Contact lenses online controversy

This news was from a few years back, but it shows how blogshops operate outside mainstream channels and pose competitive threats to established professionals. 

From: http://www.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20090210-120853.html

>> ASIAONE / HEALTH / NEWS / STORY Tue, Feb 10, 2009 The Sunday Times Look out for contact lenses sold online [Top: Owner of anna-blogshop Anne Catherine Christy, 18, imports coloured cosmetic contact lenses from Korea.] By Elizabeth Soh EYE doctors and opticians are reporting a spike in eye infections among youngsters who have bought coloured contact lenses from online sellers. Under Singapore law, only registered optometrists and opticians can sell or prescribe contact lenses. But over the past two years, hundreds of unregistered Internet 'blog shops' have sprung up selling novelty cosmetic contact lenses that claim to add sparkle to eyes or change their colour. The lenses are delivered in the mail, with little or no consumer aftercare provided to ensure users do not overuse their lenses or neglect hygiene. The result is that many users are falling victim to a range of eye problems. Music student Daphne Tan, 20, has sworn never to buy lenses online again after she ended up with a corneal ulcer, which causes acute burning pain and, if not arrested, can lead to total loss of sight. 'It was excruciating. I was so frightened, I wondered if I would go blind. When I asked the blog shop for compensation, the person simply closed down her shop. And I never heard from her again.' Arts undergraduate Lee Jia Min, 21, has suffered at least four bouts of sore and itchy eyes after buying more than 10 pairs of Korean and Japanese lenses from various blog shops over the past two years. 'There was one pair which made my eyes hurt the moment I put them on,' she said. ' I immediately threw them away.' A search on beauty forums such as cozycot.com and flowerpod.com unearthed at least 10 complaints of blog-shop buys that led to eye infections. Optometrists also reported a rise in the number of individuals seeing them with eye problems related to cosmetic contact lens wear. Like many of his colleagues, Mr William Choo, 44, a trained optometrist and the operations manager of Nanyang Optical, has seen a spike in those coming in with symptoms ranging from dryness to bloodshot eyes. 'Most are youngsters who abuse their eyes by wearing cosmetic contact lenses daily, for extremely long hours,' he said. These blog shops often peddle the latest rage - coloured lenses from Korean companies - for as little as $9 to $20 a pair. The lenses come in a dizzying array of colours, claim to enlarge and brighten eyes like 'your favourite Japanese or Korean celebrity', and last an entire year. The blog shops are being established at a rapid rate. According to undergraduate A. Ling, 21, who runs sglenses, a popular blog shop selling South Korean contact lenses, about 20 new shops open every few days. They are set up mostly by Internet-savvy Singaporean students, often as young as 15. They simply start a blog, source trendy products cheaply from suppliers in China and Korea, upload photographs and basic product information, provide online payment details and are open for business. Many say it is 'easy money'. With no rent or overheads, sellers can mark up prices by up to 60 per cent and charge a handling fee of $1.50 to $3 per sale. 'I make about a thousand dollars a month, give or take,' said Mr Ling, whose blog gets over 200 hits a day. 'I run it like a real business, doing advertising on Internet forums and other blog shops. I also sell my lenses worldwide.' The existence of these blog shops is a thorn in the side of registered optical professionals who operate in an altogether different price bracket. Their price for a monthly supply of Johnson and Johnson's Acuvue Define daily lenses, which comes with a free eye examination, is about $120. They cannot compete on price but maintain that they carry products with proven safety records and high manufacturing standards. Madam Seah Siew Leng, 39, an optician at Pavilion Optical in Marine Parade, who has been in the business for more than 10 years, said that for safety reasons, optical shops here do not carry certain brands from companies which are headquartered overseas. 'We are not sure if these brands are reliable in the event that there are problems with their lenses,' she said. When informed of the Optometrists and Opticians Act that outlaws lens sales by unregistered operators, eight of the 10 blog-shop owners interviewed said they would stop selling cosmetic contact lenses. Owner of anna-blogshop Anne Catherine Christy, 18, who has just completed her O levels, said: 'If there is such a rule, I will definitely stop selling them. I'll just find other things to sell.' She currently also sells F-cup cookies, priced at $35 for a box of 30, which claim to enhance the bustline. But she added that they are sold as a 'novelty biscuit, rather than a medical device'. The Consumers Association of Singapore has advised those who want to buy from online shops to deal with registered businesses as far as possible, to always get contact details of the sellers and suppliers, and to exercise caution. Once lenses have been bought, eye professionals advise that users should diligently follow wearing guidelines. Dr Francis Oen, 47, a senior consultant at the Singapore National Eye Centre, said: 'Wearing cosmetic contact lenses in the first place increases the risk of mild eye infection. The pigmentation on the coloured lenses aids the accumulation of dirt, so you need to be extremely hygienic.' Mr Choo of Nanyang Optical, who is registered with the Optometrists and Opticians Board, added: 'As opticians, we can help you if you suffer from any kind of infection when you wear cosmetic contact lenses. Your eyesight is probably the most precious thing you own.' esoh@sph.com.sg This story was first published in thesundaytimes on Feb 8, 2009.