to compare these $1 wire glasses to glasses you would buy from an Optometrist. There are some very clear and distinct differences. Yes, there is a lot of bloat in prescription glasses pricing, but it's not 99% bloat (ie. it's not a $1 cost-to-manufacturer product being sold to you). Frames are overly expensive, but a trivial comparison will reveal most frames are a lot more sturdy/well-constructed than a simple 18awg wire bent into shape. The real expense is the lenses, and their coatings. The lenses in the $1 glasses surely cannot have anti-glare/fog/scratch/shatter coatings, otherwise the lenses alone would cost far more than $1! Also, the quality of manufacturing plays an important role, as other HNers have pointed out (the precision shape of the lenses, etc.). The real "meat" of this thing isn't to highlight how over-priced prescription glasses are, it's to showcase a well intentioned charity that's providing clear vision to people who would not be able to get it any other way. These people will accept less quality, because the alternative is not being able to see. The $1 donation price-point enables a wider range of folks to be able to donate, which feeds the cycle.

Namrog84 10y ago

The site makes it look like exclusively a charity? I can donate and that means someone gets glasses. But can I buy them for myself or a friend as well? I couldn't find the answer (on mobile)

jakebellacera 10y ago
Based on this page[1], it looks like they provide the machine and training required to produce the glasses on-site in remote locations by locals so that they can operate their own businesses. This makes a lot of sense, because it's a lot cheaper to deploy X quantity of materials required to produce the glasses all at once vs hundreds of individual glasses. Also, it helps boost their local economies. [1]: http://www.onedollarglasses.org/the-glasses/production-on-site.html http://www.onedollarglasses.org/the-glasses/production-on-si...
- rogerdpack 10y ago
  If they really want this to go wide spread, they should make a way for locals to "make money" on the machines, like they can resell them for $2 then it could spread and be self-sustaining, and everywhere would have $2 glasses, which is actually somewhat affordable, even in developing countries. My only other concern is what about astigmatism? Are they teaching the people that distribute it to accomodate for that (like "2 hour optometrist training" LOL)

Johnny555 10y ago

My glasses cost $39 from one of the many online cheap glasses makers. So now I have more money to donate to the $1 glasses campaign :) Last time I got glasses, I tried a test, I bought the $300 glasses from my eye doctor ("only" $200 after insurance), and I bought a pair of $39 glasses online. I found no difference between the two other than price (and the ones I bought online arrived by mail the day before the expensive pair was ready from my eye doctor). And I bought a second pair of backup glasses for less than my eye doctor wanted for his "lens protection insurance". Though admittedly, I have a simple, low-power prescription (< -3.0, no astigmatism), so your milage might vary with a more complex prescription.

cookiecaper 10y ago
Online glasses still come out to about $80 for me based on the requirements of my prescription, but yes, the markup that optical places charge is through the roof. Outlets like Zenni Optical are seriously giving local optometrists a run for their money, to the point where the industry is panicked over it.
- mundo 10y ago
  "The industry" is mainly Luxottica[1], a company that controls the majority of the world glasses market - prescription and non, production and retail, and even (through a vision insurer) purchasing. There's a ton of "look at this horrible monopoly and how many damage they do!" type articles about. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica
  - criddell 10y ago
    I love to know if Luxottica has tried to buy Warby Parker.
criddell 10y ago
Last time I got a new prescription I asked them to include the PD number and they refused. They would only give that to me if I bought glasses through them. I couldn't even pay them for just the measurement (I suggested $10-$20). It's easy enough to measure myself, so that's what I did. My glasses were $45 and he said his costs were more than twice that. Where's all that money going?

rosstex 10y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDdq2rIqAlM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDdq2rIqAlM Luxottica currently owns 80% of the eyeglass business

Arcsech 10y ago

Glasses are a total racket. Purchasing your glasses online is many, many times cheaper than going to Lenscrafters or basically any other brick & mortar store in the US. I've been buying online for years and they're every bit as good as usual ones. You do need your pupillary distance, but you either measure this yourself with the help of a friend, or ask your optometrist. If they refuse or tell you how evil buying glasses online is, get a new optometrist. The best sites I'm aware of are: http://www.zennioptical.com/ http://www.zennioptical.com/ (what I use) https://www.goggles4u.com/ https://www.goggles4u.com/ https://www.39dollarglasses.com/ https://www.39dollarglasses.com/

