6 ms·

I've purchased three pairs of Warby Parker glasses, and a lifetime of "incumbent" glasses before and after that. All of WP's glasses I've owned were somewhere

by 013a 8y ago

I've purchased three pairs of Warby Parker glasses, and a lifetime of "incumbent" glasses before and after that. All of WP's glasses I've owned were somewhere on the scale between "garbage" and "fine as a backup pair". Cheap plastic. Very poor fit. Lenses that easily scratched. Messed up prescription multiple times (thankfully their CS is pretty good). I'm thankful that my insurance allows me to own a "real" pair of glasses, which would normally cost ~$400, from my optometrist. Because the ~year that I experimented with WP was without a doubt coupled with the worst glasses I've ever worn in my life, and I've been wearing glasses since the first grade. I'll only ever be returning to them maybe for prescription sunglasses, and even then my optometrist often runs bundles with glasses (on insurance) + sunglasses for 50% off sticker. I respect that they're opening the market up for people who aren't lucky enough to be able to consistently afford better glasses. But I don't believe this is what we should want as a society; everyone should have access to great vision, and shouldn't have to resort to rebranded chineese knock-offs just to live their life to their best potential.

hn_throwaway_99 8y ago
As long as we're in anecdote world, I'll offer that I've had nothing but positive experiences with Warby Parker. To take your examples: 1. "Cheap plastic". Is there expensive plastic, really? I've owned much more expensive (but still plastic-framed) glasses and have never noticed a difference in quality. 2. "Very poor fit". Fair enough, I will offer though that I had a fitting at one of their brick-and-mortar locations and the glasses I got fit very well. 3. "Lenses that easily scratched". The details on their lens offerings are here, https://www.warbyparker.com/lenses https://www.warbyparker.com/lenses . Again, not a problem I have encountered. I don't doubt that there are better glasses than Warby Parker, but I'd bet that they're as good as if not better than basically everything up to the 90ish percentile range.
- karmelapple 8y ago
  I’ll throw another anecdote on the pile that I really hoped WP would be great, but after multiple trips back to the store to get my glasses adjusted and even have new lenses put in, I won’t be going with them for my next pair. The cheap glasses from Zenni Optical I got years ago had better lenses with no problems, unlike Warby Parker. It’s the biggest disappointment in buying glasses in my 18 years of wearing glasses.
- bdavis__ 8y ago
  I have been buying glasses from my optometrist for decades. A pair runs about $500, after insurance. Dropped by Warby Parker on a lark (they have a store a few miles away). The glass tech looked over my glasses and told me the optical center was wrong by a bit; OK for 99% of prescriptions but that error was significant due to my prescription. (my corrected vision is 20/50 in both eyes) Ordered 1 pair. Noticeably better eyesight. For about $200.
francisofascii 8y ago
Why would a quality pair of glasses have to cost $400? You can get a quality SLR camera for that, which would seem to have way more sophistication that a pair of glasses. What am I missing?
- 1zee 8y ago
  Insurance companies and Luxottica
  - pseudolus 8y ago
    Chances are that if you're buying glasses you're probably getting a brand that's directly owned by Luxottica (LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, Apex by Sunglass Hut, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Target Optical, Eyemed vision care plan, Glasses.com, Ray-Ban, Persol, Oakley, etc). They also manufacture for an impressive string of luxury brands (Chanel, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Miu Miu, DKNY, and Tory Burch). [0]. It's an impressive roll-up of a number of retailers and brands by a not widely known Italian company. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica
    - pm90 8y ago
      Its a monopoly that abuses its power to extract money from hapless consumers, most of whom just want a pair of decent eyeglasses to function. I've made a conscious decision to avoid purchasing from them as much as I can, but do continue to buy from Ray-Ban. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDdq2rIqAlM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDdq2rIqAlM
      - barry-cotter 8y ago
        33% of the US market is a monopoly? > The company says that the market is highly competitive, and their frames account for ~10% of sales worldwide and ~20% in the United States.[42][41] Euromonitor International estimates that Luxottica's market share is 14% worldwide, and the second-largest company in the industry, Essilor, has a 13% market share. The third-largest player is Johnson & Johnson, with a 3.9% market share. As of October 2018, Luxottica and Essilor have merged into a single company, EssilorLuxottica, representing almost a billion pairs of lenses and frames sold annually.
ajcodez 8y ago
