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OMG, I need glasses! What would you do?
#11
(09-29-2020, 04:22 AM)rachel83az Wrote: Instead of going local, order glasses through Zenni. Zenni's been really good to me and they're super cheap compared to local glasses. The only thing you'll need, which your prescription probably doesn't have, is your PD or pupil distance. You can measure this yourself or you can go back to the eye doctor and insist they do it for you.

With Zenni so cheap, you can order multiple glasses for the same price as a single pair. You can order bifocals AND progressives AND individual glasses and still pay less than you'd pay at your local optician. This way you can discover for yourself what works best for you.

Word of advice: pay extra for the anti-oil coating. It makes cleaning your glasses sooooo much easier. I think it adds an extra $5 or $10 to each pair at Zenni but it will literally save you hours of work over the life of your glasses. My first pair of glasses was local and they wanted to charge something like $30 for that coating so I said no. The lack of coating makes them awful to wear because they need constant careful cleaning. And they don't even fit as well as the ones I got at Zenni.

Rachel83az, I'd support your suggestion for Zenni, but with a caveat.
I got progressives and love them, but I got them at... Costco? When I wanted to try Zenni, an optometrist who didn't sell glasses and didn't have a dog in the fight said that buying progressives online could cause problems with the lens having the three parts in the correct place for an individual's pupils. I don't think it was the PD; I think it was something else and it's specific to each size of lens and frame. (I think I'm remembering this correctly.)

How did I solve it and buy at Zenni? I looked for glasses from them that were as close in size and shape to what I'd gotten from ?Costco? and they work like a charm.

As most of you may know, there's a big Italian monopoly that produces something like 75% of ALL frames and a large percent of the lenses. They also own many of the ... what's the term when you own the chain? I mean like you own the coal mine, you own the train line, and you own the steel mills. Whatever that term is, that company's like that, too. This monopoly owns many of the eyeglass chains and optometry chains.

Don't you wonder why your cell phone can get more and more advanced, but the price doesn't increase significantly? And glasses, which really don't evolve much cost an outrageous price? Blame that Italian monopoly.
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#12
(09-30-2020, 10:37 AM)LongRoad Wrote: As most of you may know, there's a big Italian monopoly that produces something like 75% of ALL frames and a large percent of the lenses. They also own many of the ... what's the term when you own the chain? I mean like you own the coal mine, you own the train line, and you own the steel mills. Whatever that term is, that company's like that, too. This monopoly owns many of the eyeglass chains and optometry chains.

Supply chain? Interesting, I didn't know that about eyeglasses.

(09-30-2020, 10:37 AM)LongRoad Wrote: Don't you wonder why your cell phone can get more and more advanced, but the price doesn't increase significantly? And glasses, which really don't evolve much cost an outrageous price? Blame that Italian monopoly.

I guess I didn't think of the cost of eyeglasses as being outrageous until you made me consider it. And compared with the cost of reading glasses, they really are a lot.

Although it's not like there's anything seemingly hard to duplicate in that sort of manufacturing, so I can't help but wonder whether protectionism is also a factor.
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#13
I was getting really bad eye strain as well. What I've found that really helped is turning on Night Shift (that's what it's called on a Mac, not sure about others). Basically it reduces the amount of blue light that comes out and turns the screen a warmer color. I have it on all of my devices 24/7 and can hardly look at a screen without it. I never realized how bright screens were! You can also get blue-light blocking glasses with prescriptions.
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#14
(09-30-2020, 01:54 PM)SteveFoerster Wrote:
(09-30-2020, 10:37 AM)LongRoad Wrote: As most of you may know, there's a big Italian monopoly that produces something like 75% of ALL frames and a large percent of the lenses. They also own many of the ... what's the term when you own the chain? I mean like you own the coal mine, you own the train line, and you own the steel mills. Whatever that term is, that company's like that, too. This monopoly owns many of the eyeglass chains and optometry chains.

Supply chain? Interesting, I didn't know that about eyeglasses.

