https://www.dahomes.co/glasses?fbcli...S8_a-TOZL0IGf4
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That a lot of folks are going to be out of $25.00, and ****** when they take a hammer to them and they don't hold up as advertised.
Just more consumer mental reinforcement that traditional B&M locations are terribly overpriced. It’s not the ECP’s fault, but material suppliers and, more importantly, optical insurance companies fault.
It's a dumb ad, and I got it on a Facebook feed (yeah, I went there) and the advertisement seems to be showing photochromic polarized lenses in brown, with a rimless mount, and flexible frame, etc. Probably a blue-light AR...
It's certainly one of those "buyer beware" ads, no doubt. For whatever low price the customer pays, they'll get something else, instead.
But what struck me was the audacious demonstration of all these amazing properties of glasses (impact resistance, photochromism, polarization, memory frame materials, coated optics, etc) all wrapped up in one pair (even if it's fictional). Wow, what a pair of glasses!
And yet we can make those, for real! I want my enthusiasm for optics to match what that ad inspired!
What would be the "ultimate" glasses? And when was the last time you designed and dispensed a pair of those?!
We learn that there is a sucker born every minute. Even if you wanted this junk, you could get it for $4-5 from Amazon, or $1 dollar and change from Aliexpress.
That original link has a 2000%+ markup, that's insane. But I'm just a greedy middle man optician so what do I know?
Everyone thinks it's the other guy's industry that's screwing them over. My barber was always asking me about the eyeglass sales at Walmart, Target, LC, etc. Never occured to her to come to me. She was always looking for a deal. Finally I got fed up. I asked her why I should have her cut my hair instead of a discount chain that was cheaper? "Well, they're not well trained, they have no experience, they don't do a good job, they use cheap products, they rush you through..........."
Yeah Kathy, that's my point.
Where did she buy her new glasses a few months later? Let's just say that after too many years I found a new barber.
Yep.Quote:
Originally Posted by waynegilpin
This applies to a myriad of industries.
As an audiophile, photographer, and cook, I can tell you first hand that bargains are Faustian. What’s lost is the true meaning of value. Lodge vs Misen. All Clad vs Tramontina. Macintosh vs Sony. B&W vs Pioneer. In a nutshell, value is getting more than what you paid for (service and quality).
It’s time to differentiate ourselves from the discounters, but how? That is the ultimate question.
Stop competing against cheap, instead, market your brand as value driven.
Bingo!Quote:
Originally Posted by lensmanmd
Best way to start? Take on any and all repairs—no matter if they bought them from you or not.
B
Barrry, I agree with you. But not for free. For many years I owned an independent location. Then I took a Mon - Fri job at a medical practice. A pt. told me how disappointed he was that we closed. Our location was so convenient. We were so nice. We were so skilled. We never charged him for adj. or repairs. That night I looked for his records. What had he purchased from us over all those years? Nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. Bupkus. Thanks buddy. You're how I paid the rent all those years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry Santini
After 40 years, I got a bit cynical.:happy: I found a new profession that I love. I retired.
I have long noted for myself that the most reliable application is usually the best studied for errors. This is the only way it becomes the most reliable and works best. You should only use such applications.
"Playing phone" LOL! Looks like the edited that photo with Microsoft Paint. Seems legit. :bounce: Reminds me of an in infomercial.
One thing I hate is when someone calls something indestructible. NOTHING is indestructible. Nothing is scratch proof. Even if we made your lenses out of diamonds, they could break. Even memory metal can break. Even the most premium AR can scratch with improper and craze from extreme temperature fluctuations. They said the Titanic was unsinkable and look how that ended. Go ahead and buy the sketchy $25 glasses, and see how it goes for you... but if you frequently experience being whacked in the eye with a hammer, you've got problems.
Last chance to look at the link
"This campaign will be taken down on Friday, February 25, 2022 due to a content violation. Refer to our Intellectual Property Rights Policy page for more information."
Glasses like this can give you grief if you don't recognize them and try to fit an emmetrope who has them with conventional progressives.
https://www.optiboard.com/forums/sho...t=Foster+grant
I think that goes both ways though. How many people have come back to you because you fixed a pair of their glasses? I fixed a guy's glasses that he thought were ruined. I refused to take money from him, he said he would bring back his wife in so she could get glasses from me. She got two pair with all the bells and whistles and nice high end frames, she loved them and convinced her husband to get two new pairs as well. $2,500 later and happy customers who are now talking me up to their family and friends--it was worth the 15 minutes I spent to fix his glasses.Quote:
Originally Posted by waynegilpin
If you would charge for repairs how much would you charge? Do you charge for time or parts or both?
In my last foray (retail big box) I kept hundreds of temple pieces so I could replace customers frames who broke a hinge. If their glasses were completely broken and I had a similar zyl frame and I could heat it up so the lenses snap in and it was on axis or within tolerance and/or the segs were straight I would even do that. I didn't advertise that as a fix, just more of a way to get them by until they got their new glasses. It wasn't company approved but everyone looked the other way because I had customers who sung my praises on social media.