"Project Dean": Part 6 - Perfect Progressives Online
1 comments Posted by Ira at Wednesday, October 29, 2008I got an email a couple of weeks ago asking how "Project Dean" ended up. It has been awhile, and my first thought was to pass along the link in the previous sentence to all of the articles -- and then I realized that I had never finished the series. I stubbed in the title for this piece and it got buried under dozens of other posts.
More importantly, it's been four months of daily wear and they're still pristine. Proof that you can have success with progressive lenses online.
Labels: 39 Dollar Glasses, Photochromic, Progressive, Project Dean
PD, Frame inventory, Costs -- Another (anonymous) optician speaks out
13 comments Posted by Ira at Thursday, October 23, 2008I got another comment from a practicing optician. It started in much the same way requests pour from the lips of my three children:
I know you will more than likely NOT post my comment.
It continues:
I've read your edit. I'm sure you've been bombarded by hords of us in the industry. What you need to understand is that we're fighting for our jobs. I'm a licensed Optician. I have been working in the industry for almost 20 years.
On to his first gripe:
Nothing makes me more upset than having to use MY inventory of frames, MY knowledge, MY time to help people buy their glasses online.
The practice I work at, we do not release pupilary measurements at no charge. We have a fee associated with that information. It is not included in your routine eye exam.
My big quandry is this....where do you go when you need your glasses adjusted? What happens when you need a nosepad? Or a screw has fallen out? How are you sure that your glasses have been made properly? Do you then seek out your optician and expect him/her to help you out? Really, what do you do?
I want patients to LOVE their glasses. It doesn't matter to me how much you spend or don't spend. It could be $100, or $1,000. I don't make commission. I'm proud of what I do. I don't want to see my job go through the window because it's been outsourced to the big manufacturing shmoes. I'd love to read a response from you. I'm not trying to bash what you're doing, I'm only stating my case. I think everyone should hear both sides of the story.
Plan ahead! Buy your eyeglasses now -- before you NEED them.
0 comments Posted by Ira at Saturday, October 18, 2008I lived for years with one pair of eyeglasses at a time. This is the model that I'd argue over 90% of eyeglasses-wearing Americans live by. First of all, eyeglasses are traditionally expensive, and secondly, they're really, really expensive. Who buys two pairs? Rich people, unlike me.
This online eyeglasses thing is a huge deal for us "common people", but there is a catch. Even with fast shipping, it's going to take a week (maybe two). Why wait when you don't need to? You can get a spare pair now starting at less than $8 (from EyeBuyDirect), but even at a multiple of that low, low price, you really ought to prepare for that "uh-oh" moment on which the jerks at LensCrafters have based their profiteering for years.
The high cost of eyeglasses has been a brilliant marketing move for them. Make eyeglasses so expensive that people won't have a backup and when those break, they'll be desperate for their "next fix", and we'll be the only ones here to serve them.
Thank goodness we're free of them.
Take stock in your eyeglasses stock. You can deck yourself out in a couple of pairs, and a sunglasses for each car and still have money left over for that iPhone you've had your eye on -- or maybe fill a cart at the grocery store, and be able to see what you're putting in it?
Related Posts and Links:
Labels: LensCrafters, spare eyeglasses
Get Your Cheap Eyeglasses! Welcome Reader's Digest Readers!
0 comments Posted by Ira at Sunday, October 12, 2008I spoke with Andrea Cooper a month or so ago about the online eyeglasses thing and she popped it into the November 2008 issue of Reader's Digest. The GlassyEyes mention is on page 180 in the "Get a Great Deal on Anything" article (available at rd.com).
I guess it should come as no surprise that a thirty minute conversation would be condensed to 130 words in of all places, Reader's Digest -- it's not like I expected the cover or anything. ;-)
I'm excited because this kind of exosure should help introduce the concept of online eyeglasses to an entirely new audience -- and potentially live in the waiting rooms of hospitals and dentist's offices for years (and years).
If you get the Reader's Digest, or know someone who does, pass along the page number - 180!
Another nice corresponding illustration, this time by Istvan Banyai.
A special thanks to my neighbor, Pokey for the "spare" copy.
Labels: Andrea Cooper, interview, media, readers digest
Clicked over to Goggles4U this morning and was struck by the "Best Sellers" area. I was able to get a screenshot of the top 7 most popular frames they list on the site (there are 8 -- the 900 pixel height of this laptop has always been a sticking point with me). Fully six of the top eight are reminiscent of the Palin eyeglasses wardrobe (both current and historical).
The other women's frame makes me think of Tina Palin, er.. Fey.
That "most popular" frame is the maverick of the bunch. Perhaps McCain, has done a slight update from the following stylish number:
Related Posts and Links:
Labels: eyeglasses, goggles4u, sarah palin
Blurry: Another reason to AVOID eyeglasses at the mall
7 comments Posted by Ira at Sunday, October 05, 2008I spent a half hour or so at a couple of eyeglasses shops at the local mall this weekend. I haven't found myself spending too much time in stores such as these in the past couple of years, but I needed to do a little research for a new blog I'm working on (more on that in a few weeks).
- Put current glasses on.
- Scope for a contender.
- Clasp frame in left hand, use right to remove current glasses.
- Put on new frame with dummy lenses.
- Grope for mirror.
- Lean in within 6 inches of mirror.
- Make determination based on this silliness.
- Repeat.
- Cave in to exhaustion.
One of the most common questions I get in all of this is, "How do I know if they'll look good on me?" I have a number of pat answers based primarily on the idea that you should definitely use a frame you like as a template for lens shape and size. More recently, however, I tend to lean towards, "how do you know if the frames at the store will look good?"
GlassyEyes Halloween Costume #3: Mark Frauenfelder
5 comments Posted by Ira at Thursday, October 02, 2008Part Three in a multi-part series on prescription eyeglasses-themed Halloween costumes. I know it's still a month away, but the eyeglasses featured in these posts will take a few weeks to arrive. ACT NOW!
The glasses for this ensemble are bold -- awesomely so. Start a new look, it's about time you did. Seriously, look in the mirror, those wispy wireless jobbers might be fine for the board room, but when was the last time you were in the board room?
---
When trying to emulate the "Mark" look, you need to go big, plastic and classic -- with the frames. He's likely to wear the Ray Bans (very easy to replicate at a bargain price), but he'll throw a change-up every now and then to something a bit wackier.
Throw in a mussed up hairstyle, a bowling shirt or interestingly patterned short-sleeve (untucked and in ample supply at the thrift stores this time of year), maybe a remote control with a big antenna and you're good to go. Your mileage may vary, but my crowd will likely be able to identify the inspiration of my costume -- especially if I can talk my youngest into going as a smoking fish, and the others into going as robots.
Up here in the frigid North country (in those short sleeves), it's going to take a full thermos of espresso to make it around the neighborhood on Halloween. That lab coat is starting to look like a good idea.
Add a second pair (perhaps from the $15 Overstock section) and you can skip the shipping. I typically go the Shuron route for my bold, plastic, prescription eyeglasses frames, but I've also gone free -- twice.
Regardless, whether you want to be like Mark or not, a bold pair of frames is a must for your eyewear wardrobe.
Check him out on The Colbert Report, and this old Apple "Switch" commercial:
Labels: costume, frauenfelder, halloween