WHAT MAKES BUYING A PAIR OF AM EYEWEAR DIFFERENT TO OTHER SUNGLASSES SOLD ONLINE?
Just like two glasses of different red wine can look the same, two pairs of sunglasses can look the same when shopping online. Unfortunately, just like the taste of a $10 bottle of wine compared to a $110 bottle will be very different, not all eyewear is equal.
Here are 7 questions you should ask yourself before buying your next pair of sunglasses online:
Is this a reputable eyewear company, and what do they know about eyewear?
If a sunglass brand can only be found online, it's a good indication the brand is someone's side hustle, and they possibly have very little knowledge of the product they're selling. Whilst we encourage entrepreneurs, eyewear isn't a product people without training should attempt as a side hustle.
A pair of sunglasses can be extremely hazardous if not 100% optically correct. A poorly designed frame or inferior lenses can distort vision, which can be dangerous when driving or operating anything where you need 20/20 vision.
How AM Eyewear is different: Our founder was trained by an optical engineer, and through years of our involvement in the global optical community, our products are highly regarded in the industry.
Who made these sunglasses and why do so many of the online-only brands have identical styles?
Because many of these online brands aren't "eyewear companies", they don't have an understanding of the fundamentals of eyewear design. In most cases, they source their sunglasses via a third-party website like Alibaba, AliExpress, or from a catalogue offered to them by a mass-produced plastics factory in China.
How AM Eyewear is different: We have been producing eyewear for 24 years and our founder has designed every pair of the 350 plus styles we've released since 2003. Our designs are uniquely ours, and they've been showcased at London, Paris, Shanghai, Milan, New York and Sydney Fashion Weeks. As an eyewear designer, our founder has also designed collections for some of the largest brands in the world, as well as lenses for the oldest lens company in the world, Carl Zeiss. We meticulously design every detail of our frames, and we can tell you the exact measurements, pantoscopic tilt, refractive index and Abbe value of every pair of sunglasses we have ever sold.
Will the sunglasses an online-only brand sells offer you good protection?
In most countries, sunglasses can be imported by anyone from anywhere, unlike in parts of Asia and the US, where sunglasses are classed as a medical device and therefore need to pass FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval before they can enter a country.
What most people aren't aware of is that an optically correct sun lens and what novice sunglass brands use are two completely different things. Looking through any tinted piece of plastic will make the world appear darker, but many won't block harmful rays from the sun like an optically correct sun lens.
When you buy a pair of sunglasses online from a brand that is not a reputable eyewear company, they usually haven't been tested, they haven't passed stringent industry standards, and in some cases they offer very little to no protection.
How AM Eyewear is different: AM Eyewear is Australia's longest-running luxury eyewear brand, and Australia records some of the highest UV index in the world. Protective sunglasses aren't just an accessory in Australia; they're a necessity. Our frames and lenses have been developed through years of experience, and they have passed Australian TGA, European CE and US FDA standards. Our sun lenses are military-grade polyamide with gold anti-reflective back coating, and they offer 100% protection against UVA and UVB rays.
Will these sunglasses fit well and will they be comfortable?
When an online-only brand doesn't have a trained optical designer on their team, and they don't understand optical engineering, they rely solely on what a third party has sold to them. In a lot of cases, that third party has copied whatever they feel an established brand is selling well. However, in order to underprice other factories, they'll mass produce them in huge volumes whilst cutting as many corners as possible in order to make the product appear the same at a very low production cost.
This can result in a frame being originally designed for a different ethnicity (face shape). Global face shapes are very different, and each territory requires its own set of measurement metrics to compensate for higher cheekbones, lower nose bridges, and other facial specifications. A frame also needs to have the correct pantoscopic tilt to ensure the lenses are sitting at the correct angle to the eyes, so vision isn't distorted. Not knowing these calculations often causes a frame to sit uncomfortably on the face, put excessive pressure behind the ears, cause headaches, or continually fall off the face.
