Get Better Glasses! - Commentary

The Wallstreet Journal on internet eyewear stores

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:52:47 -0400

Even though this article is from way back in 2005, I just tracked it down today. Its primary focus is on designer online retailers that offer true apples-to-apples with what you'll find in your local optometrist (hint: check for the serial number on your frames and do a search at bestbuyeyeglass). One point I found interesting from the article is these sites' unique ability to serve Americans living abroad who simply don't have access to an American optometrist.

Brick-and-Mortar optometrists have a problem: the rise of Web sites that sell eyewear at a steep discount.
A dozen or so Web-only companies including BestBuyEyeglasses.com and GlassesOnWeb.com now offer thousands of designer frames at prices as much as $75 less than conventional optometrists. While data on this still small sector are sparse, the sites say sales of eyeglasses online have grown steadily over the past few years...
continue reading the article publishedin the Wall Street Journal (direct PDF link)

Welcome FMF Readers!

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:30:00 -0500

I am thrilled to have had an article of mine posted over at Free Money Finance, one of the great personal finance weblogs. As a PF and budgeting junkie myself, purchasing prescription eyewear over the internet was a natural fit for my lifestyle. The quality to price ratio is incredible compared to what I was used to paying at a traditional optometrist, or even somewhere like Wal-Mart or Target.

So where do you go from here? The following posts will get you started:
From Square One: How to Buy your Next Pair of Glasses Online
This is Why Glasses at Brick and Mortar Stores are so Expensive
Use your Health Savings Account to buy Glasses Online
Dig those Retro Eyeglasses (Shuron Frames)
An eHow HowTo: How to Buy Eyewear Online
Eyewear Trends: Aviator Sunglasses
Give Better Glasses: Mission for Vision (maybe use some of that money you saved to help out an organization like this!)

Another moderately interesting post might be my first ever, which includes a video showing exactly what I received from a popular online eyewear retailer.

Enjoy all the money you'll save! I've been trying to build my emergency funds, and cutting costs really helps in that effort!

Email me or leave a comment with any questions or comments!

Weekend Surfing: Questions about Eyeglasses

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 01:16:50 -0500

From time to time I'll surf over to Yahoo answers and respond to various questions about how to buy eyewear online. For a little weekend reading, I found a few interesting questions:

TheChosenOne asks, "How do you safely clean your eyeglasses?"
Binky asks, "Where can I buy these [Baby Phat] eyeglasses?"
Overcast ponders, "If eyeglasses did not exist in ancient history, how did people with poor vision see?"
Tictact needed advice, "[What are good] choices of eyeglasses for broad and chubby face?"

and easily my favorite:
"Can eyeglasses change the size of your ears?"

I wish all of you a great weekend. It is a beautiful day here in Colorado, I should probably go skiing...

The Promise and Potential of Stenopeic Eyeglasses

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:33:37 -0500

Every once in a while, I see design that makes me rethink the status quo and the technologies we've developed to accomplish certain tasks. One such design I find in pinhole glasses, based on the principle of stenopeic vision, or narrowing the beams of light that enter the eye.

In the US, stenopeic or pinhole glasses are often used to treat people who have cataracts. In developing countries, they open up a world of possibilities for correcting the vision of millions of people. Simple plastic glasses or goggles can be manufactured for a tiny fraction of the cost of lens-based glasses and they are more durable.

Stenop - Low Cost Glasses by Nacho Marti
Stenop are correcting glasses designed to poor people around the world with vision problems that can’t afford expensive crystal glasses. Glasses are replaced by rows of small holes using the concept of stenopeic vision. These holes have the effect of reducing the width of the bundle of diverging rays coming from each point of the viewed object. Just central rays reach the retina avoiding focusing errors. Stenop glasses can reduce 80% of myopia, hyperopia and presbyopia. The glasses are plastic made in one single piece and mass produced. They have a very low cost and can be heavily distributed worldwide around kids of poor schools. They are durable and can be done in different colors depending types of skin.

Another article on this revolutionary idea, this time from Ode Magazine

Clear Vision - Craig Cox
At 41, Adimulam Devanand was losing his eyesight. A tailor and father of two children in the village of Gopal Pet, India, Devanand had turned over all the sewing work to his wife before finally seeking help at a local clinic. He was diagnosed with presbyopia, a vision disorder that gradually robs the eyes of their ability to focus.
A few years ago, Devanand would have returned to his shop with little hope of working again, but through an innovative micro-enterprise program, he was able to purchase a pair of glasses for 150 rupees (about $3.75) and get back on the job. “Now I can share all the work with my wife,” Devanand told the International Herald Tribune, “and business has doubled, thanks to my glasses.”

