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Thread: Optiboard's Re-Birth

  1. #26
    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Silver Supporter ak47's Avatar
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    Could not agree more with Lori regarding RB, Mrchon, Charmant, and Safio. Perplexed how people still rave about Pro desgn.....quality has dropped like a rock in past couple of years.

  2. #27
    What's up? drk's Avatar
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    I have yet to notice re: PDD (I mean, Design Group).

    I'm going to re-evaluate Charmant as a potential vendor.

    Just got a notice from Silhouette:

    "[G]reatly expanding our portfolio of full rim". About time!

    "[W]e will increase our product prices February 1st..." I'm shocked!

  3. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by drk View Post
    I have yet to notice re: PDD (I mean, Design Group).

    I'm going to re-evaluate Charmant as a potential vendor.

    Just got a notice from Silhouette:

    "[G]reatly expanding our portfolio of full rim". About time!

    "[W]e will increase our product prices February 1st..." I'm shocked!
    You won't be disappointed, good quality and a great warranty to back them up.

  4. #29
    Rising Star Lori's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CME4SPECS View Post
    You won't be disappointed, good quality and a great warranty to back them up.
    Charmant offers a great warranty, I think it's 2 years, is that right?

  5. #30
    Rising Star Lori's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by drk View Post
    Just got a notice from Silhouette:

    "[G]reatly expanding our portfolio of full rim". About time!

    "[W]e will increase our product prices February 1st..." I'm shocked!
    I just ordered the SPX Silhouettes and they are modern, light, and superb quality. Pricey, yes. Everything of quality in this day and age is, though.

  6. #31
    What's up? drk's Avatar
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    What are Charmant's best selling lines?

  7. #32
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    What are Charmant's best selling lines?
    In my clinic, Aristar (their budget line) does pretty well, as does the Pure Titanium. Elle is a decent line as well. We used to carry aWear, but had issues with many of their frames being broken at lens mounting, so we discontinued carrying it (I see it's no longer available on their website). Patients eschew Line Art in favor of Silhouette. Working in ophthalmology, the demographic of our clientele might differ from yours.

  8. #33
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    I just ordered the SPX Silhouettes and they are modern, light, and superb quality. Pricey, yes. Everything of quality in this day and age is, though.
    We do pretty well with the Silhouette SPX full rim, Legends, SPX Illusion, etc. but I would exercise a word of caution on the 1560 models. I think it was the 1563 or 1564 (or both), but we had to warranty four models to different patients within the span of just a couple months because the temple would break off the frame front. There's no screw that mounts the temple to the frame front, and the snap-in construction just doesn't seem the best. My rep told me that Silhouette is actively looking at those models and may change how that series is constructed.

  9. #34
    What's up? drk's Avatar
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    I looked at Charmant's catalogue. My honest take:
    1. the younger lines (Elle, Eddie Bauer, Esprit) seemed un-hip.
    2. the titanium lines seemed like good quality, minimalistic design, but very classic. Very classic. Which is not a bad thing, necessarily.
    3. the Aristar seemed like a big winner, depending on the W/S price (which I don't want anyone to list here, of course).

  10. #35
    Bad address email on file Lawman Nick's Avatar
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    Which company carries a nice tea shade frame?

  11. #36
    Rising Star Lori's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GAgirl View Post

    I sell a TON of Silhouette and wear them myself and I really like them. The website takes a little practice but my rep is fantastic and I haven't had any problems with them at all.

    I have Marchon just because of the Flexon and Nike but honestly the TitanFlex outsells them by far. I do, however, like the Tres Jolie line for ladies. We have a mostly older, conservative patient base so these work well for us.
    Let's speak the truth, the Silhouette site SUCKS. Can't they just make it easy to navigate and find a frame?

    Selling anything Marchon, feeds the giant and makes it more powerful. Proceed with caution!

  12. #37
    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Silver Supporter Jubilee's Avatar
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    Late to the party, but thought I would chime in.

    Ovvo is pricey, but worth it. It is our number one ophthalmic line. Even with a 3x markup. Patients will reuse them for years, so we price accordingly.

    Safilo has stopped working for us. Still carry Claiborne, Kate Spade, Polaroid Ophthalmic and Suns, Banana Republic and Fossil. We have scaled down considerable on the Polaroid, and Banana. Fossil is moving for us, along with Claiborne for men. However the rest seem to be on a downtrend.

    Competition for the Polaroid sun market is One Sun by Alternative Eyewear. Has as broad of a selection with polarized lenses and backside AR for 30% less.

    Love Europa! Scott Harris, Cinzia, State, Michael Ryen.. love them all.

    Tura has been a struggle for us as well. Titanflex did okay for a while, but there was rep issues and many of those patients are now either wearing Lightec, Ovvo, or Izod PerformX. Switched out Lulu for Brendel, and Brendel is actually moving. Debating on the Mini Cooper line.

