Jérôme PetazzoniNov 25, 2022
Tess Rinearson

After many years of wearing ~$200 DTC glasses, I thought, "I'm a real adult now! I should support a local business."

So I went to the neighborhood optical shop and the very German optician measured my DTC glasses, and said, very evenly, "These are not good quality."

Okay sure, I thought. So I gamely allowed myself to be upsold to the 2nd-highest quality lenses. I thought they might be twice the price, but–no, when all was said and done, they were nearly 5x more expensive than my old glasses.

Nov 24, 2022 at 11:23pmWeb
Show threadTess RinearsonNov 24, 2022

I thought maybe this was a bit of a scam. But earlier this week, I went to pick up my new glasses, and when I put them on for the first time, I actually gasped a tiny bit.

My prescription hadn't changed, but everything suddenly looked slightly crisper, maybe even a tiny bit richer or more vivid. And as I wore them throughout the day, I realized that the difference was probably that the higher quality lenses created less distortion in the peripheral vision around the lenses.

Show threadTess RinearsonNov 24, 2022

Of course, I haven't tried to read up on this, but I was surprised that the difference was so immediately obvious.

And I was maybe a tiny bit tickled by the reminder that, sometimes, you really do get what you pay for. Though is it $800 better? I'm not sure.

Show threadlhlNov 25, 2022
@tessr there's a range of lens materials w/ better optical quality, indexes, and treatments, but the highest quality "hd" lenses these days use free-form or wave-form optics that are made w/ computer controlled finishing. Sad to report that while the last type of lens is *actually* expensive, for almost all lenses, you're paying astronomical (like 500%+) markups as an end-consumer on most (I did a project w/ an optician a while back).
Show threadTess RinearsonNov 25, 2022
@lhl oh, I totally believe this too. no way to get around the markup, I assume?
Show threadlhlNov 25, 2022
@tessr be pals w/ an optician? 😅 one thing I should also mention is that costs can also vary a lot depending on what you can do in-house. If you have your own machinery you can direct source standard polycarb and even hi-index blanks and basically make those lenses for like a few bucks each. The machinery is pricey but actually the SMB opex is the stuff that really adds up for them - payroll, rent, insurance, etc. And despite the margins, it's mostly not very profitable since every shop is also basically at the mercy of Luxottica and a few other big vendors... btw, a few years ago I decided to do corrective eye surgery (ICL) and was very worth it (while we're talking about expensive eye-related things).
Show threadLili Cosic    ☁Nov 25, 2022
@tessr interesting! I need to get new glasses as mine are in bad shape. I went to one of those viu places to get them originally. The distortion is huge so maybe that’s why I don’t wear it as often, thanks for the tip!
Show threadTess RinearsonNov 25, 2022
@lili yes that might be it!! my old ones were ace & tate but I think they are very similar quality/concept to viu
Show threadKyle E JohnsonNov 24, 2022
@tessr that’s been my experience too. High quality lenses are *expensive* but the quality of life change is huge. My insurance used to force me to one place that didn’t do Varilux progressives, so I got cheap ones. HATED them and always felt dizzy. Paid full price for Varilux lenses somewhere else, and it changed my life.
Show threadTess RinearsonNov 24, 2022
@kyleejohnson it's wild! I really had no idea.
Show threadGordon GuthrieNov 24, 2022
@tessr it's the box fresh new
specs experience - I always look forward to it - see also getting your ears syringed to get the wax out ;-)
Show threadTess RinearsonNov 24, 2022
@gordonguthrie LOL. I have also over-shared about that experience (and in particular, the difference between how it goes down in the US vs. in Germany) over on the bird site 😂
Show threadGordon GuthrieNov 24, 2022

@tessr getting new specs in Berlin was my first major thing with someone who didn't speak any English deep out in East Berlin

My big regret tho was that she did the weird adjustable lenses thing and then sent me out of the booth in the cyber punk eye testing spec face mask to walk around and look up the street and experience the prescription and I tried and failed to sneak the ultimate Iron Man profile selfie pic :-(

Show threadconputer dipshitNov 24, 2022
@tessr thanks for another reason to be mad at my warby parkers. I think my previous pair (from a local shop) was a lot higher quality
Show threadTess RinearsonNov 24, 2022
@davidcrespo here to corroborate your experience!
Show threadAlonNov 25, 2022
@tessr Ooh, which one? I desperately need new glasses.
Show threadTess RinearsonNov 25, 2022
@Alon Seiko lenses, and I’ll tell you the name of the optical shop if I can figure out how to send a DM 😅
Show threadMatiasNov 25, 2022
@tessr what brand / laboratory of lenses?
Show threadTess RinearsonNov 25, 2022
@matiasg Seiko lenses!
Show threadZeke Arany-LucasNov 25, 2022

@tessr it’s real and totally worth the investment. We wear the pesky things all day long.

Don’t skimp on whatever we use everyday for quality of life: glasses, bed, and food, ofc!