It is no secret you can go to an eyewear boutique and spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of designer sunglasses from a high-priced label. But you don’t have to. In fact, there are probably more cheap sunglasses out there. It seems that people prefer the cheaper products anyway.
In a recent Who What Wear post on cheap sunglasses, contributor Allyson Payer admitted as much. She outright wrote that she prefers them. She gets a thrill whenever she purchases a new pair. Nothing wrong with that. You can be just as satisfied with a $50 purchase as you are with a $500 purchase.
According to Salt Lake City-based Olympic Eyewear, here are the top five reasons people prefer cheap sunglasses:
1. Sunglasses Break
The first reason is that sunglasses break. As hard as we work to protect them for all eternity, we rarely succeed. We sit on our shades and break the arms off. We drop them and crack the lenses. When you buy cheap, you don’t have to be so worried about breaking your sunglasses that you can’t actually enjoy wearing them. You only spent a little bit anyway. If they break, you go buy a new pair.
2. Lenses Wear Out
The lenses in a typical pair of designer sunglasses are made of cheap plastic. As such, they wear out. It all starts with a scratch here or there. Before you know it, one scratch turns into twenty. Then the lenses start looking cloudy. Even the tinting may start to fade. In fairness, this all may take years to develop, but it still happens. It is not a bother when you know you didn’t pay a whole lot.
3. Sunglasses Get Misplaced
If it’s not breakage or worn-out lenses, many of us are forced into buying new sunglasses because we misplaced the old pair. We swear we set them down somewhere, we just don’t remember where that is. And unfortunately, misplaced sunglasses have a habit of growing legs.
Misplacing your sunglasses on vacation is so common that most destinations sell sunglasses in the gift shop. There is always the resort lost and found, as well. But good luck finding misplaced sunglasses there. How do you describe a pair that looks like everyone else’s?
4. Fashions Change
Some people see their sunglasses as fashion accessories. That’s fine. They get eye protection as a bonus. The point is that they prefer cheap sunglasses for the simple fact that fashions are always changing. They want to keep up with their favorite celebrities but don’t want to end up in the poor house doing so.
The great thing is that there are cheap brands that look every bit as stylish as their more expensive counterparts. Not so wealthy fashionistas can still keep up with the latest trends on a budget.
5. Multiple Pairs Are Convenient
Last but not least is the convenience factor. Some people prefer cheap sunglasses because they can buy multiple pairs for different uses. If you are not sure what this means, imagine owning three pairs of sunglasses. You keep one pair in the car and another on the dresser with your keys. You have a third pair for fishing, cycling, and golf.
If you are prone to high-end shades in the $500 range, you would spend a tidy $1500 on three pairs. But cheap sunglasses in the $50 range reduce your costs by 90%. You get the convenience of multiple pairs and still pay less money than you would for a single pair from an expensive label.
It turns out people appreciate cheap sunglasses. Now you know why.