> Cheap plastic. Interesting. On the WP website it says they use acetate from Italy which is usually differentiated from "plastic" in eyewear categories. Expensive plastic if you will. https://ca.warbyparker.com/how-our-glasses-are-made https://ca.warbyparker.com/how-our-glasses-are-made
eric_b 8y ago
Thank God someone else feels this way. I heard so much hype about WP, and their prices were so cheap. I bought two pairs of glasses from them. I wanted to love their product. But their glasses are terrible, for all the reasons you mentioned, plus many others. I switched back to extortionately priced designer frames/lenses the minute I could. I'll never consider another pair of glasses from WP. Absolute garbage.
gnicholas 8y ago
I recently went into their Palo Alto store to check out their sunglasses. When I asked if they have anti-reflective coating, I was told that they were polarized, which is better. I pointed out that there is no tradeoff between anti-reflective coating (which is applied to the back of lenses) and polarization, and the salesperson parroted the same line without seeming to understand that she was missing the point. Anti-reflective coating is especially important for glasses shaped like theirs, which have minimal 'wrap' and therefore can reflect a lot of light from behind you directly into your eyes.
- caro_douglos 8y ago
  If someone is in the neighborhood you can do a good comparison between customer service, quality of glasses, and store vibe in a short amount of time. Go to WP store in Union square, make your way to Spectacles, then hit up Rims & Goggles on Sutter. It's a short walk to Oliver Peeps from Spectacles too. For kicks go into Sunglass hut. WP is good for in a pinch but the quality of the glasses and treatment you get from your optometrist or a 'boutique' can make a huge difference for something you wear for work...everyday. It's akin to NPR's guilt trip during fundraising time. If you do the math it's a relatively low cost per wear. + it's something that can help you feel less strain at the end of the work day.
wyclif 8y ago
WP has good CS, but the quality of their offerings is lacking in my experience. The frames are nothing special, either in terms of design or construction. A lot of the frames are constructed from cheap plastic. And I don't think many WP frames offer features essential to durability like 5 barrel hinges instead of flimsy spring hinges. I'd recommend Shuron over WP any day of the week. Made in the USA by a company that's been in business since 1865. Frames in acetate, and they offer real sizing to fit your head instead of a choice of "small" and "big" options. Barrel hinges, too: http://www.shuron.com/ http://www.shuron.com/ Shuron has great customer service, but they sure could use some help with their site which seems to be stuck in a 1998 web design paradigm. Quality frames at a good price, though! Where WP has innovated is in online sales of "good enough" glasses for young people, as a taste proxy, and in fluffy content marketing like this article. But you can break out of the Luxottica eyeglass cartel of high prices and low quality by avoiding WP completely and going to Shuron and getting yourself a pair of Ronsir, Freeway, or Sidewinder frames. You'll save money, too.
- Kihashi 8y ago
  Hmm. I'm in the market for new glasses as I think my prescription has changed. I purchased my previous pair from WP and I found the experience to be quite nice. I was able to get on their site and sort/filter by men's/women's styles, color, shape, and size. I was able to easily select 5 that were the right shape for my face and the right size and then try them on at home and get the one I wanted. Does Shuron offer that sort of experience? Looking at their site, I just see a list of glasses. I don't see a way to easily filter that down to ones that apply to me (narrow, rectangular). Part of the appeal of WP to me was the ease of getting something that I thought looked good and fit good at a reasonable price. Without some sort of way to search/curate, I don't think Shuron competes with that. Of xourse, that's only the buying experience and doesn't pertain to the quality of the product and the customer service after buying. > they offer real sizing to fit your head instead of a choice of "small" and "big" options I'm confused by this. Is that not what something like WP[1] has (see the measurements details)? [1]: https://www.warbyparker.com/eyeglasses/men/oliver-lbf/whiskey-tortoise https://www.warbyparker.com/eyeglasses/men/oliver-lbf/whiske...
  - 8y ago
barry-cotter 8y ago
I am suddenly so glad to live in China. I can get three pairs of glasses for ¥600, thin, polarised, with anti-scratch coating and my friend whose vision is bad enough that he’s probably legally blind without glasses can do the same. At those kind of prices I’m not surprised people bring sunglasses home as gifts.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- scruffyherder 8y ago
  China removes the fantasy layering of technology of the west, and bares it for what it is. Cheap plastics. It always amazes me to see tech in scale sold for a fraction of what I thought was possible. Spending an afternoon in Huaqiangbei is something any geek should do once in their life.