(09-30-2020, 10:37 AM)LongRoad Wrote: Don't you wonder why your cell phone can get more and more advanced, but the price doesn't increase significantly? And glasses, which really don't evolve much cost an outrageous price? Blame that Italian monopoly.

I guess I didn't think of the cost of eyeglasses as being outrageous until you made me consider it. And compared with the cost of reading glasses, they really are a lot.

Although it's not like there's anything seemingly hard to duplicate in that sort of manufacturing, so I can't help but wonder whether protectionism is also a factor.

It may be supply chain. Was it a term I learned in economics, or when I read about Robber Barons?

Yeah, if you do an Internet search of "Italian eye glass makers," or something like that, you'll find them. I think that the name begins with an "L."
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#15
It's pretty disgusting the monopoly they have on glasses. Gone are the days when it would take a trained optician hours to actually grind the glasses to the correct prescription. They now pop the blanks into a machine, the machine cuts them, and an optician or at least a trained technician briefly checks to make sure that they are correct. The same holds true whether your glasses cost $5 or $500. The exception is some really extreme prescriptions that still require special expertise.
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#16
I'm the only one of my siblings that doesn't work for an Italian company that makes machines used in the production of eyeglass lenses.....pretty good paying jobs.
But yes, monopoly....one of the biggest vision insurers in the US also has stakes with the largest frame manufacturer/distributor and is why your frame selection is limited to certain frames when using insurance. When I had that insurance, I got 2 covered pairs. I would use the coverage to get 1 pair immediately, usually something versatile and that required minimal out of pocket on my end. This way you get all the measurements needed for ordering others online later, and use that to get all the more specialized things like sunglasses or transition lenses,, what have you. Plus, I'd save the other covered pair in case I had some kind of emergency where I needed new glasses immediately and could get them at one of the big chains.
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#17
I have progressive bifocals for regular everyday, "computer" progressive bifocals (with the top being intermediate instead of distance) so I swap out the minute I sit at my computer, and then progressive bifocals for my sunglasses. Ugh!

Yes, they're pricy - and I have gotten them at different places - Sunglass World during a sale, Sears, JC Penney, Walmart, and Costco. All were perfectly fine. I haven't bought online, as they seem pricy once you start adding options. End up being the same price as the other places, so I'd rather do my glasses "locally" rather than online.
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#18
I had to get some new glasses recently as well.
I was worried about going in person and putting things on my face that someone else had recently had on their face.. Not very appropriate during a pandemic.
So I ordered online. First pair from excontacts took a month to arrive and had only one lense smh.
Shipped those back and ordered from Visionworks. They have a location less than a minute from my job. That way I can take them in if there are ever any problems, and have a warranty to cover any possible issues during the first year.
Definitely hunt for promotional codes if you don’t want to go through insurance or don’t have insurance.
I know when prescriptions are more “complicated”, things get very pricey. If you can hold out for Halloween, most companies will have sales for any given reason.
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#19
(10-06-2020, 11:42 AM)jcooke Wrote: I had to get some new glasses recently as well.
I was worried about going in person and putting things on my face that someone else had recently had on their face..  Not very appropriate during a pandemic.
...

When I went in to get glasses at Lenscrafters, they would hand you the frames you wanted to try on rather than let people wander around handling them, and would sanitize them after you were done. When I called them, they asked that I do some of my browsing online beforehand so that I could narrow my choices before arriving at the store.

BTW, their accident coverage is great if you're buying expensive frames or lenses. For $39, they'll replace your lenses or frames for a copayment ($25 for lenses, $50 for frames). My new snazzy Oakleys slid off my face in the parking lot (those mask straps DO get in the way) and got badly scratched. $25 is getting my $200+ lenses replaced.
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#20
Yes, having that extra coverage is great just in case "something" happens to the glasses. My pairs of glasses has everything BUT transitions, as that's an extremely expensive add-on that I can't afford. I rather keep a nice pair of sunglasses just for that. For reading or computer use, I also have another pair... but for going out and driving, I have issues seeing further.
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