Have done this multiple ways. Have inexpensive glasses in most rooms of house so I don't have to remember to bring them with me. Also found a pair of high end frames on discount and had one of the on line firms add my prescription. Basically got $250 glasses for about $150. Had them about a year and still doing well with both.
Progressive lenses require taking a measurement from the center of your pupil to the bottom of the deepest part of the lens. No on line company can do this accurately. You also need other measurements, and if not taken without the frame on your face what do you think the chances are it comes out right? (Full disclosure I am a license optician in CT for over 20 years) There are over 100 types of progressive lenses. Some came out in the 90's and some came out last week, there is a big difference how they work. Take a computer from 2000 and compare it to one today. On line or Costco you get the 2000 version of progressives. Most on line or Costco type place glasses offer no warranty on a product not designed to hold up as well. When you go to a private practice you pay for service, expertise, quality and that they will stand behind it. There are some ways to save money but remember you will use theses every day for a couple of years. I bet if you could only wear one shirt for the next 2 years it would be made well.
Five different quotes and Costco was the best by far.
Also those same private practices, as you know better than I, can give you a heads up on macro degeneration as well as other major optical and ophthalmalogical issues. I have only one set of eyes for life, and I'll pay what's necessary for their safety. I also like nice frames, so....
This is the biggest misnomer out there. Luxottica produces about 40 brands of eyewear (they buy the licensing rights to some of the biggest names you know) yet there are probably over 500 eyeglasses brands on the market today. As far as markup is concerned retail mark up based on the wholesale price is not any greater than almost anything else. One of the better quality company's takes 200 man hour for every frame it designs, and that has a cost. Other company's make cheap knock off's of the style for much less since there is less work to be done and the materials used are not nearly as good. There is a very wide price range for products but you often get what you pay for. You could buy a Ford Fiesta or a Mercedes both drive on the road but some people will pay more for the better built vehicle.
Misconception, not misnomer.
. Thanks for the information that I didn't know. My sense of it is based somewhat on this wikipedia explanation:
It is not the number of frame brands they sell, but yes, it's the insurance and retail outlets that are the thoughts behind there monopoly. There are many ways small independent doctors can compete and believe me we are tryingMisconception, not misnomer.
The company has been criticised for the high price of its brand-name glasses, such as Ray-Ban, Oakley, and several others. A 2012 60 Minutessegment focused on whether the company's extensive holdings in the industry were used to keep prices high. Luxottica owns not only a large portfolio of brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley but also retailers such as Sunglass Hut and Oliver Peoples, the optical departments at Target and Sears, as well as key eye insurance groups including the second largest glasses insurance firm in the US. It has been accused of operating a complete monopoly on the optical industry and overcharging for its products — for example, increasing the prices of Rayban sunglasses after buying the company as well as temporarily dropping Oakley from its frame design list, then when the company stock crashed, purchasing the company. In addition, it has been argued that, by owning the vision insurance company EyeMed, it also controls part of the buyers' market as well.