Devanand is one of an estimated 1 billion people worldwide whose poor vision has prevented them from pursuing a trade or education that could rescue them from poverty...

Click for Full Article

Want to help this cause? Check out the Scojo Foundation. They are one of many organizations working hard to make poverty history. Their approach? Let the people see!

[Technorati Tags: Poverty, , Stenopeic Vision, Eyewear, Innovation, Design, Eyewear Trends,

Luxottica takes Lenscrafters to China

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:49:09 -0500

Luxottica, the one-thousand pound gorilla of the eyewear industry, and the owner of Lenscrafters, announced that they will be bringing around 1,000 eyewear outlets to China. Basically, there will be Lenscrafter stores all over the affluent parts of China (sorry, Western China). At over $100 a pop for a simple pair of glasses, Luxottica will have to work hard to differentiate their product from that available from online retailers for about 1/3 of the price. In the United States, mid-range Lenscrafter glasses are indistinguishable from those purchased online at a fraction of the price. Beyond that, Lenscrafters have an army of dissatisfied customers. I will be the bigger man, however, and I say to Luxottica, good luck in China!

Luxottica aims for 1,000 China outlets in 5 years
SHANGHAI, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Luxottica, the world's biggest eyewear maker, plans to nearly quadruple its retail outlets in mainland China and Hong Kong to about 1,000 in five years, banking on robust demand in the fast-growing economy, its global chief executive said.

The maker of RayBan sunglasses is increasingly focusing on China, where it now operates two of its eight manufacturing plants worldwide.

It rolled out the LensCrafters brand to its Chinese stores in 2006 and operates 266 outlets in China and Hong Kong, out of about 5,900 globally, selling its house brands of eyewear as well as licensed brands such as Bulgari, Versace and Polo Ralph Lauren, Andrea Guerra told reporters in Shanghai on Thursday.

"Obviously it would take time," Guerra said. "But I am sure that in the next five years we will be in the region of 1,000 stores."

Sales in the mainland and Hong Kong could come to 100 million euros ($147 million) next year, up from its 2007 target of 75 million euros, said the 42-year-old chief executive.

To maintain the momentum, the Italian eyewear maker will invest 10 million to 15 million euros annually in the country in the next three years, he added.

Globally, Luxottica's 2007 sales target is around 5 billion euros, rising to 5.7 billion euros next year on a pro forma basis.

MINOR ACQUISITIONS
Luxottica, founded nearly half a century ago in northeastern Italy, has grown through a series of acquisitions, including its 1995 takeover of optical chain LensCrafters which gave it a foothold in North America.

It is in the process of acquiring U.S. sunglass maker Oakley and expects to close the $2.1 billion all-cash deal in the middle of the month.

The Italian eyewear maker is also acquisitive in China, where it has snapped up three eyewear retailers in major cities.

Guerra, whose career had included a stint in the Marriott Corp, said his firm would focus mostly on organic growth in the next five years but did not rule out minor acquisitions.

Luxottica's eyewear, priced at 1,300 to 3,000 yuan ($175-$404), targets the medium- to high-end segment, particularly professionals aged 25 to 40.

Guerra saw great potential for China's eyewear market, especially for sunglasses, which as elsewhere in Asia are an increasingly important fashion statement.

He noted the rapid rise in popularity of sunglasses in Japan.

"In the beginning of the '90s there were basically no sunglasses," he said, although in 2007 one-fifth of the population wears sunglasses.

Roughly 1 percent of China's 1.3 billion population wears sunglasses, compared with 25 percent in North America and 50 percent in western Europe, he added. ($1=.6803 Euro) ($1=7.420 Yuan) (Reporting by Fang Yan)

[Technorati Tags: China, Luxottica, Eyewear, Glasses Online, Discount Eyeglasses, Globalization, Globalisation]

china, discount eyeglasses, eyewear, glasses online, globalisation, globalization, luxottica

Give Better Glasses: Mission for Vision

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 16:54:18 -0500

Millions of people throughout the world cannot lead a normal life because they cannot see. Eye doctors and corrective lenses are distant and prohibitively expensive. People go through life not being able to read a chalkboard or perform community and household work regularly because they simply can't see. A couple weeks back, I posted about a US-Based Charity for Vision.

Today I'm plugging the UK-based, Mission for Vision. Here is an example of a 2005 project:

Location:
Base Camp: Kabujogera 8 hours drive south west of Kampala close to Lake George.

Team: There were ten members comprising of 3 optometrists, 2 dispensing opticians, 2 structural engineers, a counsellor, a nurse and a teacher.

