What will the Internet disrupt next?

[Phil Thien]

I went today to get my eye exam at Lenscrafters. I got the AAA discount, so the exam was something like $35.

Last time I was there was mid 2009. My prescription hasn't changed. Pretty boring.

After the exam I'm told about the sale they're having on lenses and frames. Seems they're always having a sale on frames/lenses. I didn't write any numbers down, but it sounded like prices could range from about $350 to as much as $550, before a discount.

I had already price-shopped the online world and found I could get frames and 1.67 lenses with anti-scratch and anti-glare coatings from Zenni for about $55 shipped. The 1.67 lenses from Zenni are better, specification-wise, than the "Featherweights" that Lenscrafters offers, by quite a bit from my online research.

The price difference is huge. Even with a sale or AAA discount, I don't know how to justify spending multiples on a possibly inferior product. I say possibly because I don't actually have any glasses from Zenni, so I cannot say they are in fact everything people have claimed (their ratings at online sites are extremely positive).

As I mentioned in a another thread, Lenscrafters is owned by Luxottica. And besides Lenscrafters, Luxottica also owns:

•Pearle Vision •Sears Optical •Target Optical •OPSM •Laubman & Pank •Budget Eyewear •GMO •About a million brands of frames

Some have accused Luxottica of being a monopoly. Not just 60-minutes, but if you visit any of the optician forums, some of those guys don't like Luxottica at all.

So as I'm weighing my options, looking around the store (which seemed empty of customers compared to having been there previously, especially for a Saturday), I wonder about the people that make their living there, whether Luxottica is evil compared to whether Zenni is evil (Zenni, I've read, may be owned by a Chinese company, but I do not know for sure, and being owned by a Chinese company does not make a company evil, but I do like to know where my dollars are going).

And I think about how Best Buy is struggling due to online competition, how book and magazine publishing is changing (not to mention Newspapers), how I now order toner cartridges via eBay, for $20 instead of $100 (and they last longer than the real HP ones, too), how first-class mail is down, how I don't even have a fax machine any more, etc., and I sort of wonder what next.

And is the Internet the work of the devil? How difficult will it be to find jobs for the people that get displaced due to the efficiencies of the Internet?

In the final analysis, the genie is out of the bottle. Is it futile to support a local B&M vendor that may be an evil monopoly when everyone else is switching to online sources? The people that WORK for Luxottica are not evil monopolies, they could well be my neighbors.

And yet I don't even like my current Lenscrafters glasses, the temple length is 140mm which was the longest they had and I could really use 150.

With the efficiency of the Internet, robots, unlimited energy, will we someday just be paid to stay home and consume content?

I like to look at futuristic movies/shows like Star Wars and Star Trek because they have been somewhat predictive of our futures (I said "somewhat"). So, how do people that work for the Federation get paid? Do they get paid?

I know that was a long message. But I do think about this stuff. Does anyone else?

Oh, and Disney World is having a sale on many of their resorts, up to 30% off. I've been to DW a bunch of times, don't remember them ever having such a wide-spread sale before. Is attendance that far down? How is the economy doing by you? Please keep it non-political.

[Mike Henderson]

There's a tremendous markup in frames. But one reason is the vast number of options in frames - a store has to carry a lot of inventory. If you get the basics and buy a lot, such as the Army does (or did when I was in the Army), they're pretty cheap. I would imagine if you centralize the inventory for frames, you could save a lot of money - something like Amazon did with books.

The Internet is not the work of the devil but simply more of what's been happening for quite a number of years. I don't remember the exact figures, but early in our nation's history the percent of workers who were involved in farm work was very high - let's say 50%, but it was probably higher. Today, it's probably less than 3%. Where did all those workers go - what are they doing now instead of farming? I don't know, but new opportunities have opened up in a wide variety of areas. Some opportunities require a higher level of education (designing computers) and some are low requirement service jobs (hamburger joints). The world just keeps changing and people change with it.

