
One Dollar Glasses – Help for 150M people - tiplus
http://onedollarglasses.org
======
Arcsech
Glasses are a total racket. Purchasing your glasses online is many, many times
cheaper than going to Lenscrafters or basically any other brick & mortar store
in the US. I've been buying online for years and they're every bit as good as
usual ones. You do need your pupillary distance, but you either measure this
yourself with the help of a friend, or ask your optometrist. If they refuse or
tell you how evil buying glasses online is, get a new optometrist.

The best sites I'm aware of are:

[http://www.zennioptical.com/](http://www.zennioptical.com/) (what I use)

[https://www.goggles4u.com/](https://www.goggles4u.com/)

[https://www.39dollarglasses.com/](https://www.39dollarglasses.com/)

~~~
j79
I would love to buy glasses on-line, but have a simple issue of having an
absolute massive head. Unless I go in and physically try on a pair, I just
have to assume it won't fit (usually the width of face, but temple length is
also a pain...)

:(

~~~
Declanomous
I have a really wide head, but a relatively narrow face. I have a lot of
problems with fit as well as style as a result. I just went to Costco and
tried on every pair of glasses they had, figured out what style looked best,
took the measurements off the frames that fit, and used that to order glasses
online. Costco's profit comes from their membership fees rather than selling
anything, so you don't have to feel bad about not buying anything (since you
already have a membership).

The one thing I need to look out for is how the hook on the arm is
constructed. One of my ears is slightly farther back than the other (by maybe
2 millimeters). If I buy frames where the arm can't be readjusted the glasses
can rest a bit askance on my face.

~~~
dragonwriter
> Costco's profit comes from their membership fees rather than selling
> anything

Membership is key both because its essentially zero cost, and because paid
membership motivates choosing Costco as the place to make purchases (one
reason Costco sells so,much more per unit of floospace than, e.g., WalMart),
but Costco, absolutely, does make profits from sales, even if its margins are
fairly low.

~~~
Declanomous
Well, their stated goal is to only make as much profit as is needed to cover
their expenses. I personally don't consider that profit, but the price they
sell goods for is indeed greater than the cost they bought them for.

~~~
branchless
Surely salaries have to be taken into account? If they fill their boots ratger
than shareholder profits customers still pay.

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Johnny555
My glasses cost $39 from one of the many online cheap glasses makers. So now I
have more money to donate to the $1 glasses campaign :)

Last time I got glasses, I tried a test, I bought the $300 glasses from my eye
doctor ("only" $200 after insurance), and I bought a pair of $39 glasses
online. I found no difference between the two other than price (and the ones I
bought online arrived by mail the day before the expensive pair was ready from
my eye doctor).

And I bought a second pair of backup glasses for less than my eye doctor
wanted for his "lens protection insurance".

Though admittedly, I have a simple, low-power prescription (< -3.0, no
astigmatism), so your milage might vary with a more complex prescription.

~~~
criddell
Last time I got a new prescription I asked them to include the PD number and
they refused. They would only give that to me if I bought glasses through
them. I couldn't even pay them for just the measurement (I suggested $10-$20).

It's easy enough to measure myself, so that's what I did.

My glasses were $45 and he said his costs were more than twice that. Where's
all that money going?

~~~
mootothemax
>It's easy enough to measure myself

Do you have any recommendations about this? It's the kind of thing I'm a bit
nervous about searching as I can see many, many ways I might accidentally read
the optician equivalent of an anti-vaccination blog.

~~~
Johnny555
Here's a guide from one of the online glasses sellers:

[http://www.zennioptical.com/measuring-pd-
infographic](http://www.zennioptical.com/measuring-pd-infographic)

They sent me a free PD ruler (it has a slit in the middle so you can see your
pupils and a notch in the middle to center it on your nose) with my glasses,
but I just used a standard ruler the first time I measured, and got the same
measurement when my glasses arrived and I used their ruler. I was off by 1 mm
in one eye when I compared to my eye doctor's measurements. For my
prescription, that's not very significant, but it might be for a stronger
prescription.

You can buy a PD ruler for a dollar or two from eBay if you don't want to use
a standard ruler.

