5 ms·

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,

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?
- sbarre 10y ago
  To fuel the lie
- mootothemax 10y ago
  >It's easy enough to measure myself Do you have any recommendations about this? It's the kind of thing I'm a bit nervous about searching as I can see many, many ways I might accidentally read the optician equivalent of an anti-vaccination blog.
  - Johnny555 10y ago
    Here's a guide from one of the online glasses sellers: http://www.zennioptical.com/measuring-pd-infographic http://www.zennioptical.com/measuring-pd-infographic They sent me a free PD ruler (it has a slit in the middle so you can see your pupils and a notch in the middle to center it on your nose) with my glasses, but I just used a standard ruler the first time I measured, and got the same measurement when my glasses arrived and I used their ruler. I was off by 1 mm in one eye when I compared to my eye doctor's measurements. For my prescription, that's not very significant, but it might be for a stronger prescription. You can buy a PD ruler for a dollar or two from eBay if you don't want to use a standard ruler.
  - criddell 10y ago
    The other comment measured the ruler that Zenni will send you. That's what I used.
- koolba 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). Go to Walmart. Most have an optometrist on site (can check online) and you can take the prescription elsewhere to buy glasses online. Probably cheaper (for the "doctor" portion) than anywhere else around as well.
- shermozle 10y ago
  I presume you'll be finding a new optometrist for next time. I would have refused to pay, since they weren't giving the full service. In Australia the eye test is covered by Medicare, so if they refused to supply it you could complain to the government insurer and there would be trouble.

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?

sbarre 10y ago
To fuel the lie
mootothemax 10y ago
>It's easy enough to measure myself Do you have any recommendations about this? It's the kind of thing I'm a bit nervous about searching as I can see many, many ways I might accidentally read the optician equivalent of an anti-vaccination blog.
- Johnny555 10y ago
  Here's a guide from one of the online glasses sellers: http://www.zennioptical.com/measuring-pd-infographic http://www.zennioptical.com/measuring-pd-infographic They sent me a free PD ruler (it has a slit in the middle so you can see your pupils and a notch in the middle to center it on your nose) with my glasses, but I just used a standard ruler the first time I measured, and got the same measurement when my glasses arrived and I used their ruler. I was off by 1 mm in one eye when I compared to my eye doctor's measurements. For my prescription, that's not very significant, but it might be for a stronger prescription. You can buy a PD ruler for a dollar or two from eBay if you don't want to use a standard ruler.
- criddell 10y ago
  The other comment measured the ruler that Zenni will send you. That's what I used.
koolba 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). Go to Walmart. Most have an optometrist on site (can check online) and you can take the prescription elsewhere to buy glasses online. Probably cheaper (for the "doctor" portion) than anywhere else around as well.
shermozle 10y ago
I presume you'll be finding a new optometrist for next time. I would have refused to pay, since they weren't giving the full service. In Australia the eye test is covered by Medicare, so if they refused to supply it you could complain to the government insurer and there would be trouble.