Eyeglasses


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Online eyeglasses

Here is a wonderful idea for saving a truckload of money on eyeglasses. You can order them online if you know what you are doing, and it is very easy to learn what you are doing.

Here is where it all started: Eyeglasses Stores are for Suckers. This has now expanded to here: Glassy Eyes.

The idea is that you can buy a pair of $300 eyeglasses for $50 or so, depending on your choices. So instead of having just one pair of glasses, why not have several in different colors and styles and still come out cheaper?

I learned about this here from a very happy blogger, who also gives good advice on getting measurements right: Adventures in $40 eyeglasses.

Apparently this field has one of the highest mark-up rates in the entire manufacturing economy. Here is a quote from a message sent to Glassy Eyes:

"As a retired Minneapolis optician I can tell you first hand that we bought our lenses in bulk and most single vision lenses cost less than $2.00 a pair, Bifocals and progressives cost us as much as $6.00 a pair. Frames ..Name brand, up to $10.00, same quality generics cost us much less. Online is the way I buy all of my eyewear, New glasses in under two weeks!"

"A pair of SV (single vision) stock poly Alize cost me $34, and carry a 2 year warranty. We sell 'em all day long for $199/pair, for a profit of $165/pair. Our capture rate for AR (anti-reflective coating) is about 90%. Also stock poly non coated, cost $6/pair and sell for $109...

Now show me the math where you can beat the $165 profit on a pair of SV (single vision) lenses. If you can, I'll still love you in the morning."

Here's the tip. Look around online, then head to the mall and compare.

Capitalism in practice, folks: high quality, better selection, excellent service, MUCH better price.

Good for capitalism!

Michael

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Capitalism in practice, folks: high quality, better selection, excellent service, MUCH better price.

Good for capitalism!

Michael

It's not 'capitalism' it's 'competition' :) but anyway thanks for the tip - should be in your new topic! I have always felt that the price of glasses was insane, look a tv for the same price as some frames and it makes you wonder. I will definitely check it out.

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Michael;

Good reply to GS.

I wish I had seen this item before last Sat when I went to Wal-Mart to get new glasses.

You still have to have your eyes checked by an eye doctor which adds to the cost. The eye doctor was in the Wal- Mart building which was very convenient.

Edited by Chris Grieb
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Eyeglasses are for mystics!

http://www.rebuildyourvision.com/

I assure you with dramatic government validated proof. I used to have to wear glasses as part of my driver's license requirements. And yes I still wear them to read small type. However, by exercising my eyes for instance by flying a plane and landing without my glasses; by not wearing my glasses in daily life -- I have re-strenthened my eyes. Now, the Great State of Michigan has given me a driver's license with no restriction for eyeglasses. I passed the government-administered official department of transportation bureau of licensing examination!!

You can, too!

(Maybe this needs to go in "Everyone is Wrong." (Sorrry.) ... but it's true! I passed the test... and I can land a plane without my glasses... what a quandry... what a dilemma... how to prove this Objectively?? oh, no! I forget about my avatar. Shucks, darn and heck, there I am wearing glasses... not just glasses, but the very bifocals I had made to order for flying... I am so embarrassed.... But, wait!! Yes!! As a true believer, I do not need to let the truth get in the way of an assertion..... (whew! close call...) )

Edited by Michael E. Marotta
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Over the years, there have been more than a few programs for people to improve their vision. I believe the granddaddy of them all was William H. Bates, an ophthalmologist, who survived into the 20th century. His techniques are still in use today. At one time they were also widely used, I think, by some public schoosl system in New York (later on the optometrists and ophthalmologists banded together to outlaw his work for a time--they didn't like the competition!).

Two of Bates's students were Margaret Darst Corbett and Charles R. Kelley (the latter was also a student of Wilhelm Reich). There is also a book by Dr. Marilyn Rosanes-Barrett (or Berrett--must check spelling), and I have run across more in the years since I took some classes from students of Charles Kelley's (with the old Radix Institute, 30+ years ago). I guess you could google this subject, and also look up these books on Amazon.com.

I wear glasses now, but for a time in my youth I did indeed see better with this kind of program. I'm unevenly nearsighted, and my eyes don't work together all that well, but I did notice a difference.

Now, however, I have blended lenses with titanium frames--two pairs, one specially made for computer use, and one for outside the house (such as driving). They were very pricy; between the examination, titanium frames, and the fancy lenses, I spent something like $1200 or $1300 for both pairs together. Ouch!

Maybe next time I need my prescription changed, I'll take advantage of the information which Michael has posted here.

