I am the creator of Civil Eyewear a company that combats Luxottica AMA!

Do you have designers that design your frames or are you buying "catalog" styles from China?

The parts have been made in China, the same basic ways Apple is made and sold. I am just here to give people a good deal on some eyewear.

Why do brick and mortars get so pissy about you just wanting your measurements done? They insist on an entire exam or getting frames from them.

Walmart here does it for a small fee of $10-20 here, cause it's not their establishment's (they just want to overcharge you for the frames). I used to use other websites and take the frames there and save loads. It's all about the money to them.

Sweet I'll have to try Walmart. Thanks for answering.

Anytime! Just here to help save people money on something they need.

Seems like you created a company just like Zenni Optical. Why should I , a consumer, purchase from you rather than Zenni Optical?

We have similar options, but more variety. We are also cheaper and have free international shipping. As well, we have more sunglasses, HD reading type glasses and gamer glasses. Thanks for the great question!

Why did you attempt to censor your adblock icon in your browser?

I didn't want to advertise them to anyone. You have a right to not see their adblocking ad. So I blocked adblock.

Saw the website and the sunglasses look pretty good. But I got to know. do u get UV protection or polarized protection from these at all???

All of our sunglasses have at least 400UV protection, even our promo pairs for $5.95. Most of our glasses are polarized and offer the same protection as the expensive brands. Thanks for the question!

I need Rx safety glasses. Got those?

Actually I have thought about those, but have to go through more safety inspections. I will certainly look back into getting some on the site! Thanks for the question!

The last time I bought cheap sunglasses online the lenses turned out to be crap. How do you ensure I'm not going to get a blurry looking image through some low quality lens?

I'm sorry for that bad experience! I can guarantee we don't ship faulty products though, and I constantly wear our products. http://civileyewear.com/product-category/full-collection/aviator/ I have been wearing this product for over 4 months and it is still in great shape.

Thanks for the AMA, always curious about online retail. And full disclosure, I know nothing about sunglasses whatsoever.

• How long have you been running the business for? Any unexpected challenges?

• Where do you source your glasses from? Is the cost per product the same as luxury brands just without the markup, or is there something else?

• How are you different from other online affordable glasses stores? (eg. quick google search gives me a few websites here, here and here)

I've been running this for about 6 months now. There are so many hiccups that come along the way, but working on this and trying to get it going has been a fun challenge! I didn't realize how many things went into starting a business, the most hectic was trying to get orders out on time. I always stress seeing them pile up and have to ask my friends for help.

We source the parts from China, but what isn't really from China these days anyways. The $400 + pairs sometimes have a bit of difference in material used (mostly marketing), but durability isn't always apart of the markup (i.e. diamonds/gold).

We differ by having free international shipping and offering different types that they don't (gamer glasses, hd reading glasses)

Do you guys do prescription lenses?

Unfortunately we do not, Walmart and most other stores will charge you a fee of about $10-20 for not using their frames, but it will save you loads from not buying their frames!

Pineapple on pizza, yay or nay?

I will most likely get shit on for this, but yay. The sweet and saltiness is a gift from the gods.

you're a sick individual but that ok, we can still be friends.

I have a dream, that pineapple lovers and non pineapple lovers can get along and enjoy delicious cheesy pizza together.

I spent 7 years selling sunglasses part time. Some companies, looking at Oakley and Raybans, are complete rip offs for the money. Maui Jim is pure fucking quality, but super expensive.

As far as quality goes, so you owe any polarized models? Anti reflective coating, etc? Guessing they're all plastic lenses?

Regardless, $18 for a pair of sunglasses is awesome. Keep up the good work man.

We have many acrylic lens, a few plastic, poly-carbonate, and TAC types of lenses! Most of the "high end brands" are actually owned by a company called Luxottica and they've monopolized the sunglasses industry driving up the price of eyewear in general! They are actually the reason I started this venture, trying to topple their monopoly (I doubt I will do anything, but it's worth a shot!) Many of the medium priced (around $10) are polarized and a few of the $8.95 pair. Thanks so much for the great question! :)

I know Luxoticca bought out a bunch of companies in the early 2000's. I think they even bought out Sunglass Hut if I'm not mistaken. I was amazed back then how much they owned.

