Why Are Prescription Safety Glasses Online so Cheap?

Why Are Prescription Safety Glasses Online so Cheap?

Sometimes, it seems like it’s too good to be true. You need a pair of prescription safety glasses, but your initial research at storefront shops have made them seem way too expensive. Whether you need them for yourself or your employees, you simply cannot justify the expense for business or personal use.

And then, you do your research online. You begin to realize that the prices are much more reasonable. Which, of course, might seem suspicious in its own right. Why is this option so much cheaper, and does that mean the quality is lower than buying in person?

The answer to that question, of course depends. A variety of factors go into pricing prescription safety glasses, and some of them provide the exact answer you’re looking for.

Simply finding the cheapest alternatives does not mean you necessarily get the quality you need. Quality and credibility of the merchant still matters. And yet, once you realize exactly what you need to look for, you can find high-quality safety glasses for a much lower price than you might have expected. Here are 6 reasons why prescription safety glasses are so cheap online, along with an evaluation for each factor on whether or not this potential reason should play into your buying decision.

1) You Don’t Have to Subsidize the Lease

Let’s start with the most obvious reason. When you buy from a storefront merchant, you have to pay the overhead. Simply put, for the business you’re buying from, the margins are much smaller. Your purchases subsidize anything from the lease on the building to the salary of salespeople.

Naturally, that alone can drive up the price of the safety glasses you’re looking at. As a result, the difference in sticker price between storefront and online stores can be quite shocking. Is this a good or bad factor as you consider which option to choose?

Put simply, it has nothing to do with the quality of the actual glasses you get. As a result, this is a net positive for online purchases. You subsidize fewer items for a pair of glasses that are just as safe and functional. If this is the reason your glasses are less expensive, there should be no cause for concern.

2) The Quality Might be Worse

Of course, not every possibility is positive. Naturally, the reason for cheaper online glasses might also be even simpler than the above: the quality of eyewear you get is lower.

It’s important to note here that is is not automatically true for all online merchants. On average, in fact, the quality of glasses between online and storefront tends to be the same. Only certain vendors try to cheat you with low prices for a product that’s still not worth the investment.

As a result, you might find a vendor that sells off brand frames that cannot hold up to basic safety requirements, or don’t satisfy ISO standards. These glasses might cost less, but the price savings don’t make up for the fact that the product you get is less than satisfactory.

That’s especially crucial for safety glasses. Naturally, you have to make sure that your glasses are not just comfortable, but can hold up to the situations in which you need them. Accurate prescriptions matter just as much as frame strength. Do not try to save money if you sacrifice quality in the process.

3) The Inventory is Less Static

The next potential reasons your online prescription safety glasses are so much cheaper is closely related to the first. In addition to not having to subsidize the lease or personnel of an in-store experience, an online merchant also reduces overhead with a less static inventory.

In other words, the store doesn’t need to have large in-store displays to woo potential customers. Instead, because all of its inventory is online, it can be virtual – in some cases, it’s even ordered only when needed by a specific customer. That means less initial investment, and fewer pairs of glasses wasting away in warehouse space.

Like the first reason, this is a great reason that glasses are cheaper because you don’t sacrifice quality. You can get a high-quality, safe pair of glasses online for a much lower price. All because the inventory can be managed smarter and more effectively.

4) The Brand Choices are More Extensive

All three of the above reasons are relatively straightforward. Two are good reasons, and one is a bad reason for why your glasses might be cheaper if you buy them online. This one, though, gets a little more murky. Not everything is just good or bad. As the perfect example, consider the potential of larger choices among brands.

On the one hand, more choices means lower-priced options. The exact frame, for instance, might be significantly cheaper if it comes from a less-known brand compared to a brand that everyone knows. That’s because, similar to the subsidization discussed above, you’re essentially paying for the marketing efforts of the large brand. Offering both options, as most online merchants do, drives internal competition to depress all prices.

On the other hand, though, that’s not necessarily a positive depending on the brand. Less-known brands have less of a reputation, and more room to produce and sell low-quality glasses. As a result, you might think that you’re only saving money, but you’re also sacrificing quality in the process. When that happens, you’re not making the right choice when simply looking to save your budget.

5) The Competition is Fierce

Competition drives down prices. That is true in every industry, so naturally it applies to your prescription safety glasses. For storefront merchants, competition is relatively limited. Simply put, not a lot of specialty stores exist in most areas that sell similar products. As a result, the prices are set by the merchants in a seller’s market.

Now, compare that to online merchants. They compete not just against your local storefront, but also against other online vendors around the nation and even around the globe. Competition is not limited, which means that a single store cannot set pricing. Which brings us back to the beginning point of this reason: competition drives down prices.

For the quality of safety glasses you want, that can be either good or bad. In most cases, it’s a good thing. Prices are not adjusted according to quality, but according to the market. In other words, you can get relatively low prices for high-quality safety glasses.

However, there could be a negative factor at play as well. In search of higher profit margins, some merchants may sacrifice quality or simply stop offering high-priced, high-quality glasses. As a result, the products you get will suffer, and even a lower price may not be worth your investment. That, in turn, brings us to the final point and potential reason online safety prescription glasses are so cheap online.

6) The Merchant is Questionable

Questionable reputability is a major factor when buying anything online. You never have to speak to a professional or employee, so you don’t have an easy way of assessing credibility. As a result, you might find an online merchant with exceedingly cheap safety glasses in its inventory. But you have no idea whether or not that price is actually down to a good or a bad reason among the ones listed above.

Two simple strategies help you assess whether or not the merchant you’re about to buy from is questionable or credible:

  1. Look for third-party reviews, especially on independent sites.
  2. Assess the merchant’s warranty and returns policies.

Third-party reviews should come from customers like you who have purchased from the merchant in the past. Make sure they are authentic and real, and you can use them to see whether or not these customers have had their expectations satisfied and exceeded.

Meanwhile, warranty and returns information helps you find out how credible the merchant considers themselves. It allows you to stay out of the way of vendors who simply try to sell you a cheap pair and hide from culpability before before you find out its low quality.

Get High-Quality Safety Prescription Glasses for a Reasonable Price

Safety prescription glasses can be cheap when you look for them online for any of these six reasons. Three of them are no indication of quality, while three others might throw up significant warning signs.

The key to success is making sure that you don’t simply assume one or the other. The fact that some merchants are questionable does not mean that all cheap online glasses are of bad quality. At the same time, cost savings are not only due to low overhead, and could actually be connected to lower quality.

Only a thorough assessment of each merchant you’re considering for your safety glasses can help you understand which of the two is actually correct in your case. It also helps you find just the right merchant to save money without sacrificing quality.

After all, that is the goal of your endeavor. You need safe, durable, high-quality prescription safety glasses. But you might not have the budget to pay any price demanded. Contact us to learn more about walking that balance, and reaching your goals in getting just the right safety glasses for your needs.

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