I was down in Ocean City Maryland last weekend and walking on the boardwalk ducked into del Sol. The sales guy there was going over how great the warranty was on their sunglasses. That you could actually get a new pair if your old pair broke or were even stolen. I don’t usually lose or break my sunglasses, but I do treat them a little rough and they are usually so scratched up within about 6 months that I need to buy new ones. Should I invest in a pair of del Sol sunglasses or does somebody else have a better warranty out there?
Is the warrantee in writing, and does it cover shipping and handling?
Found the guarantee on their website:
" Fill out a Solize™ redemption form to request a free replacement. You’ll need to enter your Guarantee Code, which is found on the Guarantee Card that came with your Solize™ eyewear. Once that’s submitted, you’ll be prompted to select your replacement pair and billing information.
A small shipping and handling fee of $12 (USD) for domestic and $15 (USD) for international replacements must be included, but your new Solize™ should arrive in about two weeks (up to three weeks for international addresses). We can ship them anywhere in the world, so no matter where you are you can still redeem your Solize™ Lifetime Guarantee."
Do NOT lose that small guarantee card, pay a fee of $12, and wait two weeks. Sound good to you?
Manufacturer cost: $5
Retail: $70
Replace for free theft or breakage (following the rules shown by Czarcasm).
Will the customer give up before we replace a few pairs and decide it’s not worth the hassle?
And what percentage of people are going to toss the little card along with the rest of the packaging before they find out that without it the guarantee is worthless?
The initial investment is a little steep, but $12 for a new pair of quality sunglasses about once or twice a year doesn’t sound too bad. Of course, if there’s another company out there that has something better I’m all ears.
Crazy idea, but you could just buy a pair of cheap sunglasses and then replace them if and when they get scratched or lost.
Then hit them Streets a’running
Do the terms of their guarantee allow you to replace them more than once?
Read the fine print. Someone is suing Bass Pro Shops over their failure to live up to a lifetime warranty on socks.
I am not trying to threadshit here but if you burn through sunglasses in 6 months you should not be buying expensive sunglasses. I have had my Oakleys for about 6 years now, well worth what I paid for them, and not a scratch on them. Get a good case and the glasses are either on your face or in the case.
Googling, Oakley sunglasses are around $200 or more. The ones mentioned in the OP seemed to be about $60 and cheap ones can be had for $10-20. Are yours still intact and unscratched because they’re expensive (and possibly well-made) or because you take care of them, including by using a case when not wearing them? In other words, if the OP took care of their sunglasses in the same way, would even cheap ones last longer?
What I would want to understand before buying the more expensive ones is what makes them expensive? Are there noticeable differences in how they are constructed? Is the coating more effective? Are they more comfortable?
Why don’t you just take better care of what you have?
Oh this should work great. I keep the receipts and warranty cards from everything I buy at the beach. And I’ll know if my sunglasses are stolen and not lost because I don’t lose things and I’ll have video evidence of a sunglasses thief snatching them from the table where I left them after eating lunch and I’ll call the police and report the sunglasses theft and they’ll rush right over so I can fill out a report to send to the sunglasses company along with that receipt and warranty card. Just can’t see a way to lose on this deal.
I am not going to bother to argue that my sunglasses are better than other sunglasses. But I take care of them.
Of course. Recall that
Shady Rays is also like this, their warranty covers damage, loss, etc. All they want is a “story” and they’ll replace them, with a small charge (shipping and handling).
I have a couple pairs (different styles) but haven’t taken advantage of this… yet.
MtM
Another option is Shady Rays. They will replace any that are broken or lost. I think its the same deal where you have to pay like $15 for shipping. I haven’t had to replace any yet though.
A couple months ago I bought 4 pairs from them. I was only planning on getting two but then at checkout they offered up an additional two at about 40% of the price for the first two. They are random and not replaceable. I figured it was worth it and was happy with the ones I received.
What peeves me off it that I get about 3 texts a week about sales and am I ready to buy more. The whole point was that I should not need to buy any more sunglasses for a long time! So, happy with the product, but their sales model is questionable.
Reminds me of when I bought some Beausoleil sunglasses. I was so careful with them I still have them like 30 years later.
Just googled and my sunglasses are now vintage!
IME, the best insurance is to buy the cheapest shades you can find. Even better if you don’t really like the way they look, and if they are a tad uncomfortable. You are guaranteed to have them for YEARS, while you go through any number of pricier pairs that you really like!
Same thing works for pens. Stick with the nearly empty stick pen w/ some teeth marks on it, and forget the Cross/Mont Blanc/…
In terms of things like construction and lens quality / coating etc., there is a significant difference between a $10 pair and a $50-$100 pair. I wear Smiths sunglasses, which are always available in that price range if you shop around for last year’s model. I have never found anything with better optics. I like their red lenses (I forget the fancy name) that give good contrast and are not too dark so you don’t have to keep taking them off if you go from bright light to shade.
However, I’m paying for high quality optics with special coatings, not something that makes them significantly more resistant to damage to the lens.
Above $100, you are not getting better optics or significantly better construction, you’re paying for the designer and the design as a fashion statement. Which is all fine - but still not more resistant to scratches to the lenses if you don’t look after them.
Anybody know what happened to greatshades.com? It was user friendly web site and could basically build your own glasses choosing size shape color and material (glass for me!). Not crazy expensive. Acies was the sunglass brand, IIRC
I spend a lot of time on the beach and boat. I used to go through a couple of 20$ pairs a year. I made the jump to glass lenses awhile ago and would never go back.
I do take care of them; they’re either on me or in the case. But 7 years later the lenses are still in great shape.
Sunglasses is just about the only reason I’m glad to have poor vision. I got tired of contacts - and needed bifocals. So I have a pair of clear bifocals and a pair of sunglass bifocals. Whichever is not on my face is in the case, and the case is only placed in a couple of locations.
So, in one way, it is a pain in the butt t one blind as a bat. But from a different perspective, I never just put my sunglasses down somewhere or otherwise misplace them.