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Replica SHADES review thread!!
- Thread starter darby g
- Start date
Maybe I'm a little biased because I sell the gens, but the fakes generally don't have the same lens quality as real ones. When you buy gen sunglasses, a lot of the money is going towards the lenses.
Ray Ban lenses aren't anything spectacular, but Oliver Peoples, and other high end brands generally have very high end lenses.
Ray Ban lenses aren't anything spectacular, but Oliver Peoples, and other high end brands generally have very high end lenses.
I have quite a large collection of glasses from different companies, and I'd have to agree. The rep RayBan, at least the higher quality ones, have the same clarity, and lack of distortion, as the gen. The true high end glasses are something else completely. I absolutely love the lenses on my gen pairs of Oliver People's. Whenever I let anyone wear them, they're always amazed by the quality of the lenses. In general, it's worth it to buy good glasses, as long as they actually have good lenses.
There was a whole 60 Minutes expose on the monopolistic nature of Luxottica and how they own the market.
I read somewhere that Oakley was once separate from Luxottica, however Oakley was sold in Luxottica owned Sunglass Hut stores which accounted for the majority of Oakley sales. When Luxottica demanded from Oakley that they lower their wholesale price, Oakley resisted which led to Luxottica pulling Oakley from their stores. In turn, Oakley sales tanked and their stock plummeted by 33%. Oakley was forced to heed the demands of Luxottica and eventually sold the company to Luxottica.
The fact of the matter is, since they control the market, they inflate the price, both on Sunglasses and Eyeglasses. You'd think that eyeglass retailers would be pissed that their margins are so thin, but Luxottica owns LensCrafters, the largest retailer of eyeglasses.
You'd think that the optical insurance companies would be pissed, but Luxottica owns EyeMed Vision Care, which is the second largest vision care insurance provider in the USA.
It's a monopoly with dirty business practices, good marketing, and controls the entire supply chain from design to customer delivery. Apparently the name brands like Prada and Gucci don't even design their own shades, but instead get Luxottica to handle every step of their creation.
I read somewhere that Oakley was once separate from Luxottica, however Oakley was sold in Luxottica owned Sunglass Hut stores which accounted for the majority of Oakley sales. When Luxottica demanded from Oakley that they lower their wholesale price, Oakley resisted which led to Luxottica pulling Oakley from their stores. In turn, Oakley sales tanked and their stock plummeted by 33%. Oakley was forced to heed the demands of Luxottica and eventually sold the company to Luxottica.
The fact of the matter is, since they control the market, they inflate the price, both on Sunglasses and Eyeglasses. You'd think that eyeglass retailers would be pissed that their margins are so thin, but Luxottica owns LensCrafters, the largest retailer of eyeglasses.
You'd think that the optical insurance companies would be pissed, but Luxottica owns EyeMed Vision Care, which is the second largest vision care insurance provider in the USA.
It's a monopoly with dirty business practices, good marketing, and controls the entire supply chain from design to customer delivery. Apparently the name brands like Prada and Gucci don't even design their own shades, but instead get Luxottica to handle every step of their creation.
Luxoticca owns everything yes. They own almost every major brand, and they also own Sunglass Hut, Lenscrafters, and Iliori, as well as a large amount of eyeglass insurance companies. They have have profit margins on all of their glasses.
I sell mostly Luxoticca owned brands, and to be honest, I'm able to achieve a decent margin on a pair when I sell it for lets say $150. Nothing crazy, but enough to make it worth my time. Luxoticca often sells the same pair for $380.
Luxoticca owned brands have different quality points however.
Ray Ban and Persol are both owned by Luxoticca. I have a few Ray Ban pairs, but the quality isnt anywhere near as good as Persol. Completely different leagues.
I sell mostly Luxoticca owned brands, and to be honest, I'm able to achieve a decent margin on a pair when I sell it for lets say $150. Nothing crazy, but enough to make it worth my time. Luxoticca often sells the same pair for $380.
Luxoticca owned brands have different quality points however.
Ray Ban and Persol are both owned by Luxoticca. I have a few Ray Ban pairs, but the quality isnt anywhere near as good as Persol. Completely different leagues.
Sure, Luxottica still depends on independent retailers for a large portion of their sales and they want to make those retailers happy so that they don't push lesser known brands, however the prices are still outrageously high for the cost to produce.
Back in the early days of Xerox copiers, Xerox held the patent, and they sold their devices at outrageous prices. Everyone in that supply chain from Xerox to the sales agents got very rich at the time. As soon as the patent ran out and the Japanese companies stepped in, prices got incredibly low by comparison as the Japanese manufacturers had a LOT of room to lower the prices while still maintaining profitability. It totally shook up that industry and it's a case study of how the customer loses out badly when a monopoly is in play. Xerox got greedy and they have only a sliver of their former tech glory.
