good independant suns

[Bobbi]

I need a good line of sporty sunwear....costa del mars are very popular here, but they are at every optical shop and sports shop and most department stores in town...maui jim is nice but I don't like the customer service in my experience, bolle and serengeti are at WM...not going there. I thought rudy project was strictly for independants, but I see on their website the consumer can purchase the product...ugh, is there any collection left at all that:
1) fashionable sports styles
2) polarized
3) not at the chains
4) decent prices
5) decent customer service
6) not available to my patient directly from the manufacturer
7) covers men, women, children, teens, suitable for all types of outdoor uses
8) rx able

[Chris Ryser]

I need a good line of sporty sunwear....costa del mars are very popular here, but they are at every optical shop and sports shop and most department stores in town...maui jim is nice but I don't like the customer service in my experience, bolle and serengeti are at WM...not going there. I thought rudy project was strictly for independants, but I see on their website the consumer can purchase the product...ugh, is there any collection left at all.....................

Probably not...............with the economic situation right now frame and lens manufacturers want to sell as much as they can, wherever they can and at whatever price they can. By selling direct they eliminate the middle man who also has to make a profit.........................

I just received this e-mail from China this morning:

Dear Sir:
It is long time no contact with you. How are you? Hope everything goes ok with you all alone!
What about your business? I think it must be better than before. But as the financial crisis, my factory have suffered lots of loss. Many of my clients told me that their market became small, so the order for me became small too. So I think it is time for us unitied to resist the financial crisis now.
Our factory decide to reduce the price of lenses. In this difficult time, we want to help our customers to keep the market. I think when the financial crisis passed, our market will be expand if we just keep the market now.

If you go on those sommercial sites that promote smaller manufacturers that use them to promote their products, like http://www.ecplaza.net/search/0s1nf2...unglasses.html

Why don't you use your older leftover frames and make sunglasses out of them, as we used to do and sell them for a reasonable price so that they will sell.

Or look through these non brand frame websites and find some usefull sunglasses at reasonable prices?

[drk]

Try Allen Weatherby's Ice Tech.

[edKENdance]

We carry Mexx and LuLu Guiness. I don't think you can buy them at chains.


OK, just realised that my choices are not what you're looking for ie sporty, polarized etc...

I'll think harder and repost.

[renee1111]

Probably not...............with the economic situation right now frame and lens manufacturers want to sell as much as they can, wherever they can and at whatever price they can. By selling direct they eliminate the middle man who also has to make a profit.........................

I just received this e-mail from China this morning:

Dear Sir:
It is long time no contact with you. How are you? Hope everything goes ok with you all alone!
What about your business? I think it must be better than before. But as the financial crisis, my factory have suffered lots of loss. Many of my clients told me that their market became small, so the order for me became small too. So I think it is time for us unitied to resist the financial crisis now.
Our factory decide to reduce the price of lenses. In this difficult time, we want to help our customers to keep the market. I think when the financial crisis passed, our market will be expand if we just keep the market now.

If you go on those sommercial sites that promote smaller manufacturers that use them to promote their products, like http://www.ecplaza.net/search/0s1nf2...unglasses.html

Why don't you use your older leftover frames and make sunglasses out of them, as we used to do and sell them for a reasonable price so that they will sell.

Or look through these non brand frame websites and find some usefull sunglasses at reasonable prices?

I got the very same e-mail today! Wouldn't you have to order huge quantities if you were to buy direct from factories, like that, though? I have friends that import frames from Africa, they tell me it's hit or miss with the quality,...lots of headaches in general. I could see doing that if you were a supplier, but not an independant. It just wouldn't be worth the hassle... let alone the duties.

And the bit about using older left over frames for sunglasses... been there, done that! Over 2 years ago and guess what? They're still sitting on the shelf, collecting dust and cluttering up my boards.

[Crazy-bout-Optics]

There was a shop I worked at where we had some older Ophthalmic frames that were larger, late 90's types. I sent them to the lab and turned them in to suns. I can see they could have ended up just sitting on the boards, but we placed them on shelving and created a sign from stock card that said "Vintage" and "Retro" and played the frames up. They flew out of the store. I think it is all in presentation. And as a side note I personally thought they were cool looking and got excited about them when people would come in. If the staff is on board and if you can create some buzz or put a spin on the frames a la "Retro" I think they could sell.