How AM Eyewear is different: We've been producing optical frames and sunglasses for over 24 years, and during that time we've won multiple international eyewear design awards. We're available in stores in over 53 countries, and we've developed our own uniquely designed nose pads and temples, which offer ultra-comfort to a wider range of face shapes. We're so confident in our product's fit and our quality that in some countries, we offer a Try at home before you buy service, so you can be the judge.
Why are these online brands only available online and not in physical stores?
Most online-only sunglasses brands are very poor quality, and they wouldn't be taken seriously when scrutinised by an optician or the purchasing department of any reputable retail store. Unlike a consumer buying something online, a store buyer has the opportunity to closely inspect a product before they place an order for it.
Ask yourself, why wouldn't any brand want to give consumers the opportunity to feel their products before they purchase them? The truth is, most of these brands could only dream about being stocked in physical stores, because of course it would lead to more sales. However, if a product feels cheap, or if a brand can't back up their claims, a store simply won't order it.
How AM Eyewear is different: AM Eyewear can be found in over 280 Australian and 800 international high-end optical boutiques. These boutiques specialise in sunglasses, optical frames and lenses, and choose to only work with the best of the best in the optical industry. We are also stocked in many of the world's largest department stores, as well as some of the most iconic stores in the world, from the famous Colette in Paris, to Brown Focus in London, to Corso Como in Milan and Seoul.
Are they really environmentally friendly?
It's not unusual for sunglass brands to make claims that they are being sustainable and environmentally responsible. However, most of these brands wouldn't know where the materials being used to make their products are sourced. The majority of the world's sunglasses are made with injectable plastics, which are a chemical concoction that is definitely not environmentally friendly.
Some brands do use acetate and then, rightly so, preach that they're using a plant-based plastic. What they rarely understand is that although all acetate is plant-based, the process that turns a plant-based material into a plastic uses harsh chemicals like anhydride, acetic acid, and a catalyst (sulphuric acid). To save costs, many low-cost suppliers of acetate discard the processing chemicals irresponsibly, which can be horrific for our environment. If an online sunglass brand says they use sustainable production methods, sustainably produced or bio-based materials, do they have the certificates on their website to back up their claim?
How AM Eyewear is different: At AM we use plant-based acetate that has not only been produced using green energy, but it has also been processed with all-natural materials like citric acid esters, meaning: no phthalates (a big plus), low environmental impact, and 80%+ of the material is renewable and biodegradable under industrial composting conditions. This form of acetate comes at a much higher cost, and we have the certificates available on our website to back up our claims. Not only are our frames and lenses sustainably produced, but our cases are also made using 73% recycled materials. Learn more HERE.
Why and how can so many of these brands constantly offer their latest collections so highly discounted?
Sales are a common practice in retail; they're a great way to move older styles or to offer loyal customers a thank you. However, when a brand has identical styles as so many other brands, they need to offer huge discounts to motivate consumers to buy theirs over the other brands.
Being able to constantly offer 50% OFF / Buy One Get One Free / 2 pairs for $200 on a current collection is also a sign their sunglasses aren't costing them very much. Poor quality sunglasses can be purchased from large suppliers for as little as $3 a pair, but the quality is reflected in the cost. In some cases, it could even be the offshore factory posing as a brand, and using a large discount across their whole range is a sure way to get consumers to part with their money. However, your money, as well as any form of warranty, will be lost overseas if anything goes wrong.
How AM Eyewear is different: Our sunglasses are handmade using European materials; due to their high quality and our manufacturing cost, we can't offer our current collection at heavily discounted prices. Thankfully, anyone who has worn a pair has felt the difference, and knowing the quality, they are happy to invest in a pair without needing a huge discount as an incentive. On occasion, when a style has had a good life and we feel it's time to move it out of our main collection so we can add newer designs, we offer them at a lower price. We call this our Discontinued Styles sale.
