Eye Glasses from China
 

I've been wearing glasses since I was 10. That's a long time.

At this point a typical pair of nice (nothing fancy) glasses, plastic lenses, wire frame, progressive bi-focals, anti-scratch, etc around $400.

Buy 2 pairs a year, etc it adds up.

About 10 years ago I started buying my glasses from China. The last pair cost $82, shipped to my door.

This company in San Rafael, Calif is their American rep. I think it is the worst customer service of any company I have ever encountered. In my 10 plus purchase they screwed up a couple of times. I always either got my money or the product but when they screw up it takes perseverance. And if you speak with them on the phone they will lie to you without a thought.

So now that I've shared the good and the bad you're free to make your own decision.

http://www.zennioptical.com/

Try Costco. Unless you have some jacked up prescription they will not cost any where near $400. They won't be $85 but I am pretty sure they will be well under $200 and the money supports a US company. Just an idea.

Wife, son and myself got glasses from Zenni several years ago and need to get some new glasses because our prescription is changing.
We couldn't be happier....we gave them the information they needed from our $25. optician exam.
Didn't scrimp on frame quality, I got stainless steel myself. Progressive lenses, no coatings or uv or anything, i read that ALL lens blanks have UV protection..
These plastic lenses just don't scratch! ....I take care of them but they don't seem to wear out.....the same for all of us.

no problems at all; except YOU have to adjust the frames for your face.(bend)

Back when i ordered them like 6 years ago it cost about $62. with shipping.
(Their system wouldn't let you order or pay if you used AOL)

I had tried WalMart and they weren't much of a savings. I've not tried Costco.

I've been buying mine for the past few years from the Canadian site of this Hong Kong based company http://www.coastalcontacts.com/glasses.
In Canada they're called http://www.clearlycontacts.ca/glasses.

No problems and they are supposed to be authentic brand name frames not knockoffs. So they claim.:rolleyes:

Next time I get glasses I think I'm gonna get them from http://shuron.com/ , classic quality eyewear since 1865. Frames made in the USA. I don't buy any crap from china, if I can help it....and I almost always can.

Now thats the attitude everyone needs to follow.

I respect that. Thank you.

To each their own.

I'll take the $3,000+ I've saved and spend it elsewhere. If there is an American product that I like it'll get the cash. If not, than they are not doing a good enough job.

But, again, to each their own.

You raise an interesting point. If auto buyers in the 1970s and 80s had simply, " bought American" out of patriotism, or other motive, would the cars we drive today be as good as they are? If consumers had settled for what Detroit was then producing would they have ever changed? Is it possible that buying a foreign car in that era actually helped spur the US auto industry to make better products?
Who is the true patriot?

There is also the issue of very, very few companies being truly one nation only. When you buy a subaru or a toyota, etc, how much of that money is dispersed through the local economy, how much in this nation and how much in other nations?

It's not an easy question to answer.

There are some truly local business, local farmers, craftsmen, etc that I will gladly support because I want them to flourish where I live and because I want to support their values.

But, for most purchases, as I see it, it is my role as a consumer to demand the most from the market. Just as a voter I demand the most from those I elect. The analogy is actually quite valid.

I used to buy Shuron glasses when I still wore them. Great products. I only need sunglasses now, and have a pair of their vintage MacArthurs with cable temples. Utterly bombproof shades. They've taken the fall off quite a few horses with me as well as direct hits from standing waves on the Colorado, and not come off. Great shades. American Optical is another good brand and not quite as pricey.

Thanks for your info

Since my youngest worked there in High School I have been going to Target. Prices fairly good, and good service and they know me on sight. The young female doc was a dancer.
she moves well.

12 is another spam post, I suspect.

I am a retired Chrysler exec and I can agree 100%.


There was a generation of Chrysler people like Francois Castaing and Dick Dauch that only cared about volume, because quality was not the determining factor in their bonuses.
All that changed when Iaccoca changed how they got their bonuses. As soon as poor quality pinched their wallets, they got the message.


After Cerberus took over, and the soul left Chrysler to become a zombified corpse designed to make money for the venture capitalists, the company took a dive.


I had left Chrysler and bought Mecedes because their motto " Das Beste oder Nichts" -- the Best or Nothing-- rang true, although they were a little self-righteous too.


The manager/leader who doesn't succumb to greed or arrogance is rare indeed.