The Great Eyeglasses Rip Off

 There are many things more evil than Donald Trump. The filthy corporate eyeglasses industry is one of them. In a parallel universe this is how I imagine people would deal with the criminally elite filthy rich.

Consumer columnist David Lazarus seems to be frequently asked, "Why are the glasses prices very high in the US?" Even recently when my colleague went to buy glasses, he said he was shocked for how much $ 800 (about 88,000 yen) was charged and why Mr. Lazarus wondered why the price of glasses in America I explain it.

Why are glasses so expensive? The eyewear industry prefers to keep that blurry - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-why-are-eyeglasses-so-expensive-20190122-story.html

According to Vision Council , an industry organization in the optical industry dealing with glasses and contacts, three-quarters of adults living in the United States use some sort of vision correction tools. It seems that two thirds of them are wearing eyeglasses, and it is said that about 126 million people will be corrected to the number of people, and the market size is considerable.

According to VSP , the leading provider of eye care products, the average price of eyeglass frames is $ 231 per set (about 25,000 yen), with an average of 112 dollars (about 12,000 yen) per pair of single focus lenses Thing. If you become a special lens such as a bifocal lens, the price of the lens will be doubled.

However, in fact, the cost of the sum of the three plastic parts that make up the eyeglass frame and some metal fasteners is about ten dollars (about 1100 yen) at most. Even lenses that require precision are mostly made of plastic and manufacturing is almost completely automated, Mr. Lazarus points out. The retail price of eyeglasses is a result of a price rise of more than 10 times from the actual manufacturing cost.





by Francesco Paggiaro

Carmen Balber, executive director of Santa Monica's interest group " Consumer Watchdog " said that he has been wearing eyeglasses for a long time in his life and said that by replacing lenses and frames We have spent thousands of dollars (about hundreds of thousands of yen) to date. "If you are wearing glasses, everyone will agree that the cost of glasses will be uncontrollable," Balber says.

Mr. Balber points out the fact that everyday life does not remain without eyeglasses and other orthodontic appliances, and that glasses prices should be discussed throughout the country as a health care problem. "At least it needs transparency about the price and true cost of the glasses," Balber said.

by bruce mars 

Mr. Lazarus contacted Vision Council, an industry association, and asked the industry's view on price. However, Kelly Barry, a spokeswoman for Vision Council who received Lazarus' e-mail saying "I would like to ask why glasses are so expensive," the group can not participate in such articles He said that he replied.

When Mr. Lazarus asks why he can not reply to the question, Mr. Barry said "Vision Council will send out a message on" health and fashion trends ", and our group representing many different glasses manufacturers and brands However, it was difficult to comment on pricing. "

However, Mr. Lazarus said Vision Council did not want to comment on the fact that "the single company" Lux Otica "has dominated the eyeglass market in the US for many years" . If Americans are wearing eyeglasses made by designers, it seems that they are Lux Ochica's glasses with a good chance.

by Godisable Jacob 

Italy-based glasses and eyewear makers Lux Otica has licensed brands with brands such as Armani , Brooks Brothers , Bulgari , Chanel , Prada , Burberry , Dolce & Gabbana and Ralph Lauren . Mr. Lazarus points out that Lux Otica, who places many other eyeglasses brands, has a major impact on the eyeglasses market.

The retail store · glasses brand · glasses related insurance and support companies are under umbrella of Lux Otica and the glasses market boasting 100 billion dollars (about 11 trillion yen) is almost monopolized by Lux Otica Thing. In 2017, Lux Ochica merged with Esilor , a French optical equipment maker, and established a holding company called Ecillolux Otica . As a result of this, the size of Luxx Otica expanded further.

Mr. Lazarus says that domination of the eyeglass market by Looks Otica is said to be the world's largest monopoly situation by a single company. Lazarus points out that Lux Oscar will never want to explain the retail price of eyeglass frames and lenses by 50 to 100 times the manufacturing price.

by Alexandr Borecky 

While Mr. Lazarus criticizes market monopoly and eyeglasses price hikes by Lux Ochica, California optometrist Ranjeet Bajwa says that consumers are getting glasses with performance that matches the price they paid I point out. "While some merchants sell low-end glasses, they are inferior in terms of fit, durability, and maintenance of vision correction performance over a long period," Bajwa said. 

According to Mr. Bajwa, today's glasses are high-quality products produced as a result of various technologies and are separate from previous glasses, so it is said that the price added to the price is added to the price about. Mr. Lazarus also agreed that companies must collect research and development expenses, but "126 million adults are wearing eyeglasses and many of them have exchanged glasses in a few years As far as we are concerned, it will not take much time for frame and lens manufacturers to collect R & D expenses ". 