I will say, though, that these glasses are the least intrusive ones I have ever worn. The thickness of the lenses, with the newer materials, is dramatically pared down from other glasses I've worn, and the trifocal progressive lenses don't distort my face nearly as much as older pairs do. Wish I could have had glasses like this back in high school!! B)

Eyeglasses are for mystics!

http://www.rebuildyourvision.com/

I assure you with dramatic government validated proof. I used to have to wear glasses as part of my driver's license requirements. And yes I still wear them to read small type. However, by exercising my eyes for instance by flying a plane and landing without my glasses; by not wearing my glasses in daily life -- I have re-strenthened my eyes. Now, the Great State of Michigan has given me a driver's license with no restriction for eyeglasses. I passed the government-administered official department of transportation bureau of licensing examination!!

You can, too!

(Maybe this needs to go in "Everyone is Wrong." (Sorrry.) ... but it's true! I passed the test... and I can land a plane without my glasses... what a quandry... what a dilemma... how to prove this Objectively?? oh, no! I forget about my avatar. Shucks, darn and heck, there I am wearing glasses... not just glasses, but the very bifocals I had made to order for flying... I am so embarrassed.... But, wait!! Yes!! As a true believer, I do not need to let the truth get in the way of an assertion..... (whew! close call...) )

Edited by Pam Maltzman
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Since I mentioned that I am getting new eyeglasses I might mention that the eye exam revealed my vision has improved. Since the older you get the worst your eyesight is supposed to get maybe someone can suggest why this is occurring.

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Shortly before I came to the US, a translator friend's wife had a video of a vision therapist that I watched. I learned several interesting techniques like palming, sunning and so forth. I tried to Google this just now to find the guy since I can't remember his name (he was from India and lives in California), but I did come across a different take on natural eye exercises based on the Bates method (which is the same the Indian guy used):

Eye-Related Quackery

I don't want to pop any bubbles, but I believe looking at several sides is a good idea before jumping in. Many people swear by natural eye strengthening and others, like the Quackwatch people, condemn it. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. The eye exercises I have done certainly made my eyes feel better. But the immediate sacrifice to my productivity would be too great for me to consider going cold turkey on eliminating glasses, or limiting my reading time to 30 minutes, etc. So I am stuck with glasses.

The thickness of the lenses, with the newer materials, is dramatically pared down from other glasses I've worn, and the trifocal progressive lenses don't distort my face nearly as much as older pairs do.

I bought some extremely expensive German trifocal progressive lenses in Brazil years ago. I explained to the eye doctor that I used the computer a lot, read a lot, but also drove a car and did many things that needed long vision (I am nearsighted). He sold me on the idea of these lenses and I bit.

But it was a terrible mistake for me. In order to read, I have to literally turn my head from side to side because the near-vision part is so small. For pocketbooks, that is not so bad, but for computer printouts, it makes me look like an idiot (in addition to feeling weird and irritating). Also, the medium range part for the computer does not satisfy me. Frankly, trying to use all three parts of this lens ticks me off something terrible.

I did not want to throw away my super-duper costly German lenses (out of stubbornness), so I solved the issue by using them for long distance only and getting a pair of glasses for medium and up-close viewing. It is not as convenient as everything on a single lens, but it serves me well.

Interestingly enough, I did improve my vision unwittingly by using the computer. I like first person shooter games for breaks from work (I am not picky, so I presently play Quake, but I went through Wolfgenstein, Doom and some others as time has gone on). I then read an article that these kinds of games improve vision because they give the eyes a workout, especially by traveling through environments with differing characteristics, distances and angles.

The improvement made my up-close lenses uncomfortable at times for reading, but still not for computer work. I will probably have to change them soon.

Since I mentioned that I am getting new eyeglasses I might mention that the eye exam revealed my vision has improved. Since the older you get the worst your eyesight is supposed to get maybe someone can suggest why this is occurring.

That's easy. Posting on OL greatly improves eyesight. I thought everyone knew that.

Michael

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Thanks, Michael M. I'm going to look into it. I've heard very good things about the program.

Barbara

Wow... Biloxi Blues, Neil Simon, the power of words... I was kidding about the website, but I went back and did the exercise there and, yes, this is the kind of eye work that I do anyway. When I wear my glasses for too long, I take them off and work without them. Small type in dark places is hard. But, as a numismatist, I use lenses all the time anyway. I suppose that in theory, if children did not lose so much productive time in government schools, we would be taught this and maybe all extend our visual ranges from grains of sand to the craters on the Moon, not superhuman, but the limits of human.