    Speaking of Cars.. Uber from New Millennium has taken off. Though in existence before that app/driving service, their trendy look for an insurance friendly price has really appealed to our Millennial crowd.

    Loving Nano for the young kids. A lot brighter colors and shapes compared to Dilli Dalli. Not as customizable as Tomato, but easier to work with.

    Love the new Lightec styles! Especially the ladies release!

    Divaldi is out. When you only get 10-20% of your order in before the next rep visit due to backorders, it gets ridiculous.

    Just bit to bullet and bringing in Maui Jim to replace Revo.

    No Marchon. No Luxottica.
    "Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland

  13. #38
    OptiBoardaholic IIxIPariahIxII's Avatar
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    Tura - We enjoyed the various lines from Tura for awhile, decent quality and decent pricing for both us and patients. The death knell with them was when our rep left and all calls to the company to get the new rep into the office, even calls to the new rep, all went unanswered. So after awhile we just dropped Tura altogether.

    Ray-Ban (And Anything Luxottica) - Let's be honest. The quality has dropped significantly and the styles, save for some of the old popular ones, are pretty meh. While it's a name people look for, and it does sell, it's one of those lines that if you can carry it in small (with the better selling styles) quantities it's better than sitting on the newer stuff that doesn't move as opposed to dropping it altogether. Anything Lux is a catch-22. I used to love Oakley way back in the day, and despite the consistent drops in quality, moving the Oakley lab out of Cali to the super lab in Georgia was the end of my love affair. The quality in the lens production fell dramatically. They kill whatever they touch.

    Marchon - This one is tough for us because we're in a hotbed for VSP. The price of Nike is ridiculous, but they do still have some decent to good lines outside of the big three. Longchamp being one of them and the redesigned Dragons were pitched coming from Italy as opposed to China. And the reps have always been good to us. They work hard to keep us happy. For some offices this one is truly difficult depending on the area due to insurance.

    Westgroupe - We've carried Evatik extensively for awhile. Our rep is amazing, and he works to make sure our boards stay fresh if styles aren't moving. We've had pretty good experiences with the quality and the customer service. Styles are male dominant, Pricing is a bit tight though for it being mostly male styles. If you've got the demographic for it, it's a good one and the new styles are stellar.

    Bellinger House - These guys are one of our absolute favorites. Superb quality, a little pricey but well worth it. We carry two of their distinct lines. Bellinger and Entourage of 7. Bellinger is lightweight with lots of great colors and styles for the more fashion forward and lots of variations in shapes. Entourage is the classic for the dressier/casual look. Colors are more subdued. Sizing for both is pretty expansive. Amazing customer service, our rep is phenomenal.

    Barton Perreira - Our other favorite. Amazing rep, easy to work with. Great customer service. Great quality and a good variety in colors and styles. Not off the wall, favor more of the classic British inspirations in a lot of the style. Of course a lot of our fashion is there at the moment. Again, pricier but worth it.

    Mo - Out of Spain. We picked them up last year. And while we haven't had any issues and the pricing is great. The styles are just TOO European and outside the box for carrying a smaller quantity. Truly a niche line. I will say, there are styles that have huge appeal. Just a mixed bag.

    Nano - Our best and favorite kids line. Hold up extremely well even with the toughest kids. Comes with two sets of straps. Lots of fun colors. I have enjoyed working with these far more than Miraflex, Tomato, Zoobugs. The key is making sure you order them in bulk. Replenish a bunch at a time. Rep is great to work with, durable, and more sizes now. Due to their growing popularity and some logistical changes in the last year, they can have a slight weight on backorders. Even then parents want to wait on them and we have patients coming from other states to get them.

    Europa - Great styles, good quality, great rep not many lines you can go wrong with. Even better, they're not passing along the tariffs to practices.

    Mondottica - Not as big on most of their lines. But Spine is absolutely a favorite. I have five pairs ever since Oakley let me down. Comfortable, pretty good quality despite being made in China. While traditionally a men's line it does have some unisex options available. Not a large line and only a few variations of styles. But patients love them and come back for them every year. The spined hinge tech definitely makes a difference.

  14. #39
    What's up? drk's Avatar
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    I just saw a rep from Dolabany. They have some cool stuff. It's not the right price point, but they give a good discount. Seem easy to work with, on the buying end.

    Public service announcement: we tried Police, Carolina Herrerra from DeRigo REM. No complaints about quality (they're not cheap, either) and while the styles seem very good, they just haven't moved at all. Probably the wrong market.

  15. #40
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    The problem with de rigo, more so than any other company that we currently deal with, is their stuff is ridiculously cheap on line. We dropped marcolin for the same reason. They simply must be offering huge discounts to online retailers.