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nickff
This is fantastic, and I will definitely be making a donation, but I think
they would benefit from taking a page out of the Lucky Iron Fish book, and
sending a pair of the glasses to donors who contribute 50 dollars or more. I
have found the Lucky Iron Fish I have to be helpful in convincing others to
donate, and I think having a pair of these glasses could similarly make the
project more tangible to prospective donors.

[http://www.luckyironfish.com/](http://www.luckyironfish.com/)

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sboselli
Why aren't these kind of hardware driven campaign fully open source?

Why is there not a pdf with plans and clear cut instructions on how to build
the wire bender (which at 2500 Euros is absolutely insane)?

I understand using the money for funding more glasses makes sense, but in
reality if your mission is for this hardware breakthrough to improve
everyone's life all around the world, why hide and hog the design?

I'd like to build this in my machine shop in the other corner of the world,
why send 2500 Euros to Germany? I just don't get it. It makes me think of
ulterior motives and when that happens I quickly lose faith in the
organization. Everyone loses, the cause itself being the most affected.

~~~
Hydraulix989
Very nice! I only wish your web site had og metadata so that I could socially
share your site on FB, LinkedIn, etc. and have the title, description, and
preview image show up in my posts.

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rosstex
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDdq2rIqAlM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDdq2rIqAlM)

Luxottica currently owns 80% of the eyeglass business

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Animats
How do they do cylindrical axis with a small inventory of lenses and non-round
lenses? The three parameters for lenses are spherical radius, cylindrical
radius, and axis of the cylinder. A complete set of a good range in all three
is large, which is what leads to custom lenses.

There's a known way to cut costs with round lenses. With round lenses, you can
have a small inventory of premade lenses with only two parameters. The axis is
set with a little notcher that makes a notch which locks it to a bump in the
frame, so it can't rotate. These have been used in India for decades. There's
an optical store in an attache case.

If the One Dollar Glasses guys only use 25 different lenses, are they just
blowing off the cylindrical correction entirely? Are these just "readers" like
the ones available cheaply at most drugstores? Those you can get on Alibaba
for $0.75 each in bulk.[1]

[1] [https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Premade-Distance-
Glas...](https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Premade-Distance-
Glasses_121759902.html)

~~~
codingdave
That is the impression that I got - they are just like off-the-shelf reading
glasses. But so what? They are giving cheap glasses to people in poverty who
had nothing before. Sure, you can buy similar thing in bulk for similar
prices, but can you then also deliver them to these people for the other
quarter? Even if you can do so, are you actually doing so? These guys are. I'm
not going to criticize them for it.

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tiplus
The guy is a physics teacher who invented a small wire bending device which is
used to make the glasses locally anywhere at material costs of 1$.

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saboot
It's pretty amazing how much extra cost most glasses cost. And this comes at a
very steep cost for most people. I've worked with a charity organization
called Remote Area Medical (RAM) which provides free medical, dental, and
vision care. Lots of people are there because they can no longer see, cannot
get a job because of it, and thus have no money. RAM can create a vision
prescription, prepare the lenses on the spot, and give a patient glasses for a
cost of $15 in an hour, patients dont pay anything. We really need to do more
in making cheap glasses more available to people in the US.

Here is one person's struggle in getting glasses while poor (clip from 2008,
but we see this at clinics constantly)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TfraBGSGg8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TfraBGSGg8)

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randyrand
I got 4 pairs of glasses on amazon (needed the opposite of reading glasses
which are hard to find in stores) for $8. I was pretty darn impressed by how
cheap the free market is vs doctors offices.

~~~
JustSomeNobody
Having worked in the optical business to put myself through engineering
school, I know that glasses can be very expensive; there's a poop tonne of
overhead at those places.

That being said, be very careful of cheap glasses. If you have a strong Rx,
you need the OC to be aligned properly with your P.D. otherwise you're
inducing prism. This can cause severe headaches and eye fatigue. You should
also make sure you go see a Dr regularly; those exams test more than just your
vision. You could be going blind in a preventable way and not know until too
late.

Oh, cheap frames just aren't as comfortable at the end of the day as not as
cheap frames. Buyer beware.

* Not a Dr myself. I worked in the labs. Don't take anything I say to be any sort of medical advice. I'm merely saying be very careful with your precious eye sight.

