Costco's AR? How bad is it?

[Nikolay Angelov]

Last week, I have just come up with a new Easy-Clean Hydrophobic Spray that is made to be used by consumers

That sounds interesting . When will it be available?
(i searched your web site but could not find it)

[Craig]

I brought Crizal to the US market for big E as one of 3 reps to launch the product 15+ years ago! I have owned my own stores for 13+ years while doing 99% AR- yes, we have done that for 13+ years- and never use an E product. I pay 1/3 the price and have zero problems for any reason with the ar coatings we use. The lab we use is an E partner lab and can get me whatever I want done in-house.

AR lenses almost never scratch, but they do peel when you use a coating that does not perform. Performing is staying on the lens as all the rest is about the same!!!! The preparation of the lens and maintaing integrity in the process is what creates a great coating! E does the best job of marketing and trying to limit the products they ar to improve the odds of being perceived as a great product, but it is just a good product with a great process!
The only problems we ever have with AR is on transitions products and that was a transitions issue; the heat from the process seems to break down the scratch coat/Europa on the transitions lenses, but that has gotten much better and we have returns less than 1% right now.

I love E, Z, S, L, VSP, DAVIS and all the rest that keep prices high for me to make money and for those that keep quality down so we can shine by just doing the right job at a fair price. If you cannot beat the BIG ??, maybe it is time to figure out what they do wrong so you can offer an alternative.

It works for us and we just had our best year ever with 20% growth.

[Fezz]

I brought Crizal to the US market for big E as one of 3 reps to launch the product 15+ years ago! I have owned my own stores for 13+ years while doing 99% AR- yes, we have done that for 13+ years- and never use an E product. I pay 1/3 the price and have zero problems for any reason with the ar coatings we use. The lab we use is an E partner lab and can get me whatever I want done in-house.

Craig,

By using a lab that is "E" owned, or "Partner", are you not, in fact using "E" product?

[tigerlilly]

Costco does AR in-house in a complicated, sophisticated process (that is way too over my head to explain, honestly) developed with the cooperation of a big name. It's superoleophobic with umpteen layers and a scratch resistance nearing that of glass. Definitely not crap.

[Wes]

Welcome back, Tigerlilly!

[anthonyf1509]

Is it possible Costco in different regions use different product?
Just curious because most defected and peeling and crazing etc we get from outside are Costco?

[sharpstick777]

What I don't understand is how Costco provides such rapid service, especially for progressive fitting. My optician spends an average of 20 minutes or more with each client. She helps them with frames, counsels them on options, fits them carefully, dispenses etc. This increases our cost of each sale but is part of "what sets us apart". I've done some industrial espionage at Costco and it seems as if the average sale takes much much less time. I'm almost envious at how quickly they do this and frankly skeptical at how accurate they are. Obviously they wouldn't be able to have such low prices if they spent a half an hour with each patient.

You are correct, Costco spends very little labor on each patient. But no one goes to Costco to look great they only go because its cheap. They buy their products in immense quantities, use outdated lenses, and provide a low level of help all to reduce costs.

There is a time for Costco in each of our lives. I do appreciate their generous return policy so when it doesn't work, the patient gets a full refund. In many cases I refered patients to Costco when price was the largest factor in their purchase. When quality and cosmetics where more important, I would win every time.

Keep doing what you are doing, just do it the best you can and you will never be without patients.

[sharpstick777]

I agree with Lee, the info is rite here although I must say that in my opinion the best AR be it outdated or what have you is still Alize by Crizal, it cleans best, it has the best hydrophobe,best anti static, and best scratch resistance, And a 2 year unconditional warranty under most dealers. Not to hype it but go with what does the best job

I have posted in other forums, but Crizal is not the top scoring AR in independent durability testing, the Japanese AR's are by far (Hoya, Seiko). Matsui Resin Co. (MR- in your materials codes) makes some amazing hard coats that they can only sell to Japanese Companies. The hard coat and top coat are the two keys to great long lasting AR's, even if you have great process it doesn't mean a thing without a great hard coat. Products and process have to work together. Ever wonder why the Japanese don't license their AR's out? It takes a very controlled and careful process, starting with great materials.

Leybold however just came out with new process that looks amazing, and I can wait to test it. It may shift the tables completely if the test results are true.

[Chris Ryser]

Leybold however just came out with new process that looks amazing, and I can wait to test it. It may shift the tables completely if the test results are true.

Cleaning and hard-coating lines: CHC60 / CHC150

Hard-coating by dip is the guarantee for premium scratch resistance applied to a lens. Machine, cleaning and hard-coating application adapted to the anti-reflection process are paramount for the market success. With the cleaning and hard-coating lines CHC 60 and CHC 150, Leybold Optics provides a superior tool and a full solution if integrated into a lab.

http://www.leyboldoptics.com/optics/...almic-lab.html

[Happylady]

I have posted in other forums, but Crizal is not the top scoring AR in independent durability testing, the Japanese AR's are by far (Hoya, Seiko).

We use Seiko stock AR lenses a lot. I have seen no problems with durability but they become hard to clean and stay clean after a few months. I see the same issues with Crizal Easy and even Crizal Alize, though it's better then it used to be.

[Chris Ryser]

We use Seiko stock AR lenses a lot. I have seen no problems with durability but they become hard to clean and stay clean after a few months. I see the same issues with Crizal Easy and even Crizal Alize, though it's better then it used to be.

There is a new product on the market, to renew the cleanability which you can sell to consumers or apply yourself to get the feature back to EasyClean. Check it out on Marketplace.

[Rob Brown]

What I meant was the the independant company is probably the largest producer of AR. Costco sure does a lot too. I agree Chris, there are many good and great AR out there that are not from the Big E (Crizal is a great AR but it is not the only one).

'Crizal' must be French for 'Craze'? Craze-all anyone? Great marketing dollars well spent. I have witnessed numerous incidents lately of bad 'C' coatings - crazed within 3 months. There are many better quality coatings on the market at a lesser cost - all with the same warranties. ECP's need to expand their horizons.

[Opticlear]

Amen Braheem