Like many I have always suspected cartel pricing or some dodgy agreement on glasses, I never realised it is because of a monopoly.
You can go to Lens Crafters or Vision Works and pay $400-$800 or more. I've bought some online from LensesRX... single vision with bendable titanium frames... for ~$65. (Similar frames alone from an optic shop can be $250 or more.) I'm rough on glasses... with dogs knocking them off of my face and all. The titanium frames are lightweight and durable. You can even pay much less at other outlets, but probably not with "bendable" frames. Don't be stupid. Whatever you save on eye wear you can spend on hookers and blow!
This is a common biz structure. It's flourished with the advent of higher equities prices and availability of absurdly cheap financing through bonds and loans. Brands are rolled up into the corporate mother ships leaving the consumer with the impression that there exist price competition. There's nothing wrong with it other than the potential of a modern version of pricing monopolies. Examples of brand ownership: http://www.loreal.com/brand http://www.luxottica.com/en/eyewear-brands https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/27/consumer-brands-owned-ten-companies-graphic_n_1458812.html http://www.marketwatch.com/story/it...bezos-enormous-empire-in-one-chart-2017-06-21 https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/brands-and-models.html
Indeed, hookers and blow are more fun, that may be why I need the glasses.. I live mostly in Colombia (S.A) and it seems to be one of the last places you can get great looking frames in a opticians without silly "designer" labels. My US based assistant got a pair of titanium rimless for ~$100 including exam, fancier lenses and not similar, identical manufacturer/model frame to a pair she was quoted ~$850 on in Boston. Madness and largely all down to this Luxotica gang.
The optician biz is a bout as scammy as it gets. I was able to get a local guy running a special, admittedly bare bones and you wont be able to duplicate it. He copied my prescription perfectly and decent frames, for $20 yep. $20 Most people who get ripped off at the high end or local glasses pimps are idiots. Which is about 98% of the public