Why are sunglasses more expensive than helmets? I k
Decent optics with coatings aren’t simple things, unlike a combo of plastic, foam and soft pads
https://boingboing.net/2019/03/12/luxottica.html
or the longer and more complete story
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/may/10/the-invisible-power-of-big-glasses-eyewear-industry-essilor-luxottica
it is the lenses where they make the most money, charging markups of 700% or 800% to their customers. The largest margins of all are on complex progressive lenses and protective coatings – for scratch resistance, or to cut out blue light – features that cost Essilor a few cents to make, and which opticians sell for between £25 and £50 a pop
I suspect theres a lot of ‘what the market will bear’ pricing. Luxotica set the upper limit price with Oakley etc. If you’re competing with them you sell at a similar price (or a little bit cheaper). If you go really low cost you lose the artificial cachet of quality.
Galibier have a few different designs that look pretty good, with a choice of lens colours for £35-60 eg https://www.galibier.cc/product/regale-ultra/
(I say this as someone with a few pairs of Oakleys (Prizm Trail really do work for me) and Raybans so I’m not immune to the marketing)