Luxottica doesn't own the patent on sunglasses, but controlling almost every level of the supply chain ensures that they can keep those monopoly like margins and charge outrageous prices to consumers. Since the internet has made it easy for new brands to form and market direct to consumers, many new, non-Luxottica brands have offered similar quality products at 1/4 the price. The high prices established by Luxottica brands however have set consumer perception in the market that the price "needs to be high" in order for the "quality to be good". The many brands under the Luxottica umbrella provide the average consumer with the illusion of choice and competition. Many of those quality, but 'cheap' sunglass brands have struggled. Only one non-Luxottica brand seems to be doing well but they had to price their glasses high to maintain the illusion of quality (Warby Parker).
Luxottica is an incredibly effective and well run company that has done great marketing to push their luxury brands into the stratosphere, and at the end of the day, they sell a luxury product. Anyone can go out and buy cheap sunglasses if they want, just like anybody can go out and buy a Timex watch or WalMart clothes. My only beef with them is that they make it incredibly hard for any new players to enter the market. I'm not against them selling a luxury, marketed, premium product at high margins, I'm only wary about them being virtually the only game in town.
Back in the early days of Xerox copiers, Xerox held the patent, and they sold their devices at outrageous prices. Everyone in that supply chain from Xerox to the sales agents got very rich at the time. As soon as the patent ran out and the Japanese companies stepped in, prices got incredibly low by comparison as the Japanese manufacturers had a LOT of room to lower the prices while still maintaining profitability. It totally shook up that industry and it's a case study of how the customer loses out badly when a monopoly is in play. Xerox got greedy and they have only a sliver of their former tech glory.
Luxottica doesn't own the patent on sunglasses, but controlling almost every level of the supply chain ensures that they can keep those monopoly like margins and charge outrageous prices to consumers. Since the internet has made it easy for new brands to form and market direct to consumers, many new, non-Luxottica brands have offered similar quality products at 1/4 the price. The high prices established by Luxottica brands however have set consumer perception in the market that the price "needs to be high" in order for the "quality to be good". The many brands under the Luxottica umbrella provide the average consumer with the illusion of choice and competition. Many of those quality, but 'cheap' sunglass brands have struggled. Only one non-Luxottica brand seems to be doing well but they had to price their glasses high to maintain the illusion of quality (Warby Parker).
Luxottica is an incredibly effective and well run company that has done great marketing to push their luxury brands into the stratosphere, and at the end of the day, they sell a luxury product. Anyone can go out and buy cheap sunglasses if they want, just like anybody can go out and buy a Timex watch or WalMart clothes. My only beef with them is that they make it incredibly hard for any new players to enter the market. I'm not against them selling a luxury, marketed, premium product at high margins, I'm only wary about them being virtually the only game in town.
No hate or judgement, they look pretty good, but I just don't want to mess with my eyes.
Great find though!
Great find though!
I think that Oliver Peoples and Persol are the same quality level. Ray Ban is under that general level certainly.
I've got some Oakleys as well. An after a year of use there is like a film letting loose on the lenses really bad..
Totally, Persol are fantastic, just not my style. RayBan are good beater sunglasses, durable, but not very high end. Probably why they are repped so easily and accurately. Oliver People reps don't hold true to the original in build quality, only in looks.
What glasses are your personal favorite for quality?
I would agree w/ [MENTION=65296]mzcool[/MENTION] 's overall quality assessment as well, although I like my Oliver Peoples optics even better than my Persols. Those two brands by far get most of my wear time. But my Ray Bans also have their place... I have 8-10 of them that I stash around the house, office and in cars so I always have a solid pair of sunglasses available even if I don't have an OP or Persol with me.
I prefer Persols, but thats just personal, not a quality assessment. They're both very good.
I agree, Ray Bans have their purposes. Aviators look amazing, and I have a few pairs that I use. They just aren't as nice or high end as OPs or Persols.
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MZ. I will need to buy another pair of Persols from you soon. Scratched the shit out of my lenses (and they were super scratch resistant, I am just super stupid)
Ouch. I should have some new stuff in soon, had a minor surgery and was on vacation so didn't have much time. Shoot me a pm with your contact info and I can add you to my Whatsapp notification group.
Btw, if the lenses are the only issue, call Luxoticca, they can send you new lenses.
MZ, you've never steered me wrong... maybe I just need some more Persols to help trump those OP lenses
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