Maui Jim Sunglasses

[Raizinman]

My birthday was a few weeks ago and my wife bought me a pair of Maui Jim Sandbar Sunglasses. I use sunglasses when driving, and often purchase myself some sunglasses from some department store for $20 or $30 bucks. I checked the price on the Maui Jim Sunglasses and they sell for $280. Sure you can find some stores have them marked down to perhaps as low as $240 or $250, but heck, these are just sunglasses! What makes them so expensive? They are not prescription, just sunglasses! It’s just a metal frame with plastic lenses! Even though I’ve had them a few weeks, I’m so careful with them that I don’t always wear them. Often when driving, I’ll stop and then just throw my sunglasses on the passenger seat while refueling or getting something to eat, but NO with the Maui Jim. Those need to go right back into the case to avoid scratching or messing them up. It’s so time consuming to package these up for storage that I often avoid even wearing them.

 

[edro]

Marketing
I would say some of it is for their highly engineered polarization technology... but that can't be very complicated.

At least Maui Jims are made in the USA.

Did you get gray or yellow lenses? I can't stand the yellow.

 

[el-Capitan]

Who looks up the value of gifts they receive, especially from someone as close as your SO?

 

[SketchMaster]

A decent part of it is the name, but the overall quality is the other part of it.

The lenses in high end brands like MJ or Oakley have much better polarizing/anti-scratch coatings, and the lenses won't have as much distortion and normally they are safety rated (I can wear my Oakleys to the range). The frames are usually made out of some pretty hardy stuff that allows them to be strong for their weight. You also get pretty decent costumer service with that price tag, most stores will clean/adjust your glasses for free on a walk-in basis.

Also, you can get custom RX lenses made; for a pretty penny.

But yeah, the name on the side hikes the price a bit honestly.

 

[vi edit]

You are also paying for service. Have a part of them break or a screw fall out? Call them up and they'll either ship you parts or replace them.

They are sort of like the Weber of sunglasses.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I'm stretching it to spend $20 on a pair. In fact the $5 wal mart specials are pretty nice.

 

[saratoga172]

If say quality. Bought some oakley's about three years ago and they the best pair of sunglasses I've ever used. I use cheapo walmart sunglasses on the lake and sometimes it's tough because the lens are so much worse, less clear, foggy, etc.

 

[evident]

Marketing

nope, they simply one of the best sunglasses you can buy. none of my oakleys or ray bans even come close to the optics in MJ's

 

[dougp]

I have two pairs of MJ's - the only MJ lenses that are plastic are on their sport editions. If they have a metal frame, 99% of the time, the lens is glass - don't be fooled by the weight. They have the best polarization you can get on the market. I've never had to replace mine as I'm careful with them - just take care of them and they'll last you forever.

 

[Anubis]

my only issue with MJ's is i find all of them ugly as hell.

i would not mind paying for quality if it was attractive

currently have a pair of Natives which do the job just fine

 

[alien42]

an old co-worker of mine had a pair and all i remember about them is that you could clinch them in your fist and they would pop right back to the original shape. while i could never spend that kind of money on sunglasses, they were the most indestructable pair i have ever seen.

 

[JackBurton]

Maybe your wife is giving you a hint that she's tired of you wearing those ghetto sunglasses you got at the gas station.

 

[Insomniator]

Maybe your wife is giving you a hint that she's tired of you wearing those ghetto sunglasses you got at the gas station.

this

280 is kinda steep, but I at least go for ~$100 bolle's. Even Polarized Raybans can be gotten for under $200.

 

[spacejamz]

I have worn Oakleys forever (from the razor blades to the m-frames and now some flak jackets - love these for cycling and other outdoor stuff) but I have one pair of MJ Ho'okipa's that are awesome..

 

[radhak]

I was the $10 Walmart sunglasses guy, till I did an MJ impulse buy at the mall two years ago (my one and only impulse buy at a mall, I swear!) for $210, which I later found was a one-time deal.

I love it's delicate weight, particularly when out in 95 degree sun and humidity. And I like the looks of it much more than the Raybans and stuff.

I have used it just as roughly as my earlier cheap ones - drop them into the drink-holder in the car along with the house keys and like, stuff them into my pant pockets, etc - but they are still as good as new.

I also heard from a colleague that when his MJs got scratched up, he got a replacement for free, without much fuss. Now that is service.

 

[Raizinman]

Who looks up the value of gifts they receive, especially from someone as close as your SO?

What??!! How would I know otherwise what to spend on her birthday? I never heard of Maui Jim and would have estimated the price of a pair of sunglasses to be $40, or perhaps $50. Not $280. If I would have bought her a $50 gift in return, I would look cheap. Now I know the minimum I need to spend is $280.

 

[MixMasterTang]

FYI - Costco has a few different pair of Maui Jims for $70-$90.

 

[Imp]

Cheap bastard... My Maui Jims were $200, $350, and $370 after tax.

It's fashion: you pay for the materials, design, and just because that's what they're asking. There are plenty of alternatives like $5 gas station pairs.

I like MJs cause they have very high quality lenses, I like their designs, and some actually fit me well. The only pair I fuxxored was 3 years old -- the wind took it outside my shitty wind tunnel of an office building. Sent it flying across the pavement for 20 feet. Lens was really badly scratched, but still usable.

