60 Minutes has a piece

[NCspecs]

I too am a armchair researcher, but I would never go to a culinary institute and walk up to the head professor and say, "I've watched every episode of 'Good Eats', and now I can say without question that I know more than you."

Can I get an Amen?

[Uncle Fester]

Can I get an Amen?

Page 3- time to hijack!

A truly holy word used to this day by all of Abraham's children!

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index....men-came-from/

[Java99]

Can I get an Amen?

Amen!

Makes me nuts when someone walks in and says "I need a size 49 frame, that's all I can wear." The eyesize itself is so irrelevant to overall fit.

[Johns]

I'm listening to a patient's take on the 60 minute piece, and it's very much skewed to a non-optical industry persons POV, but the bottom line that came from the piece was this:

"IT ONLY COSTS $30 TO MANUFACTURE THE GLASSES, AND THEY ARE CHARGING $300 FOR THEM".

Thank you 60 minutes. I'm wondering how many years it's gonna take to change the public's mind about that. And before anyone even thinks about shouting 'but we need to educate our patients!', I call BS, because when we start talking about why glasses cost X amount, they look at us like we are car sales men.
Not everyone, but many roll their eyes and get that smirk that say's, "I'm going to Walmart to get my $38 pair that the commercial says I can get."

No, they are under the impression that it costs $30 to manufacture the glasses when you use the "inexpensive" Lux products. We are a "cut above" and do not carry those inferior products!

[NCspecs]

No, they are under the impression that it costs $30 to manufacture the glasses when you use the "inexpensive" Lux products. We are a "cut above" and do not carry those inferior products!

I'm afraid the common consumer does not differentiate between Lux and everything else. I had two patients this week ask if I had seen the 60 Minutes spot and I had to explain to them that Lux does not make everything and I also had to explain (several times over) that we don't carry their product.

People get a hold of this idea and it's hard to break them of it.

[BradB]

Monopoly? Still, the Private Practice saturates approx. 70% of the Optical Industry. Really guys? There is no monoploy there. There are plenty of choices out there... are you (or the consumer) willing to shop them?
I LOVE the spin that was put on Ray Ban. How dare them put an American Product in an Italian Country. Maybe, JUST MAYBE there is a reason Ray an was FAILING M S E R A B L Y @ selling a product for $29.99 at gas stations, Drug Stores AND yes Opticals! Ray Ban didn't take care of what they had! Plain AND Simple!!!
LOL and then there is the Oakley segment of the "Story"! Jeeze guys! Oakley has had a complete demographic for years with the Sports Enthuisiast Community! They were big enough that they coulda' opened their own line of shops and prospered as well! Business is Business....thats business 101!
Now the prices... how Dare them charge so much for a pair of glasses! My wife works in this industry also, and guess where???? Thats rght, a Private Practice. Don't kid yourself, they too have prices. They have no qualms about charging $800.00 for a Pr. of glasses! Then lts take a look at the "Specialty Shops"! For the love of Pete, they are as much as my mortgage! I wonder why 60 seconds doesn't look at the ENTIRE industry!
It comes down to business being business guys! You don't grow a business by sitting on the back burner and being a sissy!
LOVE the dialogue!

[optilady1]

Monopoly? Still, the Private Practice saturates approx. 70% of the Optical Industry. Really guys? There is no monoploy there. There are plenty of choices out there... are you (or the consumer) willing to shop them?
I LOVE the spin that was put on Ray Ban. How dare them put an American Product in an Italian Country. Maybe, JUST MAYBE there is a reason Ray an was FAILING M S E R A B L Y @ selling a product for $29.99 at gas stations, Drug Stores AND yes Opticals! Ray Ban didn't take care of what they had! Plain AND Simple!!!
LOL and then there is the Oakley segment of the "Story"! Jeeze guys! Oakley has had a complete demographic for years with the Sports Enthuisiast Community! They were big enough that they coulda' opened their own line of shops and prospered as well! Business is Business....thats business 101!
Now the prices... how Dare them charge so much for a pair of glasses! My wife works in this industry also, and guess where???? Thats rght, a Private Practice. Don't kid yourself, they too have prices. They have no qualms about charging $800.00 for a Pr. of glasses! Then lts take a look at the "Specialty Shops"! For the love of Pete, they are as much as my mortgage! I wonder why 60 seconds doesn't look at the ENTIRE industry!
It comes down to business being business guys! You don't grow a business by sitting on the back burner and being a sissy!
LOVE the dialogue!