If you need any help with your business, hit me up, I'll help for free. Nothing like fighting the good fight.

They did buy it! I'm always down for friends! You can pm me your details :)

Will you adopt me?

Do you have rabies?

Where are you based ?

The company based in Indiana! (I won't go into detail of the exact location for obvious reasons!) Thanks for the great questions!

So how gaming glasses even work?

It helps reflect light that would otherwise strain your eyes, leaving you to be able to focus on objects more clearly. Personally, I use them while playing league and it does seem to be a bit more clear and crisp!

Ohh I see, maybe I should buy a Doritos cap to go along with these MLG glasses!

Why not? Doritos are amazing

You answered a question about ordering frames online. This is all fine and well for most people. Out of curiosity, is it possible for people who don't have two pupils that line up normally to purchase anywhere online? I'm thinking of people with lazy eyes or a medical history.

Also, who was the worst chicken in history?

I would probably take that up with your optometrist! But if you want to hide that lazy eye, we have some great mirror aviators for it!

A mcchicken

Thanks, but I don't have lazy eye. Normally optometrists split the distance in half to find the radius of each pupil to your nose, so I wondered if it was possible for people who don't have that.

Do you not take custom lens orders where someone sends you specifications?

Oh! We don't do prescription lenses, we sell the frames. If you take it to optometrists like Walmart or Costco for a small fee they fill the prescription using our frames!

I've been looking for Don Draper's sunglasses for some time, these: http://www.randolphusa.com/don-draper-sunglasses/

From your catalog, the "Matured Aviator - Silver" seem to be the closest ones, or is there some other that's more like them?

BTW, I'm from Chile, so I really appreciate the free worldwide shipping. Also following you on IG and FB.

Currently, those are closest looking pair we have! Over the next few days we will be uploading more, but I don't think we have the clear coated arms that you're looking for. The boxiness of the "Matured Aviator" matched the boxiness/bridge of the Don Draper's though. And thanks so much for showing your support! :)

On a more personal level, what are some of your favorite films?

Any Marvel movie (besides Spiderman 3). On an even more personal level, what about you?

I find glasses that "pinch" the sides of the nose (either with pads or as part of the frame itself) to be very uncomfortable, and very much desire glasses that sit on the front of the nose. For example, these. (The term for these seems to be "saddle bridge", but some people use that term to refer to when the pads are part of the frame.) These are very difficult to find.

Do you make any glasses with this kind of construction? Do you have any thoughts as to why it's so uncommon?

I'll start off by saying that is a really good question! We do not currently have any of these. I really like the design, but I could see with the nose being a naturally oily part of your face it could slip quite easily. I'll have a sit down with my team and see if we can incorporate that into our site, thanks for the great suggestion!

I took a quick look (on mobile site) and didn't see info on sizing. I have a fairly large noggin, how do I find the larger frames?

The sizing quite standard, but my father (a slightly larger man) find the aviators quite comfortable and not a problem! Also, thanks for the suggestion! I had been looking into putting different variations of sizes on our website, it seems like I will have to talk with my team and get on this!

I work with tools and around metal and am often finding I've bent the bridge of my glasses or in someway messed up alignment. Eventually these minor issues and corrections start to make the glasses not fit well.

Any recommendation on a pair that can take a beating and keep their shape?

If you're having problems with nose pieces i'd recommend using a saddle type! http://civileyewear.com/product/mountaineer-version-1/ these would offer little slip and good protection of eyes. If you have a style you prefer i'd be happy to help you find what you're looking for!

Luxottica is the devil. Thank you for doing this. Compared to Ray Bans, what is the quality of your frames like?

I would say on par at least, I have a pair of $120 Oakley and they're not even polarized! Most of ours are polarized and even the most expensive not above $18 if that puts it into perspective. Also, thanks for the support! :) I'm glad you understand the severity of them owning too much of the market share!

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Recently i've been trying to tame fennec foxes, I want to have a fierce pack of them to hunt buffalo on the plains of Africa

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Well, it all starts with the people! Supporting smaller websites (of course their quality and prices matter, so do be wary). I will continue to try and do something, even if I can't do much, I can educate people to not buy from this company!

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We not only do our best to provide quality and streamlining our product to rival our competition. Also, free international shipping and that will never change!