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> I don't think that I'd ever pay more than $100 for a frame again. $100 sounds like it's ~10x what the price should actually be for simple plastic shapes, and

by smt88 4y ago

> I don't think that I'd ever pay more than $100 for a frame again. $100 sounds like it's ~10x what the price should actually be for simple plastic shapes, and it's probably more than 100x the actual cost to manufacture them.

ajmurmann 4y ago
You don't pay $100 on Zenni for simple glasses. I bought a pair of glasses there with metal frame, anti-glare and anti-fog coating for under $20 with shipping.
tikhonj 4y ago
I assume that's $100 including the lenses—seems like a reasonable price for something that requires custom high-precision manufacturing, although it would be great for the price to come down even further over time. I have a moderately strong prescription (with slight differences for each eye) and I got the best glasses I've ever had from Zenni for $72.90 + tax. Could have been $60 without a presumably overpriced anti-reflective coating. I don't remember how much my glasses cost from traditional sources, but I think it was on the order of $200–$300 after insurance.
- P_I_Staker 4y ago
  Normally when you say "frames" you mean lenses excluded.
- londons_explore 4y ago
  Lenses are no longer custom high precision manufacturing... In fact a 50 cent laser pointer has far more far more precise lenses than a pair of glasses. Lenses today tend to be polycarbonate plastic anyway - which means they can be produced rapidly like any other plastic moulding.
  - doikor 4y ago
    For a lot of people you can just take lenses from the production line and cut them to shape and be done but that is not always the case. Personally I always have to wait 2 to 3 weeks to get new glasses done as the lenses have to be made to spec and the lenses alone are around 350€ and no they are not any cheaper at any online retailer that operates here if they even offer to make lenses to my spec.
    - wikfwikf 4y ago
      Which country and what is special about your eyes or glasses? I have noticed that in France glasses with decent but standard frames cost around 5 times as much as in the UK. My suspicion is that the difference is related to how supplementary health insurance works in France rather than any special manufacturing requirements.
      - apocalyptic0n3 4y ago
        I'm not the OP but I just got new glasses and they were ~$500. The frames were about $180 (one of the cheaper sets in the store and about $60 more than I paid 2 years ago; yay inflation). So the lens were around $300 and took 2 weeks to produce. I have a severe case of Strabismus (Exotropia) and my left lens requires a prism in order to keep my eyes focused on the same target. The required prism has gotten strong over the years and as it has, the price of the prism has gone up as well. The prism alone added nearly $200 to my lens cost this time around. All that said, I imagine the lack of competition (the thread topic) is at least partly to blame for this. I highly doubt my glasses cost anywhere near that much, even if they are special.
      - doikor 4y ago
        Frames you can find for cheap if you look around a bit. The lenses cost a lot as I need massive amounts of prism (took me a bit of looking around to find an optometrist/eye doctor with equipment that could even measure it as it is outside of the range of normal measuring machines) on both to ensure that my eyes focus on the same point The amount of prism is now to the point that adding more is not really possible and thus if it gets worse next step is surgery on the muscles controlling the eyes or intentionally letting one eye look away. Over time the brain starts to ignore the other eye for focused vision (it would still get used for peripheral vision) But yeah without the prism the lenses are like 30€. Once you add prisms the lenses are around 350€.
- AlecSchueler 4y ago
  They explicitly said "more than $100 for a frame again."
- deepserket 4y ago
  i work at Luxottica in a subsidiary that sells finished lenses to opticians or semifinished lenses to labs, cheap plastic lenses go for 0.15€/pcs, the expensive lenses range between 10-15€ each
goosedragons 4y ago
My current frames were on clearance. They were $0.00. Marked down from like $200. Its all bullshit.

by smt88 4y ago

ajmurmann 4y ago

You don't pay $100 on Zenni for simple glasses. I bought a pair of glasses there with metal frame, anti-glare and anti-fog coating for under $20 with shipping.

tikhonj 4y ago

I assume that's $100 including the lenses—seems like a reasonable price for something that requires custom high-precision manufacturing, although it would be great for the price to come down even further over time. I have a moderately strong prescription (with slight differences for each eye) and I got the best glasses I've ever had from Zenni for $72.90 + tax. Could have been $60 without a presumably overpriced anti-reflective coating. I don't remember how much my glasses cost from traditional sources, but I think it was on the order of $200–$300 after insurance.

P_I_Staker 4y ago
Normally when you say "frames" you mean lenses excluded.
londons_explore 4y ago
Lenses are no longer custom high precision manufacturing... In fact a 50 cent laser pointer has far more far more precise lenses than a pair of glasses. Lenses today tend to be polycarbonate plastic anyway - which means they can be produced rapidly like any other plastic moulding.
- doikor 4y ago
  For a lot of people you can just take lenses from the production line and cut them to shape and be done but that is not always the case. Personally I always have to wait 2 to 3 weeks to get new glasses done as the lenses have to be made to spec and the lenses alone are around 350€ and no they are not any cheaper at any online retailer that operates here if they even offer to make lenses to my spec.
  - wikfwikf 4y ago
    Which country and what is special about your eyes or glasses? I have noticed that in France glasses with decent but standard frames cost around 5 times as much as in the UK. My suspicion is that the difference is related to how supplementary health insurance works in France rather than any special manufacturing requirements.
    - apocalyptic0n3 4y ago
      I'm not the OP but I just got new glasses and they were ~$500. The frames were about $180 (one of the cheaper sets in the store and about $60 more than I paid 2 years ago; yay inflation). So the lens were around $300 and took 2 weeks to produce. I have a severe case of Strabismus (Exotropia) and my left lens requires a prism in order to keep my eyes focused on the same target. The required prism has gotten strong over the years and as it has, the price of the prism has gone up as well. The prism alone added nearly $200 to my lens cost this time around. All that said, I imagine the lack of competition (the thread topic) is at least partly to blame for this. I highly doubt my glasses cost anywhere near that much, even if they are special.
    - doikor 4y ago
      Frames you can find for cheap if you look around a bit. The lenses cost a lot as I need massive amounts of prism (took me a bit of looking around to find an optometrist/eye doctor with equipment that could even measure it as it is outside of the range of normal measuring machines) on both to ensure that my eyes focus on the same point The amount of prism is now to the point that adding more is not really possible and thus if it gets worse next step is surgery on the muscles controlling the eyes or intentionally letting one eye look away. Over time the brain starts to ignore the other eye for focused vision (it would still get used for peripheral vision) But yeah without the prism the lenses are like 30€. Once you add prisms the lenses are around 350€.
AlecSchueler 4y ago
They explicitly said "more than $100 for a frame again."
deepserket 4y ago
i work at Luxottica in a subsidiary that sells finished lenses to opticians or semifinished lenses to labs, cheap plastic lenses go for 0.15€/pcs, the expensive lenses range between 10-15€ each

goosedragons 4y ago

My current frames were on clearance. They were $0.00. Marked down from like $200. Its all bullshit.