I just bought a pair of eyeglasses and sunglasses last week to use out my benefits from work. My previous pair I purchased online from Coastal Contacts. Those c

I just bought a pair of eyeglasses and sunglasses last week to use out my benefits from work. My previous pair I purchased online from Coastal Contacts. Those cost my ~$175. I spent ~$600 on my eyeglasses and sunglasses at a local optometrist this week, after my insurance coverage. This time around, it was a lot easier. The ladies there picked a bunch of frames they thought would look good on me, and had me try them on. I had both pairs picked within 30 minutes. On Coastal Contacts, I took almost a week to finally decide on a pair. Is it worth the vast difference in price? Debatable. I do like these glasses, they look a lot better. But overall, the experience was better. I'd probably do it again, but only because I can afford it. I do understand that spending ~$300 for glasses is untenable for many folks, and the online shops do a great job of fulfilling that need. That being said, I watched this whole video, and I think that the Luxottica brand is amazing. Here's a scrappy little shop in the Italian Alps that went from a small factory in the 60s to having over $9bil in sales last year in 50+ years. Not only do they own and make several eyewear brands, they own retail stores, and they even own an insurance provider. You can lament their monopoly all you want, but I think they're an excellent example of what hard work and tenacity can produce. Since many of us are aspiring founders, we can only hope to achieve such market dominance. Also, that CEO handled that interview extremely well.