by 013a 8y ago

hn_throwaway_99 8y ago

As long as we're in anecdote world, I'll offer that I've had nothing but positive experiences with Warby Parker. To take your examples: 1. "Cheap plastic". Is there expensive plastic, really? I've owned much more expensive (but still plastic-framed) glasses and have never noticed a difference in quality. 2. "Very poor fit". Fair enough, I will offer though that I had a fitting at one of their brick-and-mortar locations and the glasses I got fit very well. 3. "Lenses that easily scratched". The details on their lens offerings are here, https://www.warbyparker.com/lenses https://www.warbyparker.com/lenses . Again, not a problem I have encountered. I don't doubt that there are better glasses than Warby Parker, but I'd bet that they're as good as if not better than basically everything up to the 90ish percentile range.

karmelapple 8y ago
I’ll throw another anecdote on the pile that I really hoped WP would be great, but after multiple trips back to the store to get my glasses adjusted and even have new lenses put in, I won’t be going with them for my next pair. The cheap glasses from Zenni Optical I got years ago had better lenses with no problems, unlike Warby Parker. It’s the biggest disappointment in buying glasses in my 18 years of wearing glasses.
bdavis__ 8y ago
I have been buying glasses from my optometrist for decades. A pair runs about $500, after insurance. Dropped by Warby Parker on a lark (they have a store a few miles away). The glass tech looked over my glasses and told me the optical center was wrong by a bit; OK for 99% of prescriptions but that error was significant due to my prescription. (my corrected vision is 20/50 in both eyes) Ordered 1 pair. Noticeably better eyesight. For about $200.

francisofascii 8y ago

Why would a quality pair of glasses have to cost $400? You can get a quality SLR camera for that, which would seem to have way more sophistication that a pair of glasses. What am I missing?

1zee 8y ago
Insurance companies and Luxottica
- pseudolus 8y ago
  Chances are that if you're buying glasses you're probably getting a brand that's directly owned by Luxottica (LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, Apex by Sunglass Hut, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Target Optical, Eyemed vision care plan, Glasses.com, Ray-Ban, Persol, Oakley, etc). They also manufacture for an impressive string of luxury brands (Chanel, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Miu Miu, DKNY, and Tory Burch). [0]. It's an impressive roll-up of a number of retailers and brands by a not widely known Italian company. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica
  - pm90 8y ago
    Its a monopoly that abuses its power to extract money from hapless consumers, most of whom just want a pair of decent eyeglasses to function. I've made a conscious decision to avoid purchasing from them as much as I can, but do continue to buy from Ray-Ban. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDdq2rIqAlM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDdq2rIqAlM
    - barry-cotter 8y ago
      33% of the US market is a monopoly? > The company says that the market is highly competitive, and their frames account for ~10% of sales worldwide and ~20% in the United States.[42][41] Euromonitor International estimates that Luxottica's market share is 14% worldwide, and the second-largest company in the industry, Essilor, has a 13% market share. The third-largest player is Johnson & Johnson, with a 3.9% market share. As of October 2018, Luxottica and Essilor have merged into a single company, EssilorLuxottica, representing almost a billion pairs of lenses and frames sold annually.

ajcodez 8y ago

> Cheap plastic. Interesting. On the WP website it says they use acetate from Italy which is usually differentiated from "plastic" in eyewear categories. Expensive plastic if you will. https://ca.warbyparker.com/how-our-glasses-are-made https://ca.warbyparker.com/how-our-glasses-are-made

eric_b 8y ago

Thank God someone else feels this way. I heard so much hype about WP, and their prices were so cheap. I bought two pairs of glasses from them. I wanted to love their product. But their glasses are terrible, for all the reasons you mentioned, plus many others. I switched back to extortionately priced designer frames/lenses the minute I could. I'll never consider another pair of glasses from WP. Absolute garbage.