~~~
randyrand
Hmm. I got the least strong one they had. I think 1.5. Hopefully that's okay.
I only use them sometimes.

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HoyaSaxa
This is obviously a really admirable cause, and as someone who wears contacts,
I couldn't imagine not having access to corrective lenses.

Just a word of caution to anyone considering making a donation, their
donations page is not served over HTTPS. Their unsecured page renders an
iframe [1] from their payment processor that is served over HTTPS though. I
haven't tested it, but you should be able to make a donation securely via that
link.

I reached out to them to let them know and offered some assistance.

[1]
[https://secure.fundraisingbox.com/app/payment?hash=UuYpAgAJ0...](https://secure.fundraisingbox.com/app/payment?hash=UuYpAgAJ0Hx7eupPM9waOFGDallJQMgpPR%2BuRijuDzdHgGleT3LxJTsbnksg9Rs%2FG5whDWRy%2BmkXSMtbIq4SNn3dfUMtaq05RA6PAg%2B%2BGBx8hCkpLTS8OXJY015Gpk9LMtUmLx0HvCsnNodWV%2FcdTQ%3D%3D#http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onedollarglasses.org%2Fdonations%2F)

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ren01r
I am using prescribed glasses since I was in 3rd grade. I feel like I'm
wasting money when I spend more than 1000 INR (around 15 USD) on glasses. I
can't imagine spending 700 USD on glasses. I can live on that money for about
4 months with that money.

~~~
branchless
People spending $700 are buying it from a store that has to pay US rent, US
employers paing US rent. You need to adjust for local wages.

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Tempest1981
Related: work is also being done on a $1 microscope -- to identify disease in
poor countries, and/or for education/classrooms.
[https://www.technologyreview.com/s/525471/the-1-origami-
micr...](https://www.technologyreview.com/s/525471/the-1-origami-microscope/)
and [http://www.popsci.com/article/gadgets/origami-microscope-
les...](http://www.popsci.com/article/gadgets/origami-microscope-less-dollar)

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fmavituna
It's a bit (actually a lot) worrying that their donation page that you enter
personal and credit card info is not over HTTPS. Possibly it will
significantly decrease the donations they'll receive online.

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PinguTS
The comments are very interesting. I think glasses are a very specific issue.
The question is: do want perfect view or just want to see something better.

For better view this is great.

But for the developed world it is not comparable. Either because the eyeglass
frame should follow some trend, or the glasses itself needs some additional
threatment.

For example, my glasses are 'cheap' even as I need special glasses. Yes, the
diopter are different between left and right. But much more important is the
parallax compensation for me. My optician exchanges the glasses even for free,
if they don't fit. So online, is realy not an option.

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dirkg
Buying glasses in Asia or online is so much cheaper than the scam run by
Lenscrafters, most optometrists in the US. Its sold as a designer product
where you spend $$$ on frames, the glass material with fancy treatments, and
they charge you maybe 5-10x the actual costs.

I have ordered from Goggles4u, Zenni etc and these places must have razor thin
profit margins, they always have coupons and its dirt cheap, never had issues
with the quality of the lenses. You can always go to any optometrist/Costco
etc and get the lens checked out to confirm.

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StephenConnell
I have found purchasing glasses can be hit or miss weather I buy $600 glasses
or less that twenty dollar glasses. I may miss a bit more with cheap glasses,
but I can take a lot more shots.

I've used zennioptical.com and it has worked really well. I've run into frames
that do not fit, but they were cheap mistakes and once I found something I
liked, I just reorder every few years.

Paying attention to the frame measurements is pretty important if you buy
online.

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ohstopitu
I will definitely be donating. I've had glasses since I was 3 and I understand
how expensive they can be. (as a kid, I used to break mine often and my
parents would have to pay insane amounts of money to get new ones).

From what I understand, the frames themselves are just overpriced[0]

[0] -
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7H-_8UkmFU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7H-_8UkmFU)

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dingleberry
mass produced chinese glasses beat it first

i bought a dozen negative glasses for $15 five years ago at chinatown in
Jakarta, Indonesia; should be cheaper in china.

same model, same power, but can't choose color.

the retail is available so i can choose model, power, color, etc for $2 per
glasses

I also bought a +4 glasses for less than $1, metal frame. positive glasses are
cheaper maybe because there's less demand.

their quality depend solely on material, not price. my more stylish glasses
(no-frame-around-glass, flexible handle) lasts about 3-6 months on heavy use.
sturdier styles (harry-potter-styele, thicker plastic frame) lasted more than
a year till my-then-baby-boy tore it forcefully from my face. my <$1 positive
metal frame glasses seem to last forever.

nb: i wear positive lens everyday for my eye training and choose to no longer
wear negative lens; therefore, i haven't bought any lenses for about three
years; however, the prices are still about the same last time i checked at
jakarta's chinatown.

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dba7dba
I've heard that all these different brands in eye glasses industry are mostly
owned by just a few holding companies. Hence the high price for everything
related to eye glasses.

Never bothered to actually check but I remember hearing that in a podcast.

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Namrog84
The site makes it look like exclusively a charity? I can donate and that means
someone gets glasses. But can I buy them for myself or a friend as well? I
couldn't find the answer (on mobile)

