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Comment by streptomycin | Hacker News Reader

I've been using Zenni Optical, which I guess is disrupting the broken system of Warby Parker by undercutting their prices by yet another factor of 5, just like Warby Parker did to brick and mortar stores.

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I think Zenni and other discount etailers have been around much longer than WB has. I was browsing their sites in '06 or so, and the prices were low as mentioned. I guess WB took the game to a new level with much more intense marketing and branding, aided by the use of snazzy design and curated (ugh) glasses styles.

Nowadays lots of people know about WB but not about Zenni and the other mass-market retailers, which speaks to the success of WB's marketing efforts.

Long ago, I ordered from Zenni or one of their competitors, and they shipped the package directly from Pakistan, wrapped in paper and string with foreign writing all over it. That was interesting to find on my doorstep.

Nowadays I think they do bulk shipping to a US outpost, then ship on from there using USPS to save costs.

How is the product quality? Those are pretty low prices.

I'm not sure it's a great comparison as WP is delivering on several other levels beyond price. The Zenni buying experience is decidedly inferior.

Zenni is pretty cheap. I've broken several pairs, but at $8 you can kind of afford to throw them away. The frames are usually midgrade plastic. I usually order 3 or 4 pairs at a time, assuming I'm going to lose or break at least 2 pairs.

But despite the quality, theres some pretty stylish options that are perfect for people with no optical insurance :D

Also worth noting, the shipping time on Zenni takes forever. Forever being at least a couple weeks in my experience, but in fairness I haven't ordered recently.

I've bought three pairs of glasses from Zenni. The arm snapped off of my last pair. After that I bought two pair. At $30 each shipped, it's still worth it. The current pair I wear are comfortable and fairly strong (they withstand the beating my twin daughters give them).

The issue with Zenni (and others where the lenses are produced outside the country) is they don't have the stringent quality control standards for lenses you find in the US, Canada and Europe.

If you have a fairly common and simple prescription, go for it. If you need progressives or bifocals, you should probably avoid buying online.

I agree, and I generally get a couple of pairs from Zenni whenever I order for that reason (my toddler and my cat both like to knock the glasses off my face for a laugh). I haven't noticed that the quality of Zenni's lenses is worse than, say, Lenscrafters or any of the other "1-hour" shops here in the US. I like the try before you buy idea of WP, but they really don't have a lot of options (dig the monocle, though).

Product quality for Zenni, Goggles4U, and similar have all been excellent for me. I have titanium-flex half-rim glasses that look an awful lot like a pair one of my salescritters wears. Mine cost under $40. His... didn't.

If you have a normal range of eye correction and your face isn't too oddly shaped, I highly recommend these stores.

I've been wearing mine for ~3 years. No complaints.

The glasses are great, last a long time, and at their prices I can afford to buy a backup pair for when I inevitably step on mine.

The UI could use some work, true, but the savings on the frames is well worth the minimal inconvenience.

Is $95 for non-prescription polarized sunglasses really a deal?

The cost to produce a pair of $25 and a pair of $100 sunglasses really can't be that different. Charging $100 signals the product should be good...but would anyone be able to guess that price when handed a pair with the name obscured?

Maybe it's different for their prescription versions.

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