Also, I do have the gradual tri-focals myself and they are my least favorite for the reasons MSK gave, however, as a general solution, they are the ones I carry. The newest pair I seldom use. I decided to not play games with the eye doctor and I answered all the questions honestly and got a great pair of powerful bifocals. Small for coins and far away for the Moon and they hurt like the dickens after a few minutes. I hardly use them.

The glasses in my avatar were cut for flying, the near-sighted lower part being lower than the prescription called for so that I can see the instrument panel clearly. They work great for the car, also. I wear them on the street as my general sunglasses. But I take them off indoors, read books, etc., without them. At home, on my bedstand for that last read with the night light, I have a pair of $20 1.25-power diopters from the pharmacy.

All kidding aside, the eye works on muscles. Eyeglasses are like elevators. I usually take the stairs, but after a while, I take the elevator, too. Too much reliance on the lift cage is not good.

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  • 1 year later...
Since I mentioned that I am getting new eyeglasses I might mention that the eye exam revealed my vision has improved. Since the older you get the worst your eyesight is supposed to get maybe someone can suggest why this is occurring.

One of the afflictions of age is cataracts. The lens becomes progressively obstructed and eventually an operation to replace the natural lenses of the eye should be had.

I recently had the lenses in both my eyes replaced. After the operation I was able to see 20-20 for the first time in about 60 years. Unfortunately plastic lenses do not alter their shape so I have to use reading glasses for near focus work. This is no inconvenience since I have been wearing eye-glasses since I was nine years old.

One of the benefits I have received is being able to read the white on green road signs on the major highways a half mile before I get to them. Before my operation I had to get within a hundred feet to read them accurately.

Some vision defects cannot be cured without optical aids. For example extreme myopia. The eye is simply misshapen and cannot get a proper focus on the retina because the natural lenses cannot adapt. Likewise astigmatism. Some minor visual defects can be overcome by eye exercise (like lazy eye) and some can be alleviated by learning how to make better use of visual input. That is a "mental" process rather than a purely optical process. But most visual defects occur because the lenses cannot adapt, because of muscle weakness in lining up the eye to a near point focus or because the eye has become misshapen and distorted.

Ba'al Chatzaf

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  • 1 year later...

Wow, thanks... but I wonder if they deliver here and how much would it cost with all the duties? you know, the sad part is, often, the opportunities that come are so exclusive...few good businesses are willing to touch this part of the world with a 10 foot pole... They're out there, I'll keep looking!

Edited by David Lee
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  • 3 weeks later...

Online eyeglasses

Here is a wonderful idea for saving a truckload of money on eyeglasses. You can order them online if you know what you are doing, and it is very easy to learn what you are doing.

Here is where it all started: Eyeglasses Stores are for Suckers. This has now expanded to here: Glassy Eyes.

The idea is that you can buy a pair of $300 eyeglasses for $50 or so, depending on your choices. So instead of having just one pair of glasses, why not have several in different colors and styles and still come out cheaper?

I learned about this here from a very happy blogger, who also gives good advice on getting measurements right: Adventures in $40 eyeglasses.

Apparently this field has one of the highest mark-up rates in the entire manufacturing economy. Here is a quote from a message sent to Glassy Eyes:

"As a retired Minneapolis optician I can tell you first hand that we bought our lenses in bulk and most single vision lenses cost less than $2.00 a pair, Bifocals and progressives cost us as much as $6.00 a pair. Frames ..Name brand, up to $10.00, same quality generics cost us much less. Online is the way I buy all of my eyewear, New glasses in under two weeks!"

"A pair of SV (single vision) stock poly Alize cost me $34, and carry a 2 year warranty. We sell 'em all day long for $199/pair, for a profit of $165/pair. Our capture rate for AR (anti-reflective coating) is about 90%. Also stock poly non coated, cost $6/pair and sell for $109...

Now show me the math where you can beat the $165 profit on a pair of SV (single vision) lenses. If you can, I'll still love you in the morning."

Here's the tip. Look around online, then head to the mall and compare.

Capitalism in practice, folks: high quality, better selection, excellent service, MUCH better price.

Good for capitalism!

Michael

Thanks for the information! But you're using a retail store to see, touch, and try on the product that you intend to buy from that stores' online competitor (a condition that would not exist in a free market). And after you admonished general semanticist, do you understand Objectivism? "I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."

Edited by Bryce
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Since I mentioned that I am getting new eyeglasses I might mention that the eye exam revealed my vision has improved. Since the older you get the worst your eyesight is supposed to get maybe someone can suggest why this is occurring.

The shape of the eye changes with aging. As one ages, one becomes more "far sighted". In persons with myopia, this actually corrects or compensates for myopia and one becomes less "near sighted" as one ages.

Ba'al Chatzaf

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