Unsatisfied with quality of sunglasses.

[Matt401]

Hey all from Australia. My wife ordered me a pair of Holbrook XL steel sunglasses for fathers day. I've had multiple pairs of other models over the last 20 years with little to no issue and they all felt quality made. Well, I received my sunglasses today (Direct from the oakley website) and the first thing I noticed is that my assembled in America sunglasses are shipped out of china. Secondly, the frame is not actually steel, I guess the matte black steel is just the name of the colour, disappointing. Thirdly, the reflection I get from inside the lens almost makes the point of sunglasses moot. The over all build quality of the frame seems less than something you'd pay $20 dollars for from a gas station, not $230 AUD.

Is this normal now? Is this just what they are like?

 

[Slojack]

Luxottica bought Oakley and quality fell off in a lot of places.

 

[kmbijit]

Hey all from Australia. My wife ordered me a pair of Holbrook XL steel sunglasses for fathers day. I've had multiple pairs of other models over the last 20 years with little to no issue and they all felt quality made. Well, I received my sunglasses today (Direct from the oakley website) and the first thing I noticed is that my assembled in America sunglasses are shipped out of china. Secondly, the frame is not actually steel, I guess the matte black steel is just the name of the colour, disappointing. Thirdly, the reflection I get from inside the lens almost makes the point of sunglasses moot. The over all build quality of the frame seems less than something you'd pay $20 dollars for from a gas station, not $230 AUD.

Is this normal now? Is this just what they are like?

Lol...someone buys a Holbrook with the expectation that it's a steel frame! Just wondering how heavy a Holbrook would be with a steel frame?

@op: If this was your first Oakley, did you at least look at the pictures and the product description before purchasing?

 

[TNGoldbeard]

What lens did you get?

 

[Matt401]

Lol...someone buys a Holbrook with the expectation that it's a steel frame! Just wondering how heavy a Holbrook would be with a steel frame?

@op: If this was your first Oakley, did you at least look at the pictures and the product description before purchasing?

Lol, imagine thinking a pair of sunglasses can actually be "heavy"....You obviously didn't read the post properly. I clearly state that I've had multiple different models over the years. The reason they were believed to be steel is because they are literally described as "
Prizm Black Polarized Lenses,
Steel Frame".....I didn't realise that was a marketing ploy. I've had frames from oakley before that were metallic, so a metal frame isn't a far fetched assumption. The issue here is, no one in my town stocks them, so to see the steel Holbrooks, they had to be ordered online.

 

[Matt401]

What lens did you get?

Prizm Black Polarized Lenses

 

[Broccoli]

I was also disappointed when I ordered “ruby” lenses and they were made of plastic, not precious gemstone.

 

[Rick58]

I was also disappointed when I ordered “ruby” lenses and they were made of plastic, not precious gemstone.

Get over it. How do you think all those who bought 24K X-Metals felt.

 

[Yo Flawch!]

Hey all from Australia. My wife ordered me a pair of Holbrook XL steel sunglasses for fathers day. I've had multiple pairs of other models over the last 20 years with little to no issue and they all felt quality made. Well, I received my sunglasses today (Direct from the oakley website) and the first thing I noticed is that my assembled in America sunglasses are shipped out of china. Secondly, the frame is not actually steel, I guess the matte black steel is just the name of the colour, disappointing. Thirdly, the reflection I get from inside the lens almost makes the point of sunglasses moot. The over all build quality of the frame seems less than something you'd pay $20 dollars for from a gas station, not $230 AUD.

Is this normal now? Is this just what they are like?

Welcome Matt.

I would like to address some of what you reported in your initial post.

1) Your first complaint was that the Oakleys were shipped from China. While that doesn't excite me, Oakleys (as well as many other expensive major brands) are made and shipped from all over the world. I'm just speculating, but coming from China could be a result of you being in Australia. I won't even ship to Australia. A member on this forum from Australia wanted to buy some lenses from me. Shipping for a couple pairs of lenses within the US would cost $4, but shipping the lenses to Australia price was over $35... unreasonable. Companies shipping to Australia might be strategically adjusting their logistics to move product around the world as economically as possible.

2) Next, you were expecting your Holbrook XL to be steel. You might think that is a reasonable assumption, but in reality it is simply naivety. For many, many years, companies use descriptive names for colors and materials. If you ordered your wife big aviator-style sunglasses that has a "Rose Gold" frame or "24K" lenses, would you expect the frame or lenses to be made of gold? I hope not. If Oakley shipped you Holbrook sunglasses made of actual steel, you initial post would likely be complaining of how uncomfortable the glasses are, including pics of the sores they made on your nose and ears.

