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How to Buy Glasses Cheap...and Help Hank Pick Frames!

2008-07-28 · Hank · watch on YouTube · Economics · advice recommendation

Having lost his glasses in the Clark Fork River, Hank explains how to buy glasses cheaply (note the frame's serial number in the store, buy online, get lenses made locally) and asks viewers to vote on his new frames.

What is said

00:00:00 — Sunday July 27 at the mall: glasses lost tubing on the Clark Fork; two plans (viewer vote, cheap-glasses experiment)

  • ★★ Hank says he lost his glasses tubing on the Clark Fork River the day before and is at the mall shopping for new ones. — 00:00:00
  • ★ Hank says he will do two things at the glasses store: ask Nerdfighters to help pick new glasses, and experiment with how to get glasses cheaply. — 00:00:00 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:40 — How to get glasses cheap: browse and note serial number and price, avoid store markup, buy online, pupil distance and prescription, local lens maker in Missoula

  • ★★ Hank says glasses are very expensive and doubts they are worth it, since they are mostly hunks of plastic. (hedged) — 00:00:40
  • ★★ Hank advises browsing and trying glasses on in the store, then writing down the frame's serial number, the numbers below it and the price. — 00:00:40
  • ★★★ Hank says the markup on glasses in stores is at least 100%, so '25% off' still means paying a little less than twice what the store paid. (hedged) — 00:01:09
  • ★★★ Hank says never to buy glasses in a brick-and-mortar store, but to look the serial number up at home on Amazon or other sites. — 00:01:09 · Amazon
  • ★★ Hank says the same frames can be bought online for hundreds of dollars less. — 00:01:38 · Amazon
  • ★★ Hank says to buy glasses entirely online only if you know your pupil distance and have a recent prescription; otherwise a store should make the lenses. — 00:01:38
  • ★★ Hank plans to buy frames online and have a friend at a cheap family-owned store in downtown Missoula make the lenses and adjust the glasses for free. — 00:01:38 · Missoula, Montana

00:02:07 — Viewer vote on seven frames; winner ordered immediately; superglued old pair meanwhile

  • ★ Hank jokes he will have to redraw his cartoon self with the new glasses, since viewers liked the old ones. (playful) — 00:02:07
  • ★★★ Hank invites John, Nerdfighters and other viewers to vote in the comments among seven frames he will wear for about five years; he will order the winner immediately. — 00:02:07 · John Green, Nerdfighteria
  • ★ Meanwhile Hank will superglue together an old pair with the wrong prescription so he can see a little. — 00:02:36

00:03:17 — Plug: location of John's talk at the Spring Lake District Library, Michigan; 'gigantic glasses' sign-off

  • ★★ Hank gives Michigan Nerdfighters the place of John's talk: the Spring Lake District Library, 123 East Exchange Street, Spring Lake, Michigan, 2 p.m. Monday, July 28. — 00:03:17 · John Green

Humor (significant)

  • Hank explains how he lost his glasses while tubing on the Clark Fork River. — 00:00:00 > «I gave them to the Clark Fork as a solemn offering of my appreciation for its beauty and awesomeness.»
  • Hank invites viewers to replay the video to see the frame options again. — 00:02:36 > «that's not gonna hurt our view count, so I welcome you to do that»
  • Without his glasses, Hank leans into the screen to read John's event address to Michigan Nerdfighters. — 00:03:17 > «I have to get really close to the screen to read it.»
  • Hank ends the video wearing a gigantic pair of glasses. — 00:03:17 > «These gigantic glasses want you to subscribe!»

Threads in this video

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