I don't think anyone is arguing that charging $800 for a pair of glasses may be reasonable. But reporting that high-end eyewear is overpriced because it may or may not have been manufactured for a couple bucks in some Italian factory is sooo misleading. As to the demographics of how many private practices to corporate opticals there are, I have no idea, but again, the fact is that people's perception is their reality.

There is plenty of room in the industry for corporate, online, and independant opticals. For those of us who have worked for the big "L", whether is be Lux or LC, we know that there have been plenty of shady things that have gone down over that last 10-15 years. And while I agree that this news article painted a picture of Lux that is pretty accurate, there were a few things that didn't do us any favors. I understand that is does open up dialogue between us and our patients, but I'm not a fan of having to be on the defense because of 15 minutes of 'Investingative Reporting' by someone who knows nothing about the optical industry.

[xrayspex]

Monopoly? Still, the Private Practice saturates approx. 70% of the Optical Industry. Really guys? There is no monoploy there. There are plenty of choices out there... are you (or the consumer) willing to shop them?
I LOVE the spin that was put on Ray Ban. How dare them put an American Product in an Italian Country. Maybe, JUST MAYBE there is a reason Ray an was FAILING M S E R A B L Y @ selling a product for $29.99 at gas stations, Drug Stores AND yes Opticals! Ray Ban didn't take care of what they had! Plain AND Simple!!!
LOL and then there is the Oakley segment of the "Story"! Jeeze guys! Oakley has had a complete demographic for years with the Sports Enthuisiast Community! They were big enough that they coulda' opened their own line of shops and prospered as well! Business is Business....thats business 101!
Now the prices... how Dare them charge so much for a pair of glasses! My wife works in this industry also, and guess where???? Thats rght, a Private Practice. Don't kid yourself, they too have prices. They have no qualms about charging $800.00 for a Pr. of glasses! Then lts take a look at the "Specialty Shops"! For the love of Pete, they are as much as my mortgage! I wonder why 60 seconds doesn't look at the ENTIRE industry!
It comes down to business being business guys! You don't grow a business by sitting on the back burner and being a sissy!
LOVE the dialogue!

When I first got in this biz back in 1983, I bought my first wayfarers wholesale (through New Era--remember them?) for like around $30.00

must have been a really long time ago they sold at gas stations for that money...

[Barry Santini]

$800, $900, $1000, $1200 and more for glasses is NOT unreasonable.

If you are put off by these price points, I have a bridge I may want to sell.

B

[MakeOptics]

Intreasting letter just came in to the office from Luxottica.

Starting mid October and going forward they are shifting their product 12 digit UPC numbers to 13 digits.

That tells me that the Luxottica animal is HUGE! Shoot even big box stores still use only 12 digits. Not in just their optical but on every product in the store.

That could be to allow an additional bit on the length of the UPC data in which to monitor an online vs a brick and mortar sale. It could be to encode their major markets, US, CA, EU, etc. I take this information as a chance for the company to explore a new opportunity somewhere.

Scratch explore and replace with exploit.

[Browman]

I'd argue that we need more patient education, not less.

On another note-- this is still a capitalist society, no matter what certain political parties would like us to believe. Part of the capitalist system is market adjustment. Products are ultimately only worth what people think they are worth and what they are willing to pay for them. If patients don't believe a product is worth $800, no amount of fretting or price-pointing or itemization is going to actually make it worth $800. We either need to justify the price tag or deflate it, plain and simple. I've said it before: If online optical weren't providing consumers with a product they find to be adequate, it wouldn't be succeeding, no matter how cheap. Look at the history of such automobile abominations as the Pacer.

[Browman]

$800, $900, $1000, $1200 and more for glasses is NOT unreasonable.

