The prices of eyeglasses

An interesting look from the Los Angeles Times:

Why are glasses so expensive? The eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry
It’s a question I get asked frequently, most recently by a colleague who was shocked to find that his new pair of prescription eyeglasses cost about $800.

Why are these things so damn expensive?

The answer: Because no one is doing anything to prevent a near-monopolistic, $100-billion industry from shamelessly abusing its market power.

Prescription eyewear represents perhaps the single biggest mass-market consumer ripoff to be found.

The author talks to an independent group about this and they decline to comment - here is why:

What the Vision Council probably didn’t want to get into is the fact that for years a single company, Luxottica, has controlled much of the eyewear market. If you wear designer glasses, there’s a very good chance you’re wearing Luxottica frames.

Its owned and licensed brands include Armani, Brooks Brothers, Burberry, Chanel, Coach, DKNY, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, Oakley, Oliver Peoples, Persol, Polo Ralph Lauren, Ray-Ban, Tiffany, Valentino, Vogue and Versace.

Italy’s Luxottica also runs EyeMed Vision Care, LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Sunglass Hut and Target Optical.

Just pause to appreciate the lengthy shadow this one company casts over the vision care market. You go into a LensCrafters retail outlet, where the salesperson shows you Luxottica frames under various names, and then the company pays itself when you use your EyeMed insurance.

A very sweet deal.

I had cataract surgery ten years ago and the inserts corrected my eyesight to 20/20 but I do need readers. The cost of the readers has gone up quite a bit over the last five years or so. I used to get good ones from WalMart for under ten bucks but now they are $15 and up for cheap ones. I like having a large field of view too but they have been shrinking the size of the lenses. I have a few treasured aviator-style ones for computer and closeup work but the new ones really limit my vision. Ok for reading but not for looking at a whole screen or taking a photograph.