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/babbage/2012/09/3d-printing
http://www.ted.com/talks/neil_gershenfeld_on_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 :D.

[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 :D.

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....

[Kevin Bourque]

Pretty soon we will be making all the stuff we need with 3D printers. Shirts, pants, eye glasses, bikes,even body parts. All from your own personal machine. It's not science fiction, it's already being done.

[Fred Perreault]

I am 65 years old, and consider myself a "contemporary dinosaur" in that I am a slow to change traditionalist. It took me a long time to talk into an answering machine, and longer to get one of my own... it was a time saver in the end. I even got a cell phone eventually, and the one I have is 12 years old and has a very tiny LCD screen on it. I grew up using a rope start pony motor to turn over my early Cat diesel engines, with a gear drive transmission, a hand clutch, winch/cable operated blade, and steering clutches. I wrote love notes to my girlfriend and later wife, and had to take them to the post office to get stamps and mail them. I changed plugs, points and condensers on my Chevy cars, and could see the ground around the big V-8 when in the engine bay and I was hopping it up.

Now we have hydrostatic transmissions and hydraulicly operated attachments, some are "quick attach" even. We have e-mail instead of faxes, (texting... heaven forbid), direct electric start, and 100,000 mile tuneups. And I can do all my anniversary, birthday, and Christmas shopping sitting at home in front of a personal computer that the head of IBM said in 1979 was something that nobody would ever need or use.

It was forcast that player pianos would put piano players and other musicians out of work... that the VCR would be the end of TV, and that we should protect buggy whip manufacturers at all costs. The fact is that new businesses and industries are being created all the time, and new business models follow suit , (unless government intervention props them up... ie:RIAA, MPAA).

There is much to dislike about some of this new fangled crap, but it is here to stay I believe.

[Kevin Bourque]

Now we have hydrostatic transmissions and hydraulicly operated attachments, some are "quick attach" even.

I have quick -attach on my bucket loader and pallet forks. What used to take forever now takes 1 minute. Whats not to like?:)

[Jerome Stanek]

My lenses are thicker than most but I still like them better. I do have a pair of glasses that they screwed up and used plastic lenses but they don't feel much different than my glass ones.

[Phil Thien]

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.

You're right, but do we want them to go out of business?

There has been a drive by some lately to "buy local." But, should we?

And is buying from Lenscrafters or any other chain really buying local anyhow? They have some local employees, I guess. But not really the same as dealing with an independent.

BTW, Lenscrafters previously claimed their optometrists were "independent," I don't know if this has changed or not. BUT, I paid LENSCRAFTERS for my exam, not the doctor. And my pre-exam was performed by a Lenscrafters employee. There was quite a bit of interaction between Lenscrafters staff, and the doctor.

The question is, if everyone goes to Lenscrafters for exams, but then buys their eyewear online, does the Lenscrafters model implode?

What I need is somewhere to get my eyes examined where their model doesn't depend on me buying the eyewear there for them to succeed.

[David Weaver]

If everyone went there only for exams, then they'd probably increase the price of their eye exams. If they say they're independent, they probably are, but they might do billing on behalf of the doctors. I would imagine the docs have more value to lenscrafters than lenscrafters has to the docs.

[Phil Thien]

There is much to dislike about some of this new fangled crap, but it is here to stay I believe.

Very well put, Fred!

[Jerome Stanek]

Pearle vision also says their doctors are independent but bill through the store. I like the doctor from there but will not buy their glasses.

[Phil Thien]

Pearle vision also says their doctors are independent but bill through the store. I like the doctor from there but will not buy their glasses.

They're (Pearle) owned by the same outfit as Lenscrafters.

So where do you buy your glasses? Do you tell the Pearle people you are only getting the exam?

When I went into Lenscrafters they asked me if I planned on buying new glasses, before I was given the exam. I asked, "has my prescription changed?" They said "we don't know yet." I said "exactly."

When I had left the store I had thought I wasn't going to buy new glasses, online or not. But then I realized that now would be a great time to spend the $55 to buy the online glasses and compare them to the store-made pair I already own and wear. So I went home and ordered the online pair.

[Darius Ferlas]

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.
IMO, The Internet is not the problem. The Internet is the remedy.

Since companies started shipping jobs overseas to enjoy substantial decrease in the cost of production (sometimes in the order of 99% less), it is only natural that we are trying to go directly to the source of manufacture - often to the very countries where the manufacturers sought savings.

The sad part is that, indeed, our local employment, social and economic landscape is changing for the worse and the trend doesn't seem to be slowing down. And since you mention the "evil monopoly" the other remarkable symptom of is that production and information is indeed concentrated in the decreasing number of "hands". Almost as if we made a circle from feudalism, through vulgar capitalism (it's a legit term, not an offense), socialism, post democracy (current) and we're heading back to feudalism - the mighty few and the rest.