dsr_ 10y ago
I've had satisfactory results from all three of these. One of our salespeople was rather upset that my titanium memory-wire glasses looked about the same as his but cost an order of magnitude less.
- HiroshiSan 10y ago
  Try eyebuydirect.ca, I've tried zenni, loved them until I found eyebuydirect. (Wow that really sounded like a commercial LOL) in all seriousness, great style, cheap prices, lots of sales.
Declanomous 10y ago
I order my glasses from Zenni, but I don't think it's for everyone. For one thing, they always locate the pupil at the exact midpoint of the lens. Unless you wear very small frames, your pupils are probably located somewhat higher in the lens when you are wearing the glasses in the most comfortable or attractive manner. This can result in double vision, chromatic anomalies, headaches, and worse. It's far more likely to be an issue if you have a strong prescription than a weak one, but inexpensive glasses may be a false economy if you have any of these problems. edit: Also, one pair of glasses I ordered from Zenni gave me a rash around my eyes and on my eyelids. I've gotten contact rashes from watches before, so it wasn't entirely unexpected, but I'd never had it happen with glasses before. I thought I had just gotten a sunburn at first, and it took me a while to convince myself it was my glasses. (I basically didn't wear the glasses for a month, and then wore them again.) It's either the plastic used for the frame, or maybe a mold release. Regardless, I've tried washing the glasses with a strong detergent, and I've had them ultrasonically cleaned and they still give me a rash. They cost $30 though, which basically makes them disposable compared to normal glasses.

sangd 10y ago

I wore cheap glasses for the last ~15 years, my eyes are still 20/20 the last time I checked which was ~3 months ago.

dublinben 10y ago
Why do you wear glasses if your vision is already 20/20?
- pavanky 10y ago
  I am assuming he meant sun shades ?
  - sangd 10y ago
    correct :).
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

kefka 10y ago

So, where can I buy high quality sunglasses (have 20/15 vision)? Obviously junk doesn't cut it, and I really don't want to feed the Luxottica monster.

waterfowl 10y ago
Maui Jim sunglasses are reportedly exceptionally high quality, also not part of Luxottica. My brother loves them, I don't wear sunglasses.
sprawl_ 10y ago
I've heard only great things about Maui Jim. Pricey, but high quality and not Luxottica.
warkdarrior 10y ago
http://www.sporteyes.com/ http://www.sporteyes.com/ worked great for me.
eikenberry 10y ago
How about high quality clear/prescription frames that aren't Luxottica?

StephenConnell 10y ago

I have found purchasing glasses can be hit or miss weather I buy $600 glasses or less that twenty dollar glasses. I may miss a bit more with cheap glasses, but I can take a lot more shots. I've used zennioptical.com and it has worked really well. I've run into frames that do not fit, but they were cheap mistakes and once I found something I liked, I just reorder every few years. Paying attention to the frame measurements is pretty important if you buy online.

ren01r 10y ago

I am using prescribed glasses since I was in 3rd grade. I feel like I'm wasting money when I spend more than 1000 INR (around 15 USD) on glasses. I can't imagine spending 700 USD on glasses. I can live on that money for about 4 months with that money.

branchless 10y ago
People spending $700 are buying it from a store that has to pay US rent, US employers paing US rent. You need to adjust for local wages.

PinguTS 10y ago

The comments are very interesting. I think glasses are a very specific issue. The question is: do want perfect view or just want to see something better. For better view this is great. But for the developed world it is not comparable. Either because the eyeglass frame should follow some trend, or the glasses itself needs some additional threatment. For example, my glasses are 'cheap' even as I need special glasses. Yes, the diopter are different between left and right. But much more important is the parallax compensation for me. My optician exchanges the glasses even for free, if they don't fit. So online, is realy not an option.

dba7dba 10y ago

I've heard that all these different brands in eye glasses industry are mostly owned by just a few holding companies. Hence the high price for everything related to eye glasses. Never bothered to actually check but I remember hearing that in a podcast.

saboot 10y ago

It's pretty amazing how much extra cost most glasses cost. And this comes at a very steep cost for most people. I've worked with a charity organization called Remote Area Medical (RAM) which provides free medical, dental, and vision care. Lots of people are there because they can no longer see, cannot get a job because of it, and thus have no money. RAM can create a vision prescription, prepare the lenses on the spot, and give a patient glasses for a cost of $15 in an hour, patients dont pay anything. We really need to do more in making cheap glasses more available to people in the US. Here is one person's struggle in getting glasses while poor (clip from 2008, but we see this at clinics constantly) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TfraBGSGg8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TfraBGSGg8

ohstopitu 10y ago

I will definitely be donating. I've had glasses since I was 3 and I understand how expensive they can be. (as a kid, I used to break mine often and my parents would have to pay insane amounts of money to get new ones). From what I understand, the frames themselves are just overpriced[0] [0] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7H-_8UkmFU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7H-_8UkmFU

sboselli 10y ago

Why aren't these kind of hardware driven campaign fully open source? Why is there not a pdf with plans and clear cut instructions on how to build the wire bender (which at 2500 Euros is absolutely insane)? I understand using the money for funding more glasses makes sense, but in reality if your mission is for this hardware breakthrough to improve everyone's life all around the world, why hide and hog the design? I'd like to build this in my machine shop in the other corner of the world, why send 2500 Euros to Germany? I just don't get it. It makes me think of ulterior motives and when that happens I quickly lose faith in the organization. Everyone loses, the cause itself being the most affected.

