I echo your view. Here in Taiwan we have wide selection albeit non-branded frame plus prescription lens from about 20USD. I personally went with ic Berlin + Zeiss lens which was a lot more expensive. Still no where near the article’s USD800 example.
It's affordable for most of us to spend 20 bucks to buy a pair of glasses,but some glasses brand such as Baodao（formosa-optical）, it sells glasses too expensive,maybe we have to pay a few hundred dollars for a pair in mainland China.