Why are glasses so expensive?

Where and when does price matter?

Why are some glasses so cheap?

When buying glasses the prices can vary from relatively cheap to extremely expensive. You’ll often see prices as low as $89.00 for a pair, frame included, advertised as an inexpensive reliable solution. Typically these options are single vision CR39 (basic, uncoated plastic), or an acrylic plastic and fill the need for reading glasses.

This type of eyewear can be mass produced and sold as “cheater readers” or “over the counter” reading glasses. Packs of them can be purchased online or at Costco and work well enough for simple reading glasses. The custom pupil distance measurements that we use to ensure good quality for prescription eyewear are replaced by a “good enough” average measurement (usually around 60). You can learn more about “cheater reader” eyeglasses here. These glasses are cheap because the materials used to make them are basic and can be produced in the hundreds of thousands. The lenses are not designed to be removed and the frames are not designed for more robust prescription eyeglass needs. If you know your prescription needs, then you could likely get by with cheater readers for a while, however custom eyewear with the  proper measurements and prescription help us to avoid eye strain during periods of long use. 

Why are some glasses so expensive?

Glasses, specifically the frames, that carry designer names can range from $89.00-$1050.00! In the same way that a designer handbag can sell for triple the price of a non-designer equivalent, glasses and their fashion influence carry monetary value to some. 
Where in the world the eyeglasses are made can also influence the price. Eyewear mass produced in China from nylon or nickel alloy metal is usually less expensive to produce than eyewear that is produced in Italy or Japan. Although you might receive a similar product in terms of build quality and materials, you may pay a larger premium for Italian or Japanese frames. 

What about prescription eyeglass lenses?

Prescription eyeglass lenses can be expensive by their custom nature. Each set of eyeglasses has to have unique lenses with your unique measurements put in. Astigmatism correction lies on an axis between 0-180 degrees. This means that there are over 180 combinations for this one feature of the prescription. This doesn’t even account for prescription sphere power, which can be anywhere from -18 to +10! All said and done, there are hundreds of millions of potential combinations for an eyeglass prescription. 

How Can I Save?

The best way to save on eyeglasses is to try to package together features of your lenses. For example, lenses that come with Non-Glare rolled into the price of the lens design and prescription can save you a hundred dollars. Polarized lenses that are single vision can be rolled into a package deal based on the prescription limits. More deals and package pricing can be found on our "Exclusive Deals" page.
 

Final Thoughts

The more that you package together features, the less specific you can be with all the combinations of features you might want. This being said, if you’re willing to invest more in your everyday wear pair of eyeglasses, there are custom lenses that meet every need available at our store in Santa Barbara and Goleta.