  16. #41
    What's up? drk's Avatar
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    I saw Smith Optics today.

    Their sunwear is pretty dedicated to peformance lenses (Chromapop polarized, mirror, backside AR, etc). As such, they are one of those MauiJim-like deals: high performance planos, and if you want to Rx, you should use their lab. They do have a few lower-priced models that you can burn the lenses.

    The styles are not bad. Some are even good.

    Their ophthalmic is actually very well priced. The quality on some of the styles is quite excellent. The look is moderate to edgy.

    Overall, this is a good line, but not a great line.

  17. #42
    What's up? drk's Avatar
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    Hey, does anyone carry Bolle, right now?

  18. #43
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    I like Smith, the problem is that support in Europe is horrendous! Safilo just dodge any responsibility for the product, blaming any issues on Smith in the US, and any technical questions go forever unanswered.

    But, I still like the range!

    DrK, it might be different where you are, but over here there are still quite a few models that have basic tinted lenses, which makes them really well priced for glazing as Rx sunwear. Maybe worth having a look.

  19. #44
    What's up? drk's Avatar
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    Thanks R.S.

  20. #45
    One eye sees, the other feels OptiBoard Silver Supporter
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jubilee View Post
    Love the new Lightec styles! Especially the ladies release!
    I just saw their new frames today. Very nice. I forgot to check the price, but then I'm not rich enough to buy cheap things.

    Best regards,

    Robert Martellaro
    Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. - Richard P. Feynman

    Experience is the hardest teacher. She gives the test before the lesson.



  21. #46
    Master OptiBoarder AngeHamm's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Martellaro View Post
    I just saw their new frames today. Very nice. I forgot to check the price, but then I'm not rich enough to buy cheap things.

    Best regards,

    Robert Martellaro
    Lightec is a lower-end price point for Morel, which means a touch (10-20%) more expensive than the average mainstream American frame line.
    I'm Andrew Hamm and I approve this message.

  22. #47
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    I like Safilo, and I think Gucci was better designed when the were with Safilo. They are very underwhelming now.

    Like most everyone else, I'm not a fan of Luxottica.

    I like Alfred Sung, Steve Madden, Vera Wang, Nicole Miller, and BCBG.

    Nano is great for kids. They come with 2 kinds of straps, and some frames have glow in the dark temples.

    I use to like Puma, but find they are not as well made.



    Tom Ford is way overpriced.

    I like Costa Sunglasses, especially since they are not Oakley, or Rayban.

    Fysh, and Kliik frames have nice designs. Kliik is a petite line, and the Fysh suns are really pretty.

    https://fyshuk.com/optical/ https://www.kliik.com/

  23. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by curtains1 View Post
    I like Costa Sunglasses, especially since they are not Oakley, or Rayban.
    You do know Costa is owned by Essilor, right? I was really looking forward to putting in their product about a year ago UNTIL I learned that they're under the Essilux umbrella. Made for an easy decision and saved me a bunch of money.

  24. #49
    OptiBoardaholic IIxIPariahIxII's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by curtains1 View Post
    I like Safilo, and I think Gucci was better designed when the were with Safilo. They are very underwhelming now.

    Like most everyone else, I'm not a fan of Luxottica.

    I like Alfred Sung, Steve Madden, Vera Wang, Nicole Miller, and BCBG.

    Nano is great for kids. They come with 2 kinds of straps, and some frames have glow in the dark temples.

    I use to like Puma, but find they are not as well made.



    Tom Ford is way overpriced.

    I like Costa Sunglasses, especially since they are not Oakley, or Rayban.

    Fysh, and Kliik frames have nice designs. Kliik is a petite line, and the Fysh suns are really pretty.

    https://fyshuk.com/optical/ https://www.kliik.com/

    Unfortunately, Costa is about to go waaaaay downhill. They're owned by Essilor, but now after the merger, the upper management in Essilor and Costa, had a disagreement with Luxottica's about seeking cost cutting implementation. IE, cheapening the quality of the product to make a larger profit. All Luxottica ever does. Essilor/Costa refused to do it, and naturally sent a ripple. Costa's CEO resigned. And they began shuttering their Daytona Beach facilities last month. Got inside info on the details before it was announced. Biggest reason why we decided not to push for Costa in the office. Despite the fact they seem to still be working on building a new headquarters in Daytona, I know from friends who still work at MED, Luxottica has already integrated Costa into ordering RX through them, and not through Costa. Which is a sign they're moving all production of RX to the McDonough Superlab, which has done such a wonderfully shoddy job at producing Oakley RX. So expect a huge drop in RX quality as well as turn around time and failed inspections when they arrive to the office. :( Hate seeing it happen all over again but. Luxottica is just a death knell.

  25. #50
    What's up? drk's Avatar
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    I got some Dolabany and they're selling well--one particular style that has a jillion colors. FYI.

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