Why do ordinary frames for glasses cost as much as an iPhone?

So I'm at the glasses store and the frames are like $100, $150, $200, etc. Just the frames.

I don't understand. Tthe frame is just a piece of plastic or metal molded into a certain shape. It's less complex and easier to make than a stapler. Why does it cost $200? And the cheapest is $100.

But in the local pharmacy there are reading glasses sold and they include frames AND lenses… And they're like $10.So at the pharmacy glasses with frames and lenses are $10, but at the eye glass store just the frames start at $99 and average $200.

It's not like I want fancy Gucci designer frames. I just want regular cheap-o prescription glasses but just the frames are ridiculously expensive for no good reason. Or is there a good reason?

Why not just buy the $10 glasses from the pharmacy and remove the lenses and tell the optometrist to use that frame for my Rx glasses?

A-they DON'T.
B-NOT a medicine Q.

They have a huge markup. It's a ripoff.

I buy my glasses at eyebuydirect.com. You need to know your PD (pupillary distance), which the eye doctor's office can measure for you. You might even get the optometrist to measure it for you. That plus your prescription, go online, and get a pair for about $50. I get my progressive lens bifocals for under $100 and they look and work great.