Comment by wuliwong | Hacker News Reader

Comment by wuliwong | Hacker News Reader

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I've been wearing glasses for over 25 years, the last 5 or so years I've been buying them from Zenni and it has been great. The best pair of glasses I've ever owned were about $25 from Zenni. I used to wear contacts a lot more until I got that one pair from Zenni. Now I wear contacts a few times a month.

I had to get a new prescription, so I went to a Walmart. After, they said that they could replace the lenses in my Zenni frames. It was going to cost me $180-240 just for the lenses!

I have never researched the economics of all this but there is an option for cheap glasses in the US that anyone with access to the internet can use. I wonder why people are still paying so much?

The conclusion from the article:

>Why do glasses cost so damn much?

>Because this industry has been getting away with fleecing people for decades.

That's all well and good but the fact that there ARE cheap options out there still begs the question, why aren't people using them?

When I go to the eyeglasses store 90% of the glasses I try on look great on the shelf, but I hate they way they look on me, and that is after skipping those whose dimensions are more than 1 (units?) away from what I am currently wearing. I did not find Zenni's virtual mirror to be helpful at all. I can't think of any other product that benefits more from physically trying it.

If Zenni had a trial system, I would be all over them, but their restocking fees are too high to use returns as a trial, and I've heard reports that they don't accept empty frames for returns at all.

> Why aren't people using them?

I've converted several people, but not being able to touch them and try them on first appears to be a significant problem.

Actually, you need to be able to try them on to ensure that you get your OC (optical center) correct.

This isn't a problem for people with relatively low prescriptions, but the stronger your prescription, the more important it is to get this right.

Some online stores will try to get it from a photo, but your OC actually changes by how/where you wear your glasses along the bridge of your nose, and that in turn changes with the frame you wear.

So if you've got a low prescription, why not just go to the local pharmacy? They sell prescriptions as strong as +/- 3.5 over the counter for $15.

You get it measured by your eye doctor, then Zenni has a box for it.

They also give you a ruler with your first order, but it's crap, just have your doctor do it.

Lens and coating options are very poor at a local pharmacy. The styles will be extremely limited compared to the selection that the online retailers carry.

I'd pay a fee to "borrow" the empty frames of 3-5 selections from Zenni and then return them prior to ordering. I've had mixed success on fitment from Zenni.

I tried this. They wouldn't take the return of empty frames. In any case, the cost was cheap enough to try. The frame quality is good enough for the price.

Eyebuydirect will return/exchange any glasses within 14 days, lens included. Since they are owned by Essilor, the lens quality is comparable to retail stores. Some of their frames are good quality clones of designer eyewear costing 10x up.

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