~~~
jakebellacera
Based on this page[1], it looks like they provide the machine and training
required to produce the glasses on-site in remote locations by locals so that
they can operate their own businesses. This makes a lot of sense, because it's
a lot cheaper to deploy X quantity of materials required to produce the
glasses all at once vs hundreds of individual glasses. Also, it helps boost
their local economies.

[1]: [http://www.onedollarglasses.org/the-glasses/production-on-
si...](http://www.onedollarglasses.org/the-glasses/production-on-site.html)

~~~
rogerdpack
If they really want this to go wide spread, they should make a way for locals
to "make money" on the machines, like they can resell them for $2

then it could spread and be self-sustaining, and everywhere would have $2
glasses, which is actually somewhat affordable, even in developing countries.

My only other concern is what about astigmatism? Are they teaching the people
that distribute it to accomodate for that (like "2 hour optometrist training"
LOL)

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kefka
So, where can I buy high quality sunglasses (have 20/15 vision)? Obviously
junk doesn't cut it, and I really don't want to feed the Luxottica monster.

~~~
waterfowl
Maui Jim sunglasses are reportedly exceptionally high quality, also not part
of Luxottica. My brother loves them, I don't wear sunglasses.

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rtfs
why are these glasses so cheap?

~~~
ceejayoz
The real question is why are other glasses so expensive, and the answer is
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica).

~~~
Alupis
It's a bit disingenuous to compare these $1 wire glasses to glasses you would
buy from an Optometrist.

There are some very clear and distinct differences.

Yes, there is a lot of bloat in prescription glasses pricing, but it's not 99%
bloat (ie. it's not a $1 cost-to-manufacturer product being sold to you).

Frames are overly expensive, but a trivial comparison will reveal most frames
are a lot more sturdy/well-constructed than a simple 18awg wire bent into
shape.

The real expense is the lenses, and their coatings. The lenses in the $1
glasses surely cannot have anti-glare/fog/scratch/shatter coatings, otherwise
the lenses alone would cost far more than $1! Also, the quality of
manufacturing plays an important role, as other HNers have pointed out (the
precision shape of the lenses, etc.).

The real "meat" of this thing isn't to highlight how over-priced prescription
glasses are, it's to showcase a well intentioned charity that's providing
clear vision to people who would not be able to get it any other way. These
people will accept less quality, because the alternative is not being able to
see. The $1 donation price-point enables a wider range of folks to be able to
donate, which feeds the cycle.

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sangd
I wore cheap glasses for the last ~15 years, my eyes are still 20/20 the last
time I checked which was ~3 months ago.

~~~
dublinben
Why do you wear glasses if your vision is already 20/20?

~~~
pavanky
I am assuming he meant sun shades ?

~~~
sangd
correct :).

