43 pointsby chrisaycock4 hours ago3 comments
  • 0x38B2 hours ago
    I read up until the following quote, attributed to an unnamed “industry observer” - something aroused my curiosity:

    > "In essence, EyeMed is merely an instrument to protect the market share of the Luxottica family of companies, and it provides little to no substantive cost amelioration to consumers, what many would regard as the principal purpose of insurance."

    Searching with Kagi, the quote comes from a post on forums.studentdoctor.net by ThazinJayne (1), who prefaces the text “Here is an e-mail I received from a friend”.

    An industry observer? More like an unnamed friend of an anonymous forum member.

    1: https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/luxottica-eyemed-sc...

    ——

    P.S. I like my Oakleys, both sun- and prescription glasses, but cannot deny they are way overpriced for what they are – a little bit of plastic and metal.

  • 0cf8612b2e1e4 hours ago
    Meanwhile, I go to ZenniOptical, find a functional pair for $10, and buy eight copies. Never worry about glasses again. Keep a pair in the car, at work, in my luggage, and let them diffuse around the house.
    • JoeBOFH26 minutes ago
      Wife and I have been using Zenni for years. She loves being able to swap out glasses every year or so without breaking the bank. Also my glasses at a normal place are 800-1200 while at Zenni they are barely 120.
    • hazbot2 hours ago
      Thankyou, this is the comment I came here for - advice on alternatives!
    • umeshunni2 hours ago
      I did that for my reading glasses, but for shortsightedness, especially as an astigmatic, I find it hard to buy glasses or frames without actually wearing them. Curious what your strategy is.
  • rationalist4 hours ago
    > They own ... EyeBuyDirect.

    Back when I used to buy eye glasses, I bought three identical pairs from them (same frames and prescription). All three were different, and only one of them was tolerable to wear.

    LASIK seems to still have an very healthy margin for the provider, but still worth it. By my calculations, LASIK cost me the same amount that contact lenses would have cost me over the same time period (and that's after searching 30+ retailers for the lowest price on contact lenses).

    • alex435783 hours ago
      The one thing that has stopped me isn’t cost, but the relative risks of serious/permanent side effects. If LASIK generates an issue (dry eyes, pain, inaccurate correction) it’s basically permanent. If contacts are an issue, take them out or swap the brand/prescription. I just couldn’t gamble my vision on the outcome of LASIK.
      • rationalist3 hours ago
        True, 99% of people experiencing no negative side-effects does mean that 1% do experience negative side-effects.

        I think religiously-following the pre-operating and post-operation instructions is very important, and making sure eye health before the procedure is good enough.

        I imagine dry eyes wouldn't be any more inconvenient than having to deal with contacts (and having worse vision without the contacts).

      • bsderan hour ago
        > I just couldn’t gamble my vision on the outcome of LASIK.

        Perfectly reasonable. However, do know that modern versions of the procedure are way better at identifying the people who are likely to have problems.

        However, even if the odds are 1 in 10,000, there is always a "1".