Although attention is paid to the very high price of eyeglass frames and new entrants such as " Warby Parker " selling fashionable high-performance eyeglasses at a low price have also appeared, Lazarus said other outstanding companies It is strange that it will not appear. Lazarus concluded that the American glasses industry is stagnating for decades and the US glasses are expensive as the circumstances under which the price is more than ten times the manufacturing price are neglected . 

In the alternate universe people start by smashing plate glass window in the bait and switch eyeglass stores if the government refuses to prosecute the deceptive advertising and price gouging. If the criminal corporate cocksuckers simply submit insurance claims then the people fire bomb the retail stores. If that doesn't work they kidnap the CEO's and board of directors of the worst offenders and torture them to death in the most gruesome ways that would make even Quentin Tarantino squirm.

When it comes to exacting justice on the criminally elite corporate slime I've been a fan of the guillotine and death by flame thrower but in the alternative universe the guillotine and the flame thrower as a means of execution would look like mercy because death would come too quickly. The only true justice with be slow agonizing deaths for the filthy rich whose vulgar existence alone causes the suffering and deaths of millions of the innocent. In the alternate universe strong people with morals fight for those who are too weak, too oppressed, too broken and too downtrodden fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. 

How will filthy vulgar rich criminals be dealt justice in the alternative universe?  

Let's start with a hungry bear in a cage. The guilty will be given coagulants so he or she cannot quickly bleed out. Through a small opening in the cage a hand or a foot is place into the cage and the starving bear gets to chew on the guilty bastard's foot and leg. The the bear is through stripping the flesh from the bone a hyena is sent is to use its powerful biting force to crack into the fucker's lower leg bones.

A bullwhip can rip human flesh from the bone and so can a scourge like the kind Jesus was whipped with in the movie Passion of  the Christ. I actually enjoyed that scene because as the legend goes Jersus and God are one and the same and with full knowledge of the past present and future, God created greedy evil trash. God created these predators knowing that they would make the lives of good people hell. It would be very satisfying for a victim to be handed a bullwhip and all allowed 5 minutes with a board of directors of some scumbag corporations. 

Is this happening now in an alternative universe? Maybe. It is theorized that everything that can happen does happen but in this world there's not much you can do lawfully about this fuckery. What you decide to do about it is up to you. I will not encourage of discourage anyone in doing what they see fit about this evil. I will say if I was on a jury of someone charged with vandalizing a ripoff eye wear store such as Amerca's Best, Lens Crafters, Stanton Optical etc.. or beating the shit out of one of their sleazy employees I'd find that defendant NOT GUILTY!

What are your legal option?

Do you know about the glasses conspiracy? Your patients do.

TruTV has released a new video that reveals the price gouging practices of Luxottica and it’s family of brands. The conspiracy style video has exploded on social media among 18 to 35 year olds – the people we most need to be reaching out to provide education about the dangers of online spectacles purchasing.

In just four minutes and thirty seconds the video reveals the abusive practices of these companies in telling detail. It jumps right in with the extreme up-prcing for brand names pasted on to frames. The discussion quickly moves to the dominance they hold over the market by way of their near destruction and purchase of Oakley’s, and the threat this places on anyone else who would oppose them. They also reveal the vertical integration of ownership of Sunglass Hut, Target Optical, Sears Optical, Lenscrafters, etc and the power this gives Luxottica over the industry.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
The video has already reached three million views since it launched September 14. All of the benefit, at the moment, is going to Zenni Optical and other similar online outlets. The main focus in on the price of frames, without any attention to the services of ODs or the precise measurements needed for prescription lenses. These details are being glossed over making the online outlets look like heroes by simply offering affordable frames.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
Some independent optometrists are starting to engage in the discussion, but we need more voices. Help spread the word that the issue isn’t only cost, it’s the care that goes along with it.

Start now:

1. Post the video with a comment such as “I am  part of a growing group of independent optometrists are taking a stand against these mega-conglomerations.”
2. Look for friends sharing the video and comment on their posts. Let them know that a group of independent optometrists have united to take a stand against the price gouging in the market. Talk about how and why you are putting patient healthcare first in your practice.
3. Prove to your patients that you offer affordable eyewear when they come into your office. Use our value calculator to show exactly how your prices stack up.

We can work together to use the momentum this video has created. Let’s show the world what we are doing to end this conspiracy, together.