Sent in my 8(?) year old Costas because the frames were peeling. Frames ended up being discontinued, so they upgraded me to the style I wanted with better lenses at no charge. $260 sunglasses FO FREE!
Cool to work with a company that has a REAL lifetime warranty, who didn’t blame ME for the frames peeling, or try to ding me for the upgrade.
Nice! I just washed mine and threw them in my bag today, on the way to the water! No peeling yet though.
mtn
MegaDork
8/6/19 10:55 a.m.
Maui Jim has phenomenal customer service as well. And while not independently owned (they're owned by an insurance company), they're not part of the Luxottica empire.
Also, for both of these, they're the only two sunglasses (other than custom high end prescription) that I've had that I look through and think that it is clearer than my regular eyes. Serengeti (owned by Bushnell) comes close, but Ray Ban and Oakley do not.
EDIT: I just found out that Costa is now part of Luxottica. Hopefully the quality of the lens stays the same and their customer service as well.
TJL
Reader
8/6/19 11:01 a.m.
No charge at all? Last time i sent mine in it was a up front fee just to look at them. And i had to ship them in despite being minutes from their location.
I did wear maui jim and costa for years. I now dont know what kind of crack i was smoking to think that 300$ for sunglasses was ok.
I now wear knockaround and blenders. Nice glasses for 20-40$.
I was trying to figure out why "Bob" would need Sunglasses... So I had to click the thread.
Cooter
SuperDork
8/6/19 12:28 p.m.
Wasn't sure if forum bad-word filter was changing thread titles; had to come in and check.
Carry on...
In reply to TJL :
It was $12, and I had to pay for shipping. But $30 for a $260 pair of sunglasses ain’t too shabby, especially considering the $150 pair lasted 8 years and the “peeling” really wasn’t *that* bad. I didn’t notice, but the super professional english-speaking woman I spoke to this morning said the lens finish was fading, so they basically said “pick whatever you want, on us.”
I’m pleased as pie.
I get prescription glasses at Costco and get the "driver" polarized lenses in them.
They are awesome!
That said, before I needed prescription glasses, I used to wear polarized sunglasses that cost $25 and they did the job just fine.
I think the main takeaway is that polarized lenses work great for what I use them for.
TJL
Reader
8/6/19 2:23 p.m.
In reply to poopshovel again :
I still have a pair that the rubber was falling off of. I should try out the cheaper warranty service.
Nice to see something not owned by Luxotica
Mndsm
MegaDork
8/6/19 2:51 p.m.
I've had really good luck with Oakley. Ordered a custom set a few years ago, get a box in the mail. Open the box, notice a pair that are clearly not my customs, and an invoice for a kid in germany. Call oakley customer service. They confirm that my customs are still on the way, and because the mystery pair are an international order, they can't really do much with them, so... free sunglasses! Not a bad deal if you ask me. I've worn costas in the past, i just can't get into em. They're awesome clarity wise, just not my flavor.
TJL
Reader
8/6/19 2:52 p.m.
In reply to chandler :
im with ya on the luxotica monopoly, but luxotica did get costa already..
mtn
MegaDork
8/6/19 3:06 p.m.
TJL said:
In reply to chandler :
im with ya on the luxotica monopoly, but luxotica did get costa already..
Yeah, that was surprising to me too. Apparently they were bought buy Essilor a few years ago, then Essilor and Luxotica merged.
TJL
Reader
8/6/19 3:26 p.m.
Another reason to like my cheap “knockarounds”. No luxotica!
mtn said:
TJL said:
In reply to chandler :
im with ya on the luxotica monopoly, but luxotica did get costa already..
Yeah, that was surprising to me too. Apparently they were bought buy Essilor a few years ago, then Essilor and Luxotica merged.
Wow, doh! I was always a Oakley guy from the late 90’s on. They’ve lost their way though.
I don’t know what Luxotica is, and I don’t care. I bought a $25 pair of “decent” temporary shades from CVS the day I shipped the Costas off and one of the lenses fell out the first time I hung them on my shirt.
YMMV, obviously.
T.J.
MegaDork
8/6/19 6:43 p.m.
TJL said:
In reply to poopshovel again :
I still have a pair that the rubber was falling off of. I should try out the cheaper warranty service.
I have a pair where the rubber on the earpieces is gone. Never thought about sending them off. My first pair of Costas were lost in a tubing behind a jetski incident. They don’t float.
mtn
MegaDork
8/6/19 6:59 p.m.
chandler said:
mtn said:
TJL said:
In reply to chandler :
im with ya on the luxotica monopoly, but luxotica did get costa already..
Yeah, that was surprising to me too. Apparently they were bought buy Essilor a few years ago, then Essilor and Luxotica merged.
Wow, doh! I was always a Oakley guy from the late 90’s on. They’ve lost their way though.
Because they were bought by Luxotica. That was a fun story - pricing dispute between Oakley and Luxottica (remember, Luxocttica owns Sunglasses Hut, LensCrafters, PearleVision, Target Optical, Sears Optical, All About Eyes, and probably some others). Luxottica says, OK, and drops Oakley from their stores. Oakley's stock price plummets, and Luxottica buys them.
Still buying the same shaded safety glasses from my autoparts store after twenty years. When they become scratched they are replaced and go to the shop to be used for eye protection.
But I'm married. No-one cares how cool my glasses are anymore.
I recently started wearing sunglasses more often this year because I walk a lot more since my day job sent me into the city. I started off with a pair of discount store $5 specials that I usually wear while doing yard work, but they sucked for wearing to the office; lots of glare!
I read somewhere to try some polarized lenses, so I ordered some "nice" ones from Arnette (a Luxottica brand, big surprise). They were way nicer, but not really my style. I ordered some cheaper polarized "Kast King" fishing glasses from Amazon that are more "me", and they have been great so far. They took a big drop the other day and came out ok, so that works for me!
That said, next time I'm due for new eyeglasses, I'm getting some prescription sunglasses. Always wanted a set of those.
I've been through the cheap gas station sunglasses and the expensive Ray-Bans, and I've landed on these $17 beauties from Amazon. Cheap enough that I put a pair in every car and I don't care if I sit on them or lose them, but still pretty well made and comfy.
I head to the fishing section at Wally World and buy polarized sun glasses with some famous dudes name on them. $15 and I’m happy.
Every pair of sunglasses I've ever owned lasted less than 3 weeks before they were destroyed or disappeared.
I don't wear sunglasses.
mtn
MegaDork
8/6/19 10:01 p.m.
Oh, someone should lock this thread after a week or so. They’re always canoe magnets.