What was achieved: This time they linked in with two local ophthalmic nurses and were able to improve their effectiveness by supplying medication for eye disease to nearly 1000 people and Mission for Vision funded 60 cataract operations.

The team worked in two locations starting in the village of Mahyoro on the banks of Lake George and then Kabujogera.

During 6 days 2,300 were seen and 1400 were prescribed life changing glasses.

The work was carried out with the help of a large team from the local churches who supplied interpreters, cooks and drivers. Christian ministry was carried out during the eye care program.

Organizations like Mission for Vision help to restore my faith in humanity. Brits, I encourage you to donate cash or your old glasses to this fine organization.

US Citizens, don't forgot to donate to New Eyes for the Needy if you are able.

We can all make a difference in the lives of people throughout the world.

This is Why Glasses at Brick and Mortar Stores are so Expensive

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:34:11 -0500

At David Friedman's blog, he asks, why are glass not bought online so expensive? My response is below his post, which is quoted here.

The Price of Eyeglasses
I recently bought two pair of prescription glasses from an online source that had been recommended to me. The total price, shipping included, was about $40. I estimate that buying two pair at one of the less expensive local sources, such as Costco, would have cost at least five times as much, perhaps more.

This raises an obvious puzzle--why are they so much more expensive bought in the usual way. If Zenni Optical can sell them online for under $20/pair, why doesn't someone set up selling them for, say, $40/pair in the mall and make a fortune on volume? Three possibilities occur to me.

1. The online glasses are of inferior quality. So far as I can tell--I'm wearing one of the pairs at the moment--that is not the case.

2. Economics is wrong; markets don't work. Consumers are irrational, or so badly informed that they wouldn't notice if one seller cost less than half as much as another, or ... . This does not strike me as plausible.

3. Competition among ordinary sellers is constrained by regulatory rules, probably at the state level. I know there is some regulation of the industry but don't know the details. Given that I am both a libertarian and an economist this strikes me as the most plausible explanation.

Does anyone have more information on the subject?

Well David, since you asked, this is my theory: prescription eyewear was originally sold by mostly optometrist owned-and-operated shops. The O.D. was highly trained, had significant school debt, and high salary expectations. Beyond this, s/he had a relatively small base of customers. After all, how many people can an optometrist even see in a day? Maybe 10 at most?

These two key factors--high earnings expectations and a small customer base--resulted in a predictable outcome: a need to charge high prices for prescription glasses. This was then reinforced by the emergent eye insurance industry, which distributed the $400 glasses and $150 exam into 12 neat, monthly insurance premiums covered by the patient's employer.

This went on for decades and decades. Local eye doctors held all of the expertise on eyesight and charged an amount reflective of their expertise, their brick and mortar presence and staff time, and their relatively low-volume of sales. A pair of glasses, therefore, would often cost well over $300.

Then came department stores. These stores brought a revolution to commodity shopping and drove smaller, low-volume mom & pops out of business. Their reach became ever more broad and eventually commoditized once specialized service-based industries such as hair-dressing and, yes, optometry.

But the big box retailers did not base their price on the true cost of providing a pair of eyeglasses. Instead, the cost was based on what consumers were "used to" paying, based on their experience at the local optometrist. The big box chopped 30% or 40% off this price and offered glasses that were priced very competitively in relation to the local ecomony, but did still not reflect the true perfect-competition price of eyewear.

Fast forward a few years. The internet democratizes information, levels the playing field, and allows for some real competition in the eyewear industry. Beyond this, companies could reach a worldwide customer base and could rely on an eye examination done elsewhere. Technology smoothed the process of providing a custom product to hundreds of thousands of consumers, and the once specialized, individualized experience of buying glasses from an individual, highly-paid eye doctor, became simply a matter of filling an order.

That, I believe, is why glasses are so expensive when bought in the usual way.

[Technorati Tags: Glasses Online, Economics, Eyewear, Saving Money]

economics, eyewear, glasses online, saving money

How many pairs of glasses would you like?

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:23:53 -0500

This blogger is really digging her new glasses. Multiple pairs for multiple occasions. I dig. I also love the comments, particularly:

My eye doctor has used the same chart for so long, I have the letters memorized. Can never tell whether I’m reading them from memory or actual sight, but so far the prescriptions seem to work ok.

These would make me funky. From Goggles4U

I'd love to have three or four pairs. I think I'd do it like this:
1st: Professional workglasses (titanium barely-noticeable frame, have these)
2nd: Prescription sunglasses (aviators, have these)
3rd: Funky plastic frame
4th: Designer something-or-other

These designers would make me sophisticated. (It just takes new glasses, right?)

I only have the first of those two pairs, but with the wonders of buying glasses online, I hope to get the third and fourth pairs sometimes soon...and preferably for less than $150 combined (designer frames can run around $100 online).