If you are put off by these price points, I have a bridge I may want to sell.

B

I'd argue that the average American is put off by these price points because he/she does not have $800 to spend on a pair of eyeglasses, let alone many other major purchases.

[sjoseph51]

And the key to surviving has always been education. As the sales manager for an independent lab that also sells frames, I am constantly instructing as to the freedom of choice we still have, and to recognize the "false" choice given by such giants. We are quickly losing real choice due to such conglomerates buying up all the "brand name" items and falsely advertising a choice. Frankly, I try to emphasize equal warrantee and quality, combined with lower prices. Keeps my customers happy!

[Judy Canty]

And the key to surviving has always been education. As the sales manager for an independent lab that also sells frames, I am constantly instructing as to the freedom of choice we still have, and to recognize the "false" choice given by such giants. We are quickly losing real choice due to such conglomerates buying up all the "brand name" items and falsely advertising a choice. Frankly, I try to emphasize equal warrantee and quality, combined with lower prices. Keeps my customers happy!

AMEN! Declare your independence now!

[sjoseph51]

I not only would agree with Browman, but I have lenses and frames I DO want to sell at far better prices!! :)

[anthonyf1509]

$800, $900, $1000, $1200 and more for glasses is NOT unreasonable.

If you are put off by these price points, I have a bridge I may want to sell.

B

I'd argue that the average American is put off by these price points because he/she does not have $800 to spend on a pair of eyeglasses, let alone many other major purchases.

A logical rebuttal, would be that these "average Americans" spend that on a few months iPhone/iPad bills all the time. Or cable, or on and on and on.
I'm one of them. They're just frivolously spending on other things, and they'll spend it on your product/service if it's worth it to them.
That's up to you. Doesn't matter how cheap they can get it somewhere else.

[Johns]

I'd argue that the average American is put off by these price points because he/she does not have $800 to spend on a pair of eyeglasses, let alone many other major purchases.

Had a $950 sale today, and we have to rush them. He's dressing as Buddy Holly for Halloween, and the frames are part of his costume. After that, he said he probably won't wear them again.


I don't care so much about needs...give me the wants.

[rep]

[QUOTE=Darryl Meister;440216]I'd say that it was actually the beginning of the end of the entire optical industry...



Are you talking about the government taking action against AO for having wholesale surfacing labs engaged in selling retail to the public and rebating back to the prescribing doctor? How was that leading to the end of the industry? Or were you refering to prescription release?

IMHO this report was mainly about price and infered Lux was responsible for the increase in cost from the time glasses were medical devices because they were now fashion accessories. Why any indepndent would complain about that is beyond me.

[Jarhead Daddy]

Ain't America great?!?! I can get two pair and an exam at America's best for $79, or I can go to the Optical Shoppe of Aspen and buy a buffalo horn frame for $500. Both companies (and everybody in the middle) can co-exist and fill their niche. Nobody decides who is fair, who is a ripoff, and who is gutter besides the customer and the provider. And nobody is required to watch the mindless dribble at CBS unless they want to fill their brain with stupefying mush. Free speech, free to choose, glasses for the minimum wage guy and glasses for the billionairre, all in America. http://www.amazon.com/Free-Choose-St.../dp/0156334607

[Jarhead Daddy]

Did anybody receive the Luxottica response letter? I thought it was pretty good.

[kentmitchell1961]

Yup, it was alright..... same with the emails they were sending to LC stores.....

[n711]

I'm listening to a patient's take on the 60 minute piece, and it's very much skewed to a non-optical industry persons POV, but the bottom line that came from the piece was this:

"IT ONLY COSTS $30 TO MANUFACTURE THE GLASSES, AND THEY ARE CHARGING $300 FOR THEM".

Thank you 60 minutes. I'm wondering how many years it's gonna take to change the public's mind about that. And before anyone even thinks about shouting 'but we need to educate our patients!', I call BS, because when we start talking about why glasses cost X amount, they look at us like we are car sales men.
Not everyone, but many roll their eyes and get that smirk that say's, "I'm going to Walmart to get my $38 pair that the commercial says I can get."

+1