Hydraulix989 10y ago
Very nice! I only wish your web site had og metadata so that I could socially share your site on FB, LinkedIn, etc. and have the title, description, and preview image show up in my posts.

deleted 10y ago

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HoyaSaxa 10y ago

This is obviously a really admirable cause, and as someone who wears contacts, I couldn't imagine not having access to corrective lenses. Just a word of caution to anyone considering making a donation, their donations page is not served over HTTPS. Their unsecured page renders an iframe [1] from their payment processor that is served over HTTPS though. I haven't tested it, but you should be able to make a donation securely via that link. I reached out to them to let them know and offered some assistance. [1] https://secure.fundraisingbox.com/app/payment?hash=UuYpAgAJ0Hx7eupPM9waOFGDallJQMgpPR%2BuRijuDzdHgGleT3LxJTsbnksg9Rs%2FG5whDWRy%2BmkXSMtbIq4SNn3dfUMtaq05RA6PAg%2B%2BGBx8hCkpLTS8OXJY015Gpk9LMtUmLx0HvCsnNodWV%2FcdTQ%3D%3D#http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onedollarglasses.org%2Fdonations%2F https://secure.fundraisingbox.com/app/payment?hash=UuYpAgAJ0...

dingleberry 10y ago

mass produced chinese glasses beat it first i bought a dozen negative glasses for $15 five years ago at chinatown in Jakarta, Indonesia; should be cheaper in china. same model, same power, but can't choose color. the retail is available so i can choose model, power, color, etc for $2 per glasses I also bought a +4 glasses for less than $1, metal frame. positive glasses are cheaper maybe because there's less demand. their quality depend solely on material, not price. my more stylish glasses (no-frame-around-glass, flexible handle) lasts about 3-6 months on heavy use. sturdier styles (harry-potter-styele, thicker plastic frame) lasted more than a year till my-then-baby-boy tore it forcefully from my face. my <$1 positive metal frame glasses seem to last forever. nb: i wear positive lens everyday for my eye training and choose to no longer wear negative lens; therefore, i haven't bought any lenses for about three years; however, the prices are still about the same last time i checked at jakarta's chinatown.

Animats 10y ago

How do they do cylindrical axis with a small inventory of lenses and non-round lenses? The three parameters for lenses are spherical radius, cylindrical radius, and axis of the cylinder. A complete set of a good range in all three is large, which is what leads to custom lenses. There's a known way to cut costs with round lenses. With round lenses, you can have a small inventory of premade lenses with only two parameters. The axis is set with a little notcher that makes a notch which locks it to a bump in the frame, so it can't rotate. These have been used in India for decades. There's an optical store in an attache case. If the One Dollar Glasses guys only use 25 different lenses, are they just blowing off the cylindrical correction entirely? Are these just "readers" like the ones available cheaply at most drugstores? Those you can get on Alibaba for $0.75 each in bulk.[1] [1] https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Premade-Distance-Glasses_121759902.html https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Premade-Distance-Glas...

codingdave 10y ago
That is the impression that I got - they are just like off-the-shelf reading glasses. But so what? They are giving cheap glasses to people in poverty who had nothing before. Sure, you can buy similar thing in bulk for similar prices, but can you then also deliver them to these people for the other quarter? Even if you can do so, are you actually doing so? These guys are. I'm not going to criticize them for it.

dirkg 10y ago

Buying glasses in Asia or online is so much cheaper than the scam run by Lenscrafters, most optometrists in the US. Its sold as a designer product where you spend $$$ on frames, the glass material with fancy treatments, and they charge you maybe 5-10x the actual costs. I have ordered from Goggles4u, Zenni etc and these places must have razor thin profit margins, they always have coupons and its dirt cheap, never had issues with the quality of the lenses. You can always go to any optometrist/Costco etc and get the lens checked out to confirm.

fmavituna 10y ago

It's a bit (actually a lot) worrying that their donation page that you enter personal and credit card info is not over HTTPS. Possibly it will significantly decrease the donations they'll receive online.

Tempest1981 10y ago

Related: work is also being done on a $1 microscope -- to identify disease in poor countries, and/or for education/classrooms. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/525471/the-1-origami-microscope/ https://www.technologyreview.com/s/525471/the-1-origami-micr... and http://www.popsci.com/article/gadgets/origami-microscope-less-dollar http://www.popsci.com/article/gadgets/origami-microscope-les...