3) Lens preferences are very subjective, and vary from person to person. Being 100% satisfied with lenses is a responsibility of the end-user. Meaning, if you didn't like the way the lenses looked, you should've returned them immediately, and spent some time researching which lenses work best for you. In your case, there are members here who LOVE Prizm Black Polarized Lenses, and members who HATE them. Just in my own case, I will say I have several pairs of PBP lenses that I like, but have had other pairs with PBP lenses that I don't care for the look of (both in and out of the lenses).

Until you learn more about what you like and don't like, I recommend limiting any online purchases to ones that feature free returns. That's your best defense against glasses you don't like for any reason... quality, color, style, etc.

As far as your question of quality, some members report drops in quality of current Oakley sunglasses. I am not a super-fan of the most current Oakley products, BUT I have found some I really like, both in style and quality. As I mentioned before, this is going to be on a case-by-case basis. First, find a style you like, then judge the quality, fit, and finish for yourself. If it doesn't pass the test, move on. There is no blanket "top quality, everyone loves this model." In the case of Holbrook, several members on this forum like and collect them. For myself, Holbrook is not a model for me - to each his own.

 

[Matt401]

Welcome Matt.

I would like to address some of what you reported in your initial post.

1) Your first complaint was that the Oakleys were shipped from China. While that doesn't excite me, Oakleys (as well as many other expensive major brands) are made and shipped from all over the world. I'm just speculating, but coming from China could be a result of you being in Australia. I won't even ship to Australia. A member on this forum from Australia wanted to buy some lenses from me. Shipping for a couple pairs of lenses within the US would cost $4, but shipping the lenses to Australia price was over $35... unreasonable. Companies shipping to Australia might be strategically adjusting their logistics to move product around the world as economically as possible.

2) Next, you were expecting your Holbrook XL to be steel. You might think that is a reasonable assumption, but in reality it is simply naivety. For many, many years, companies use descriptive names for colors and materials. If you ordered your wife big aviator-style sunglasses that has a "Rose Gold" frame or "24K" lenses, would you expect the frame or lenses to be made of gold? I hope not. If Oakley shipped you Holbrook sunglasses made of actual steel, you initial post would likely be complaining of how uncomfortable the glasses are, including pics of the sores they made on your nose and ears.

3) Lens preferences are very subjective, and vary from person to person. Being 100% satisfied with lenses is a responsibility of the end-user. Meaning, if you didn't like the way the lenses looked, you should've returned them immediately, and spent some time researching which lenses work best for you. In your case, there are members here who LOVE Prizm Black Polarized Lenses, and members who HATE them. Just in my own case, I will say I have several pairs of PBP lenses that I like, but have had other pairs with PBP lenses that I don't care for the look of (both in and out of the lenses).

Until you learn more about what you like and don't like, I recommend limiting any online purchases to ones that feature free returns. That's your best defense against glasses you don't like for any reason... quality, color, style, etc.

As far as your question of quality, some members report drops in quality of current Oakley sunglasses. I am not a super-fan of the most current Oakley products, BUT I have found some I really like, both in style and quality. As I mentioned before, this is going to be on a case-by-case basis. First, find a style you like, then judge the quality, fit, and finish for yourself. If it doesn't pass the test, move on. There is no blanket "top quality, everyone loves this model." In the case of Holbrook, several members on this forum like and collect them. For myself, Holbrook is not a model for me - to each his own.

Thank you for your response.

Firstly, I was just surprised that they would assemble a frame in America, just to ship it to China, only to then forward it on to Australi.

Secondly, going through the list of styles of Holbrook xl's, there are multiple variants listed as matte black, I didn't realise that listing something as a steel frame was just another word for matte black as well. I'll admit, I didn't read into the expanded description of the glasses, I foolishly assumed an item listed as a steel frame was actually made out of composite metal. It also doesn't help that my local oakley stockist said "I don't keep the steel frame ones in stock, only the plastic frame".

Thirdly, the quality of the lense is great if there is no light source behind me. Oakley lenses have always been so much clearer than anything else, these are no different. It's the reflection I get on the inside that is the issue. Again, I assumed that, like my previous glasses, internal reflection wouldn't be an issue, I was wrong.

I love the style, that's why I bought them. And they are comfortable. I tried them on in store, they just didn't have the lense/frame option I wanted and actually suggested I just buy them online. They come with a 12 month warranty so I may keep them yet. I believe I've got 14 days to return them so I'm going to sleep on the decision for a few days.