Mike

[Brad Olson]

Buying glasses online has been a hit for the last 3-4 years. Prices have gone up to $20 per pair, but in 2010 you could get a complete set of eyeglasses for $5 from dozens of places in China.

Most of these places have much better selections than any of the local places around here, especially frames with wide bridges that I need.

Walmart is the only dirt cheap B&M option that I know of.

[Jim Matthews]

3D printing, if it escapes the coming Patent law challenges, will take the Apple model to it's logical extreme -
the Purveyor will sell the code needed to output parts at your home printing or Kinko's office station.

There is already a working Fab lab at MIT ("Are you sure this is an MIT project, it sounds too useful...")
where they're using an Eximer laser to micromachine parts - it's not a leap to making glasses frames.

Personal fabrication is the application of this process for a market of ONE.

What stops the process now is the metallurgy of powders for micromachining (making something flexible is difficult)
and the upfront cost of computation, and output time (the process is very slow).

http://www.economist.com/blogs/babba...09/3d-printing
http://www.ted.com/talks/neil_gershe..._fab_labs.html

FYI - My Chinese made frames marked "Chaps" have spring loaded temples and have lasted four years (two sets of lenses).

[glenn bradley]

If you are having success ordering glasses online I applaud your luck and suggest you play the lottery right away. Having your lenses fitted by anyone other than a good optometrist is a shot in the dark. You may as well just go down to Rite-Aid and pick up a pair of cheaters. Who measured your acuity, dioptral differences, who placed the prescription positioning within the lens, who accounted for the guaranteed difference in height between your two eyes, the shape of your nose, etc.? Without a skilled professional in the mix your odds of getting optimal eyewear is as good as if you tried to order hearing aids off the net and programmed them yourself. Rant off .

[Mike Cutler]

If it works for you, it works. I know that I wouldn't feel comfortable ordering glasses off the net. Contacts yes,glasses no.

The internet isn't the work of the devil to me. It's a tool that finally shifted the balance of leverage to the consumer in a purchase. I know how much an item should cost before I buy it, and I will actually pay a little more for it in a B&M store for the convenience. If they have to order it though, I kind of expect them to be a little more competitive with online trade, because I can order it myself.
As for Best Buy, they are failing because they don't even compete with other B&M stores, let alone the 'net. I've yet to see any "deals" in a Best Buy.

[Tim Boger]

This post interests me, the glasses I wear currently are a couple of years old at least .... as with the prescription. When I had the required exam and the actual glasses made I was into them around $500.00

Today, I need to change my prescription and as I understand it the process and cost will be about the same.

Yep .... this post interests me.

[Phil Thien]

I don't remember the exact figures, but early in our nation's history the percent of workers who were involved in farm work was very high - let's say 50%, but it was probably higher. Today, it's probably less than 3%. Where did all those workers go - what are they doing now instead of farming? I don't know, but new opportunities have opened up in a wide variety of areas. Some opportunities require a higher level of education (designing computers) and some are low requirement service jobs (hamburger joints). The world just keeps changing and people change with it.

Mike

Good point. But the ROC (Rate of Change) may have been much slower as we progressed from an agricultural-based society to an industrial one. Combined with the other changes occurring (for example, the industrialization of China and India), it seems a little different this time around.

For example, it was just a few years ago that Netflix did substantial damage to Blockbuster and Hollywood video by introducing the DVD mailing model. Now that model is getting killed by DVD vending machines and more importantly, online streaming.

Obviously, Netflix never employed that many people in their distribution facilities to make much of a difference if they were displaced. But when you combine Netflix with what is left of Blockbuster employees with what is happening in small and large retail around the country, with the shift of a lot of manufacturing to overseas, I think the differences this time (compared to our switch from ag to industry) are notable. Though, it might not be. LOL, we won't know for a decade or two, I suppose.

[Phil Thien]

3D printing

Excellent post, Jim. I can envision "stores" with 3D printers that are accessed remotely. Like the online printing services for your photos. You place your order from home, they print the device, and you go pick it up when you have a chance (or they ship to you). Eventually I suppose small printers will be available for homes, and you will only go pickup the big things (like a car).