[C.Arno]

I'd definitely suggest Zeal Optics. They're a great versatile lens and fit most of your criteria:

1. 100% sports style, some dip into quasi fashion forward, but are made in such a way that you can wear the same pair mountain biking without worrying about them slipping off.
2. ZB-13 polarized lens. Very versatile and works in dim and bright light conditions without having to swap lenses. If you have any sort of clientel that requires goggles they have an amazing Polar Photochromic lens (similar to Drivewear) that I will seriously never again hit the slopes without.
3. Not in chains, in fact it's a relatively young company and I have only seen it in one or two other locations.
4. On the same scale as Smith as far as prices for their sunglasses go. Goggles can be quite exspensive though.
5. My rep is quite helpful and honest with me. When I've had problems or needed extra info that he couldn't assist me with he forwarded me onto upper management and, in a few cases, I was dealing directly with the owners, which is a rare thing these days. Quick pick ups on phone lines, real people, genuine people.
6. Sorry on this one, their online prices are exactly the same as what we retail them for, however most people prefer to save that $10 on shipping and actually try on their sunglasses before they purchase them, so I don't feel as though we lose customers over it. Zeal's website offers a find a retailer option which has actually brought customers and phone calls in who were curious about the line.
7. All outdoor uses, check. Customer's who have purchased them enjoy cross-country skiing, fishing, climbing, rafting, running and biking. They have this funky little adjustable nosepad embedded in the plastic that helps them stay up on the face and don't slide when you start to sweat. Men, women, teens, check. However, nothing for kids. The only line I've encountered that has a good kid's selection is Julbo. Good if you have kids and babies that need sun protection, but I find the adult frames to be kind of heavy and prefer soemthing a bit more light weight like the Zeals.
8. A lot of the frames Zeal offers you can put an Rx in, but not all. Their top sellers, however, are Rx friendly and I have sold them.

Hope that was helpful.

[jefe]

What about Wiley X or Kaenon. I've been thinking about including their lines. Wiley X is only wholesaled to ECPs and neither line seems to be in the wholesale clubs or WallyWorld.

[C.Arno]

Wiley X is a good line too. Their lenses are ANSI safety certified and they are the lens of choice for SWAT teams, Army Rangers, Bassmasters and quite a few NASCAR drivers. Wiley X is a great line for the man's man. However we've found problems selling it to women as it doesn't offer much as far as diversity of style goes. I encourage my patients who work for the US Forest Service who need sunwear that is ANSI safety certified and OSCHA approved to get Wiley X over the Smith suns as Wiley X is still relatively independent (Smith is owned by Safilo despite pretense of keeping up offices in Idaho). So if your patients are predominately male and safety minded this is a great line, and it works great for us for that demographic.

[Bobbi]

You are all so helpful, I think I will check into Wiley X and Zeal!

[IndianaOD]

Zeal appears available at amazon on other online outlets. Don't know if that makes a difference to you.

[Ph0t0n]

Another one to check out is SALT. http://saltoptics.com/ Lots of gradient polarized lens.
Also as already mentioned Kaenon is a great company.

[Uilleann]

Zeal is a local Utah company and I've known and worked with them for years. Quality is so-so, and they most certainly ARE in the local chains here...and at one point a couple years back, I know there was discussion at their HQ about going national in that regard. They're sporty, and tend to stick to the cheaper side of the pricing spectrum in a general sense.

Kaenon is a line that I've been recently impressed with. Apart from the fact that you have to use Pech for all their Rx's, and their turn time is being quoted at close to 4 weeks! As far as plano goes though, they seem to be a really good quality product, and frames are quite solid as well. Worth a look at the least I'd suggest.

Bri~

[Fezz]

I will give these folks a mention. They stepped up and sent samples to FezzJohns *Un-Expo*. We were all rather impressed.

http://www.sutrovision.com/

Doug and the gang at Sutro Vision provided us with a bunch of frames to fondle and evaluate. They took me up on my shameless offer to evaluate their "Great" product. We were all impressed! We have a full review and evaluation coming!

[Uilleann]

Those look pretty sharp. I'm interested to hear your thoughts in review. Are they a glass lens coming from Corning? Same division and base lens tech the old Serengeti's used I wonder?

[Fezz]

These fine folks helped us out at the *Un-Expo* as well. I believe they have a sunglass line!

http://www.freeformeyewear.com/

Acuity Optical USA (Free Form Eyewear)

A fellow Optiboarder, Uni-Clip {Lak}, and George from Acuity, were very kind in sending me samples of their entire frame line when I presented them with the idea of *Un-Expo*. They have some very nice styles that we were all impressed with

[DragonLensmanWV]

Those look pretty sharp. I'm interested to hear your thoughts in review. Are they a glass lens coming from Corning? Same division and base lens tech the old Serengeti's used I wonder?

The neatest thing about them, besides their nice lenses are the hinges. They actually ratchet!

[sutrovision]

Those look pretty sharp. I'm interested to hear your thoughts in review. Are they a glass lens coming from Corning? Same division and base lens tech the old Serengeti's used I wonder?

Fezz, thanks for the plug. I am also interested in hearing the review! However in the mean time i can tell you that yes our lens maker, Barberini, uses Corning blanks. I believe they use to make Serengeti lenses but not sure about now. You can read more here if you like:

http://www.barberini.eu/index.html

Please let me know if you would like more info.

Doug