[Technorati Tags:Glasses,Eyewear]

eyeglasses, eyewear

Give Better Glasses: New Eyes for the Needy

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 09:03:49 -0400

Hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world and in the United States cannot function normally or perform day-to-day tasks for one simple reason: they cannot see clearly. Beyond practical reasons, imagine not being able to clearly see your children or loved ones--not knowing their smile or dimples or the way their eyes wrinkle when they laugh. In the developing world, children and adults often don't have access to or the money for very basic vision correction. Here in the United States, many families cannot afford eye examinations or the corrective lenses that they need. Enter "New Eyes for the Needy." This non-profit humanitarian organization was founded in 1932. Last year they provided over 355,000 pairs of eyeglasses to people in the developing world. The organization helped purchase over 6,800 pairs of glasses for people in the United States.

I am issuing a challenge to my readers. Rather than getting your glasses through a retailer, buy your glasses online (from any of the merchants shown on the right or through an independent google search) and donate half of the difference to New Eyes for the Needy. If you normally spend $200 on glasses, get a similar pair online for $50 and donate $75, or half of the $150 difference. Together, we can make a difference. If you cannot afford to donate right now, I challenge you to simply send your old eyeglasses to the organization. They will be refurbished and bring new life to an individual in a developing country. Send your unused eyeglasses (and maybe your friends' too!) to: New Eyes for the Needy 549 Millburn Avenue PO Box 332 Short Hills, NJ 07078 There are other ways to help to. Learn more at the New Eyes for the Needy web page at neweyesfortheneedy.org [Technorati: NGO, Glasses]

You can NOT be charged or refused your contact prescription!

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:42:00 -0400

I am not terribly familiar with the world of contact lenses. I wear glasses exclusively. But lots of people who wear contacts also wear glasses part-time. Until recently, it was a frequent practice of eye doctors to refuse to give contact wearers their own prescription after it was measured. This meant that if you went to get fitted for contacts, you would be forced to continue to buy contacts from that eye doctor in the future, because they would not release your prescription. Eye doctors, of course, feared their patients would get mail order contacts in future.

A law passed, titled "Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act" that requires your eye doctor to provide your contact lens prescription after fitting you for contacts.

How does this apply to glasses? You can use your prescription for your contacts to fill a prescription for glasses. Therefore, you can use your contact prescription to order glasses online. Note, however, that you can NOT use a glasses prescription to fill a contact prescription. This is because a contact prescription has additional information about the shape of the eye.

As an additional note, your eye doctor also cannot refuse to provide your prescription for glasses, but this law has been around since the 1970s. So, if you have been fitted for glasses by a particular optometrist, your doctor is legally obliged to provide your prescription upon request.

Don't let an optometrist say, "we can't/don't provide that information." You have a legal right to your own prescription.

Over at The Consumerist, a blogger provides a few more details.

Vision Care for Kids Act

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:05:00 -0400

I just read about the recently passed "Vision Care for Kids Act". The act will allow the federal government to provide grant money to states that is to be used for comprehensive eye examinations for children. In other words, kids around the country will be able to get free or low-cost eye exams. Note that while the act will pay for eye exams it will not pay for corrective lenses (i.e. eyeglasses). I think this is a real opportunity for parents to take advantage of the online stores for eyeglasses in order to give their children the vision necessary to succeed in life (is that being to dramatic? i think not). With the help of this act, working class families will be able to provide glasses to their children for the cost of buying glasses online--often less than $40. I for one, am impressed. Here is a video from the House Floor discussing this act:

True Capitalism

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 08:00:00 -0400

Is the internet creating a level playing field?

Over at My money blog, a poster speaks of the joys of buying glasses online. Several comments reflect the feeling of, "wow, what a great idea!" The story, as told on the blog, is that a Lenscrafters employee buys the very equipment they use at the store and starts making $28 glasses from home. It seems to me that the internet is leveling the free-market playing field in ways that weren't even imaginable 15 years ago. Might it be that the internet is bringing back true capitalism, starting with eyeglasses?

Yeah, but what about the eye exam?

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:01:12 -0400

If you want to buy glasses online, you've got to have a prescription. Where can you get this? Check the local papers. For folks in the east, I found that Cohen's has a coupon for a $20 eye exam. Don't buy their overpriced glasses, of course.

When I used to live near downtown Cincinnati, I found that working class neighborhoods where most folks didn't have insurance often offered eye exams for $15-$30.

The most expensive place to have your peepers checked out would be a suburban eye clinic. These places expect insurance and charge out the nose. I went to such a place and was charged $110 for the eye exam needed for my Peace Corps application.