Need glasses? Read this first…
I recently listened to a Freakonomics podcast about the eyeglasses industry, which is dominated by EssilorLuxottica. When you go shopping for glasses, there appear to be lots of brands to choose from, however many of them are owned by the same company. They also own or run LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sunglass Hut, and Target Optical. Of course there are alternatives, but I remember my first pair of glasses and how I felt manipulated into paying hundreds of dollars for a pair of simple eyeglasses after the eye appointment.
Did you know that that eyeglass frames, even the “highest quality” versions, cost no more than about $20 to make? So why are they priced at $200 up to over $1000 at the eyeglass store? Sure, the lenses cost money, but according to the podcast episode, the all in average cost-of-goods-sold of a pair of glasses is about $50 or so. EssilorLuxottica simply says “these are luxury glass, therefore you must pay $400”. Why? Because they have a brand on them, and 10-20% goes back to the brand, like Jimmy Choo, Polo, Foster Grant, etc. etc. But even that doesn’t explain the grotesque markup. They charge more because they have a near vertical monopoly (they make glasses, and own the doctors that prescribe them).
You can escape this manipulative monopoly. Here’s how:
Next time you go to the optometrist, make a decision ahead of time that you absolutely will not buy glasses on the same day as the appointment. Instead, walk away with just the written presciption.
Shop. I personally use Zenni Optical, but brand isn’t at all important to me. If brand is important, shop around, try Warby Parker (although they are overpriced also in my view, just not as much as the Luxottica brands). Try Walmart or one of the other online companies.
Enjoy the hundreds of dollars of savings…treat yourself to a nice dinner and put the rest in your Roth IRA!!!