[Phil Thien]

If you are having success ordering glasses online I applaud your luck and suggest you play the lottery right away. Having your lenses fitted by anyone other than a good optometrist is a shot in the dark. You may as well just go down to Rite-Aid and pick up a pair of cheaters. Who measured your acuity, dioptral differences, who placed the prescription positioning within the lens, who accounted for the guaranteed difference in height between your two eyes, the shape of your nose, etc.? Without a skilled professional in the mix your odds of getting optimal eyewear is as good as if you tried to order hearing aids off the net and programmed them yourself. Rant off .

Have you looked at the reviews of Zenni or Coastal? Thousands of satisfied customers with ratings of around 4.5 out of 5 stars.

A couple of points come to mind. I've been to four different optometrists in my life. The first two were highly regarded independents, the other two parts of chains.

I've seen little difference in how any operated. Lenscrafters uses an autorefractor to get a starting point, but all optometrists determined my prescription using an optical refractor and then pretty much handed me off to assistants to have me select the frames, and fit them. When they eyeglasses were complete, I was sat in the chair and read a line of the chart and I was done.

In terms of the guaranteed difference in height between my two eyes, the width of my nose, etc., none of the optometrists I ever visited worried about those. In fact, doing some research there seem to be some ANSI standards for POW (Position of Wear) that most everyone ignores. The argument for POW is that where you wear your glasses will effect your vision.

So I did a little experiment. I shifted my current glasses about 5 and then 10mm right, and then left. Then up, and down. The differences were extremely subtle, and only at the extremes. And then I realized something: Every time I get a new pair of glasses, it is I that perform the final fine-turning over the next 2-3 days. I adjust their fit so I get the best vision. Just like I'm not satisfied with my haircuts until I comb it myself, I'm never satisfied with my eyewear until I adjust it myself. So why have someone worry about minute difference in my pupil heights if the differences are going to be negligible and I'm going to make the final adjustments anyhow?

I think I have a pretty simple prescription and symmetrical face. Maybe things would be different for others than present more of a challenge?

Do you work in this field?

[Phil Thien]

If it works for you, it works. I know that I wouldn't feel comfortable ordering glasses off the net. Contacts yes,glasses no.

The internet isn't the work of the devil to me. It's a tool that finally shifted the balance of leverage to the consumer in a purchase. I know how much an item should cost before I buy it, and I will actually pay a little more for it in a B&M store for the convenience. If they have to order it though, I kind of expect them to be a little more competitive with online trade, because I can order it myself.
As for Best Buy, they are failing because they don't even compete with other B&M stores, let alone the 'net. I've yet to see any "deals" in a Best Buy.

I've had some undeniably good deals at Best Buy.

I will post back about my eyeglasses. But as I told Glenn, with ratings of 4.5/5 and thousands of reviews, I'm fairly optimistic.

[Jerome Stanek]

Last time I got glasses I had my script with me and had 4 different places give prices on them. They ranged in price from $189 to over $500 for the same lenses plus the frames. I like real glass as they don't scratch as easily

[Phil Thien]

Last time I got glasses I had my script with me and had 4 different places give prices on them. They ranged in price from $189 to over $500 for the same lenses plus the frames. I like real glass as they don't scratch as easily

That's sure true (the real glass not scratching easily).

What is the refractive index of real glass lenses? My only concern would be getting lens that are rather thick, and heavy. Otherwise I would also prefer glass. I didn't even know you could still get glass!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

It's the consumer who is determining how and why this is happening. If nobody bought merchandise off the internet, they'd soon go out of business.

[Jim Underwood]

Without a skilled professional in the mix your odds of getting optimal eyewear is as good as if you tried to order hearing aids off the net and programmed them yourself.

You point is well made, but here's a kicker. What if, as Phil points out in his first post, the shop doesn't have the correct size frames? Well, just like they did to me and Phil, they sell you the ones that they have in stock- instead of the ones you actually need.

Hmmm... so much for being professional....