[Brian Elfert]

One good thing about the Internet is that it has created a great many jobs and many of those jobs pay quite well. Facebook and Google alone employ thousands of people in jobs that would not exist if not for the Internet.

[Jerome Stanek]

I checked out a lot of different places and sears had the best deal

[Phil Thien]

I checked out a lot of different places and sears had the best deal

Interesting, as Sears optical departments and Pearl Vision are both owned by the same outfit (Luxottica), which also owns Lenscrafters.

It is interesting you have found differentiation between Pearl and Sears.

For my last four or so pairs of glasses, I've used Lenscrafters. Mostly because my glasses break and I need an immediate replacement. A lot of that probably had to do with raising younger kids that pulled them off my face and threw them on the ground.

This will be the first time I've ordered glasses where my previous set wasn't broken, in fact. Or where my prescription hadn't changed substantially.

[Jamie Buxton]

Here's two issues where I suspect Internet glasses may not be good...

Getting the glasses to fit the bridge of my nose. In 50+ years of buying and wearing glasses, I've only found that fit by trying the frames on my face.

In bifocals, getting the transition point at the right height. That must be measured with the chosen frames on your face, and with your head angled the way it normally sits. When the transition is wrong, it is really a pain.

[Larry Whitlow]

Here's two issues where I suspect Internet glasses may not be good...

Getting the glasses to fit the bridge of my nose. In 50+ years of buying and wearing glasses, I've only found that fit by trying the frames on my face.

In bifocals, getting the transition point at the right height. That must be measured with the chosen frames on your face, and with your head angled the way it normally sits. When the transition is wrong, it is really a pain.

Uh oh, this will be a problem for me too. I read in the Zenni site that they set the sement line for progressives at about 48% from the bottom of the lens. This seems right to me, but I really don't know. I also worry about not having someone do the final tweaking of the nose and temple pieces. I do note that some of the on-line providers will fit new lenses to your existing frames.

There are some definate downsides, but because of the positive feedback and potential savings I'm inclined to give one of the on-line sevices a try. If it works out, I'll save several hundred $$ per year.

[Dan Hintz]

I always chuckle when I see claims of 3D printers on every corner making life so simple. I doubt those same people have ever seen a 3D print actually work. They're not fast. It may take 30-60 minutes to print a single pair of glass frames. And that doesn't include a further smoothing stage to get rid of the lines (assumed fused deposition). It also doesn't include the time (or manpower) to include metal bits (hinges, for example) into the model as it is being printed. And so on and so on.

That "cheap" glass frame printed at the corner drugstore just cost you $200. Photos are done in an hour and at such a cheap cost because they can process many thousands of photos per hour... at one glass frame per 1-2 hours, good luck with that "cheap" price point.

[Phil Thien]

That "cheap" glass frame printed at the corner drugstore just cost you $200. Photos are done in an hour and at such a cheap cost because they can process many thousands of photos per hour... at one glass frame per 1-2 hours, good luck with that "cheap" price point.

Pfft. We're early in the 3D printing cycle. Have you not watched Star Trek? Are you not familiar with a "replicator?"

[Dan Hintz]

Pfft. We're early in the 3D printing cycle. Have you not watched Star Trek? Are you not familiar with a "replicator?"

Sure... it's really good for making Earl Grey tea... hot. ;)

[Randal Stevenson]

Mom works for an Opthomologist and I remember when eyeglass stores were separate things. Then they started making glasses at places, until a few of them had explosions (the machines that kept the dye warm from memory). I haven't tried Zenni, but have heard more good then bad (a few comments about wrong cut). I have seen glasses cut wrong and sent to the eye glass stores, as well (been around it since I was a kid). I did, however, stop buying glasses from mom's boss, about a decade ago, when we had a store that sold closeout glasses, as if they had a frame you liked, you could get complete glasses between $25 and $50, so I picked up multiple pairs, for less then the cost of one.
I do know mom's boss, does not carry prescription safety glasses (I complain about that), so that might be a good trial in the future.

[Phil Thien]

I got my Zenni eyeglasses this last Monday.

Every other time I had ordered new eyeglasses, my prescription had changed. So when I first put those new spectacles on, I could see better, and I'd proclaim "these are the best eyeglasses ever."

This time around, with no change in my prescription, all I could hope for was a better fit, and fewer scratches. In fact, when I first put the new Zenni eyeglasses on my first thought was, "these don't work that great." I put my old glasses on, and then the new ones again, and the old ones again, and the new ones again, and realized that they were pretty much exactly the same as my old eyeglasses. Which, in a way, was a sort of disappointment.

I've had a chance to compare the lenses (the ultra thin 1.67 lenses) to my older Featherweight lenses. At first I didn't think they were much thinner. They are, by quite a bit. The new glasses have bottomless frames, so you can see the full thickness of the lens at the bottom. When I disassembled my old frames and compared the lenses, the old lenses were considerably thicker at the edges (I'd say almost 25%). The lenses are the same height and width, so the comparison is fair, the higher refraction of the 1.67 lenses does make for thinner, lighter lenses.