On my second pair of MJs and haven't broken them yet after 2.5 years. If they're not on my face, they go in a cabinet or the case.

 

[AstroManLuca]

They are expensive because they are expensive. Like watches and jewelry, there is a market for high-dollar items that exist solely to allow rich people to waste money in order to show off their wealth.

Sure, they are higher quality than $10 sunglasses, but not 25x better.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I picked up a pair of Maui Jim's yesterday at the outlet mall in Carlsbad. They are polarized and extremely light weight. Paid $179 for them and they were having a 10% off everything in the store sale on top of that.

This is the one I bought. Very happy with them so far. I was looking at Ray Ban because those are what I've had for years but these were the same price but much lighter. They fit my face and don't slide down my nose or move around at all while I'm wearing them. It barely feels like I'm wearing glasses when I have them on but they really cut down on glare when driving.

 

[Schfifty Five]

My birthday was a few weeks ago and my wife bought me a pair of Maui Jim Sandbar Sunglasses. I use sunglasses when driving, and often purchase myself some sunglasses from some department store for $20 or $30 bucks. I checked the price on the Maui Jim Sunglasses and they sell for $280. Sure you can find some stores have them marked down to perhaps as low as $240 or $250, but heck, these are just sunglasses! What makes them so expensive? They are not prescription, just sunglasses! It’s just a metal frame with plastic lenses! Even though I’ve had them a few weeks, I’m so careful with them that I don’t always wear them. Often when driving, I’ll stop and then just throw my sunglasses on the passenger seat while refueling or getting something to eat, but NO with the Maui Jim. Those need to go right back into the case to avoid scratching or messing them up. It’s so time consuming to package these up for storage that I often avoid even wearing them.

I have a pair of MJ's and they too were retailed at $280. I had a 25% coupon and about $50 of GCs that were expiring so figured, what the hell. I hadn't had a pair of nice sunglasses in awhile and I expect these to last for 10 yrs at least.

In any case, the quality of the sunglasses is definitely higher than your cheaper counterparts. Is it worth it? Probably not. You don't get that much extra value for them with the amount of extra $ you spend.

Still though, they are comfortable and pretty high quality frames.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Luxottica used to be a client of mine at the last company I worked for. Cost of goods to make an average pair of Oakleys/RB/MJ is around the $20-$30 range, dependent upon material, brand, features, etc. They mark them up because people are willing to pay for them, and of course, to pay for all the R&D/marketing/etc costs. (Similar to drugs - does it really cost that much to make a pill? No, but it's paying for the R&D/marketing/etc costs) They straight up make a killing on every pair they sell.

In terms of eye protection, they actually do protect your eyes than the cheapo $5-$20 sunglasses you get at Target/CVS/etc.

 

[alkemyst]

You are also paying for service. Have a part of them break or a screw fall out? Call them up and they'll either ship you parts or replace them.

They are sort of like the Weber of sunglasses.

QFT. They have excellent customer service.

Also no matter what people think, a $20 pair of sunglasses is no where near the quality of a $100+ pair.

 

[BoomerD]

I picked up a pair of Maui Jim's yesterday at the outlet mall in Carlsbad. They are polarized and extremely light weight. Paid $179 for them and they were having a 10% off everything in the store sale on top of that.

This is the one I bought. Very happy with them so far. I was looking at Ray Ban because those are what I've had for years but these were the same price but much lighter. They fit my face and don't slide down my nose or move around at all while I'm wearing them. It barely feels like I'm wearing glasses when I have them on but they really cut down on glare when driving.

I bought my first pair of Jims at the Carlsbad outlet store in the 90's. It took some serious convincing by my wife to get me to spend $150 for a pair of fucking sunglasses...but I was glad she did.

I broke the frames a couple of years later...called Maui Jim, they offered to replace the frame at no charge. Since the lenses had gotten scratched, I asked about replacing them. $50 each...so I ended up with a new pair of Jims for $100. I still have them, and since my eyes have gotten so bad that I have to wear prescription lenses all the time, (fucking bi-focals) the Jims sit in a desk drawer...unused.

Air Conditioning for the eyes...

 

[JulesMaximus]

I bought my first pair of Jims at the Carlsbad outlet store in the 90's. It took some serious convincing by my wife to get me to spend $150 for a pair of fucking sunglasses...but I was glad she did.

I broke the frames a couple of years later...called Maui Jim, they offered to replace the frame at no charge. Since the lenses had gotten scratched, I asked about replacing them. $50 each...so I ended up with a new pair of Jims for $100. I still have them, and since my eyes have gotten so bad that I have to wear prescription lenses all the time, (fucking bi-focals) the Jims sit in a desk drawer...unused.

Air Conditioning for the eyes...

It is pretty close to me so I can just pop down there if I want to do some shopping. It is always crowded though and finding parking can be a challenge. I went there a few weeks ago to get some Sperry Topsider shoes but they didn't have the ones I wanted so I went to Macy's instead. Should have gone there to begin with.

I had my son with me yesterday, we had just seen the movie 'Rush' and I couldn't find my Ray Bans so I stopped to pick up a pair to replace them. I spend a lot of time in my car so decent sunglasses are a must.