gnicholas 8y ago

I recently went into their Palo Alto store to check out their sunglasses. When I asked if they have anti-reflective coating, I was told that they were polarized, which is better. I pointed out that there is no tradeoff between anti-reflective coating (which is applied to the back of lenses) and polarization, and the salesperson parroted the same line without seeming to understand that she was missing the point. Anti-reflective coating is especially important for glasses shaped like theirs, which have minimal 'wrap' and therefore can reflect a lot of light from behind you directly into your eyes.

caro_douglos 8y ago
If someone is in the neighborhood you can do a good comparison between customer service, quality of glasses, and store vibe in a short amount of time. Go to WP store in Union square, make your way to Spectacles, then hit up Rims & Goggles on Sutter. It's a short walk to Oliver Peeps from Spectacles too. For kicks go into Sunglass hut. WP is good for in a pinch but the quality of the glasses and treatment you get from your optometrist or a 'boutique' can make a huge difference for something you wear for work...everyday. It's akin to NPR's guilt trip during fundraising time. If you do the math it's a relatively low cost per wear. + it's something that can help you feel less strain at the end of the work day.

wyclif 8y ago

WP has good CS, but the quality of their offerings is lacking in my experience. The frames are nothing special, either in terms of design or construction. A lot of the frames are constructed from cheap plastic. And I don't think many WP frames offer features essential to durability like 5 barrel hinges instead of flimsy spring hinges. I'd recommend Shuron over WP any day of the week. Made in the USA by a company that's been in business since 1865. Frames in acetate, and they offer real sizing to fit your head instead of a choice of "small" and "big" options. Barrel hinges, too: http://www.shuron.com/ http://www.shuron.com/ Shuron has great customer service, but they sure could use some help with their site which seems to be stuck in a 1998 web design paradigm. Quality frames at a good price, though! Where WP has innovated is in online sales of "good enough" glasses for young people, as a taste proxy, and in fluffy content marketing like this article. But you can break out of the Luxottica eyeglass cartel of high prices and low quality by avoiding WP completely and going to Shuron and getting yourself a pair of Ronsir, Freeway, or Sidewinder frames. You'll save money, too.

Kihashi 8y ago
Hmm. I'm in the market for new glasses as I think my prescription has changed. I purchased my previous pair from WP and I found the experience to be quite nice. I was able to get on their site and sort/filter by men's/women's styles, color, shape, and size. I was able to easily select 5 that were the right shape for my face and the right size and then try them on at home and get the one I wanted. Does Shuron offer that sort of experience? Looking at their site, I just see a list of glasses. I don't see a way to easily filter that down to ones that apply to me (narrow, rectangular). Part of the appeal of WP to me was the ease of getting something that I thought looked good and fit good at a reasonable price. Without some sort of way to search/curate, I don't think Shuron competes with that. Of xourse, that's only the buying experience and doesn't pertain to the quality of the product and the customer service after buying. > they offer real sizing to fit your head instead of a choice of "small" and "big" options I'm confused by this. Is that not what something like WP[1] has (see the measurements details)? [1]: https://www.warbyparker.com/eyeglasses/men/oliver-lbf/whiskey-tortoise https://www.warbyparker.com/eyeglasses/men/oliver-lbf/whiske...
- 8y ago

barry-cotter 8y ago

I am suddenly so glad to live in China. I can get three pairs of glasses for ¥600, thin, polarised, with anti-scratch coating and my friend whose vision is bad enough that he’s probably legally blind without glasses can do the same. At those kind of prices I’m not surprised people bring sunglasses home as gifts.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
scruffyherder 8y ago
China removes the fantasy layering of technology of the west, and bares it for what it is. Cheap plastics. It always amazes me to see tech in scale sold for a fraction of what I thought was possible. Spending an afternoon in Huaqiangbei is something any geek should do once in their life.