NATURALHEALTHWEB.COM-EyeBuyDirect.com is How I Learned to Love Buying Glasses Online
About two weeks ago, while rushing to catch a cab in New York, on my way to an interview, my glasses fell and broke leaving me blind. As most starving journalists usually do, I registered the loss as a professional expense, and hoped accounting would be too busy to notice. They were not, and I was left with only my spare, an abominable pair I got ten years ago while still in collage, to work with. When I complained to a friend about it, he sent me a link to a new website he claimed was selling high quality prescription glasses for 16.95$ and up. He had used them and said they were fantastic.
I was immediately suspicious but because the prices were so low, and the site itself so well designed, I decided that further investigation was indeed merited. After all, with prices so low there had to be a catch, how else could you explain such a difference between this online seller and even the cheapest optics store down the street? If there was fraud involved, I wanted it exposed, and if there wasn't I wanted to be sure I got at least five pairs. Imagine, if these guys were legit, it would mean that I no longer had to live with the unshakable fear all glass wearers have of losing their pair. I could simply buy another.
Armed with my enthusiasm, I browsed through the site's impressive assortment of frames, chose my desired pair, punched in my prescription and sent in the order. The process was simple, the price cheap, the glasses fashionable, and the service effective.
So what then was their secret?
In order to find out, I gave them a call and requested an interview with the highest ranking employee available. Soon after, Mr. Roy Hessel, the CEO, picked up the phone and the interview began. I asked him how it was that his company offered these prices, and guaranteed a full compensation if the customer is not fully satisfied…there must be something fishy going on, I argued. "You are right, there has been something fishy going on for years now, but not at EyeBuyDirect. The problem lies with the optics sellers consumers are used to. Today an average pair of glasses costs 250$ but why? Why should some plastic, metal, or even titanium cost so much? That's what we asked ourselves and soon found out that they shouldn't. When you buy a pair you are paying for the rent of the shop, the optometrist's salary even though you hardly ever consult with him, and on top of that it's become a norm in the industry to grossly over charge. What we at EyeBuyDirect are trying to do is give the average person the ability to buy high quality, fashionable glasses for affordable prices. It's just amazing to me that there are literally millions of people world wide that can't go to work in the morning because they can't afford this basic necessity. The internet allows us to change that. We can sell a large volume, which reduces prices, and reach large customer bases in the process. The technology is there to manufacture cheaply and effectively. All we need is more market leaders to stop being afraid to use it."
True to his promise, my glasses arrived five days later, and they were of stellar quality. So I guess there was fraud involved, but I was looking in the wrong direction to find it.
Elizabeth Shorr