I still had a bit of an adjustment period, and I think that had a lot to do with a giant scratch in the middle of my left lens on the old glasses. I had learned to accommodate the scratch by changing the position of the glasses on my nose, and using my brain's advanced scratch avoidance technology. :)

When I put the new glasses on, my brain still wanted to avoid the scratch for about a day. After the first day I found myself wearing them as expected, and looking through the center of the lens.

I'm a little disappointed in my prescription but I blame my eyeballs, and not the optometrist. The optometrist adjusted my prescription to be a good compromise between needing bifocals, and not. So with the resulting prescription, I can see near just okay, and far just okay, but neither great. For kicks, the optometrist set the refractor so it would have my optimum prescription for driving (so I could see things far away fantastically well), and then told me to look at a typed page. I couldn't see the text. So it is what it is. The optometrist warned me that it was just a matter of time before I'd need bifocals. Again, my prescription hasn't changed, the same is true of my old eyeglasses, but getting new eyeglasses allows me to be disappointed in the underlying problem all over again.

The fit of these frames is much better than any frame I've gotten at Lenscrafters. The temples, or "arms" are longer and just feel substantially more comfortable.

I found the receipt for not my last pair of eyeglasses from Lenscrafters, but the previous pair to that. Dated 3/2007, they were $240, which includes a AAA discount of $103 That is for the frames/lenses, and does not include the exam. The glasses from Zenni were $55, including shipping.

I wish Zenni had a better way of search for frame sizes by typing values from my old glasses right into their system.

So I'll rate Zenni an 8.5/10.

I rate my eyeballs 7/10.

[Jason Roehl]

I bit the bullet and had PRK done last year. If I need glasses in the future, it will be reading glasses which I will likely get from the supermarket for $10. My last two pairs of glasses cost me about $850 with the eye exam in 2006, and I eventually had to replace one of the frames, which I did online for about half the price I originally paid for that frame. Glass lenses? No way--had to wear those Coke bottles as a kid--always had sores on my nose from the weight. Now I just have to be more vigilant in wearing safety glasses to "protect the investment".

[Phil Thien]

I bit the bullet and had PRK done last year.

Some day I will do that, too.

[Art Mulder]

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 :D.

+1 or +2 on Glenn's comments.

Full disclosure: I'm not an optician or an optometrist, but one of my good friends was licensed as an Optician here in Ontario just last year. I've heard an earful from her about online retailers. Glenn just about nailed it.

Glasses are a medical device (not sure if that is the best terminology...) and there is definitely something to be said for having that professionally fitted by a fully trained individual.


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.

Perhaps Lenscrafters in the US operates differently. My friend actually works p/t at the local Lenscrafters. The assistants can help you pick out frames and so on, but then they MUST (under Ontario medical regulations) hand them off to a licensed optician for the actual fitting and eye measurements and all that. (Note I said optician, which is not the same as optometrist/opthamologist)

Couple years ago (with my friends blessings) I ordered a cheap $50 pair of prescription cycling glasses through an online retailer (clearlycontacts.ca). They give you this "handy" online tool/guide for determining your PD (Pupillary Distance) which is crucial for completing your prescription. Again, we're talking Ontario Medical regulations here, this number is NOT given out by your eye doctor, they're not allowed, yet it is needed for any eye glass purchase. The Optician measures this in the store with their training and equipment. So I did the DIY measurement of my PD, and then my friend brought out her tools and did it right --- the measurement I got via the online retailer was wrong. Would I notice it? Possibly not, but it could affect my vision long term, since the glasses produced would be just a bit off.


One good thing about the Internet is that it has created a great many jobs and many of those jobs pay quite well. Facebook and Google alone employ thousands of people in jobs that would not exist if not for the Internet.

Brian....
No argument that there are number of good paying Google jobs. But then please also consider all the numbers of jobs that are GONE due to the disruption of the Internet. I have a friend that works at the local (dying) newspaper. I have contacts in the magazine industry also, and it's not they way it used to be. All over the woodworking forums we read about people lamenting the dying of the woodshows that we enjoy going to. What is happening to your local bookstores and used bookstores? And so on.

The big question, which I think your comment misses, is are there MORE well-paying jobs or are their FEWER. Overall.

And more full disclosure: Yes, I buy stuff through Amazon. Yes, I buy stuff from Wal-Mart. No, I don't buy that many books anymore (that's more because we use the library).

:
:
:

I don't know the answers to your questions, Phil. But I wonder about them also.

[Phil Thien]

The big question, which I think your comment misses, is are there MORE well-paying jobs or are their FEWER. Overall.


That is precisely what I was getting at in the thread to begin with.

There is a deflationary component that comes along with the Internet.

Any attempt to stop or slow this will likely result in what we got with regulation of the airlines (high ticket prices, lack of innovation).

Nonetheless, I suspect some big winners and a lot of little losers, going forward.