Sunglass lines with a retail under $100

[erichwmack]

In your opinion what is the best line of sunwear that would retail around or under $100? I am looking for a low end line that would have a decent selection of womens and mens frames. They don't have to be polarized or anything but I do not want them to fall apart and break easily. Any ideas?

[merrymaker]

In my past experience at different offices: Columbia sun, Kenneth Cole sun, Banana Republic sun, and Chesterfield sun. These lines run in the $150 range but many do come with polarized. IMO, stay away from anything $100 or less.

[Jubilee]

It used to be Sketchers Sunglasses would fall in this group.

Sun Trends is another line.. but it depends on if you consider Casino and similar I-deal optics frames to be quality...

[Craig]

Why do you want to waste your time, energy and space on a product that will not make you any money?

I would rather work a little harder and sell a $200+ pair.

[becc971]

We sell Suntrends here for our value sunglass frames and i really like them :) its rare we see one come back broken, they aren't maui's but they work!!

Honestly, considering some of the ray bans i've seen since we put the line in i'd put them on par quality wise which is sad because they are about 3 times the price.

[mdeimler]

Columbia quality is not very good

[David_Garza]

Unless you plan on selling RXed sun-lenses on that budget frame, you'd be wasting time selling sunglasses under $100.00

[AngeHamm]

Guess.

[EyeCare Rich]

Poloroid from Safilo.

[scottster]

Guess.

I'm not good at guessing. Just tell us your opinion!

[Jubilee]

While it may not be worth it as an individual sale, if it helps get a second pair.. spawn a purchase as a plano sun for contacts, or in any becomes an "add on" it just might be worth it. There comes a point in the schedule where it is more feasible, and cost effective to make an extra $50 to 100 on a handful of people a day, then to add more work on to the doctor.

[chaoticneutral]

I'm not good at guessing. Just tell us your opinion!

Ha! love it.

Try Timberland and Marchon sun lines but I Geuss it depends on your markup.

[AngeHamm]

I'm not good at guessing. Just tell us your opinion!

Love it.

[Outkast]

I checked our frame boards this morning and we have a lot of Esprit and a lot of Elle sunglasses for around $90 to $98 and a handful of Fossil and Polarized Chesterfeilds for under $100.

[erichwmack]

Thanks for the feedback. They are not for RX'ing BTW. I'm thinking Polaroid. They seem to be the best style and quality for the price point.

[becc971]

check out zeal too :)

[edKENdance]

I was pleasantly surprised with the SunOptic acetate frames.

[erichwmack]

I was pleasantly surprised with the SunOptic acetate frames.

This is intriguing. I have never handled one of their frames but you say they aren't too bad then? I also have looked at clearvision > IZOD, Marc echo, McClintock, Ellen Tracy.

Do you think the quality is similar to the clearvision frames (WHOLESALE PRICING REMOVED) to the frames mentioned above? Zeal, SunOptic, Polaroid?

[erichwmack]

So why I ask the question is that I am co-owner of a jewelry and watch store that primarily serves to tourists and convention travelers. The age group is 60ish and they ask for polarized. They come into look for sunglasses because they lost or forgot them at home and are in sunny phoenix so they need a cheap replacement. I carry Maui Jim but they dont sell because they are too expensive. I want to supplement the MJ with $100 or less sun line. I think I will move a lot more of the sunglasses including MJ if I expand my inventory but I don;t want gas station sunwear either.

So that being said, what recommendations do you have for me. I just found out Clearvision is a no-go because they wont sell to non-opticals. I am guessing all the big boys like Marchon etc... have the same principals unfortunately. Any ideas? Zeal is nice but that might be too similar to MJ and most of the frames are expensive. Polaroid looks and is priced good but there is no rep in Phoenix right now. Someone said SunTrends, those look pretty good. Any other experience with them, are they under $100 retail with a decent markup?

[edKENdance]

This is intriguing. I have never handled one of their frames but you say they aren't too bad then? I also have looked at clearvision > IZOD, Marc echo, McClintock, Ellen Tracy.

Do you think the quality is similar to the clearvision frames (WHOLESALE PRICING REMOVED) to the frames mentioned above? Zeal, SunOptic, Polaroid?

I found the the quality to be similar to more expensive collections. Probably sold more than 100 with no headaches. I believe they're all polarized and they're definitely better than gas station. I'd recommend staying away from the metals and the non rx able injection molded.

[9520g]

Bolle is not too bad for around that price range.

[tbyrdman03]

Depending on what your looking for, but Von Zipper has a really good price point. They are a surf/skate style. I believe most of the frames are made in Italy and they handle RX really well. Might be worth checking out.