With around six weeks to go until a major solar eclipse across North America, experts are warning the public that stocks of U.S.-made safe eclipse glasses will run low.
That demand will outstrip supply is no surprise. That’s often the case before all solar eclipses—including the last total in North America on August 21, 2017—but there’s a special reason to think that by April 8, it will be hard to find glasses. “In 2017, there were 12 million people within the path of totality,” said Jo Trizila, founder and CEO of TrizCom Public Relations & Pitch PR and the creator of Total Eclipse DFW. “In 2024, this number will more than double to over 32 million. The need for solar eclipse glasses is unprecedented,” said Trizila.
Note: Wherever you buy eclipse glasses, you should check that the company or brand is on the American Astronomical Society’s vetted list of Suppliers of Safe Solar Filters & Viewers that all use products that adhere to the ISO 12312-2 international standard.
Perfect Storm
The very nature of an eclipse—an event tied to a specific date that many people only become aware of with weeks or even days to go—can often see a perfect storm of supply and demand. “The bulk of sales start about now through the eclipse, and there’s going to be a mad rush at the last minute,” said Pat Steele, owner of Kingman, Arizona-based Thousand Oaks Optical, which manufactures the all-important silver-black polymer film used by the two major producers of eclipse glasses in the U.S.—Rainbow Symphony and American Paper Optics. “So there could very well be shortages.”
400% Increase
“We’ve been making them nonstop in order to prep for the occasion,” said Jason Lewin, chief marketing officer at American Paper Optics, in an email. “We made 50 million glasses in 2017. This year, I estimate that we will make closer to 75 million glasses.”
Consumer orders have increased by about 400% in the last few months, according to the Bartlett, Tennessee-based company, which is currently making 500,000 eclipse glasses each day. Ramping up production has meant employing 90 people, up from 30, and running extra shifts.
Price Hikes
The extra costs of increased production—along with an increase in the cost of paper—have raised the unit cost of its eclipse glasses—though as April 8 approaches, it’s quickly becoming a reseller’s market. “We are selling to a lot of people who will be selling these glasses for five times the amount, maybe more,” said Lewin.
Price hikes are common in the weeks before an eclipse as demand surges, both online, in stores and from street-sellers on eclipse day itself. “Companies that take advantage of any shortage and gouge on the pricing is beyond my control,” said Steele. “It’s unfortunate, but that’s how the market works.”
Last Minute Surge
The pre-eclipse surge is part of how the industry works because people suddenly realize what a big deal the event is.
There were other factors at play in 2017. “A few months out from that eclipse, we were maybe getting 50 retail orders a day, but it exploded to close to 14,000 orders a day,” said Lewin. That was partly down to Amazon’s decision to refund customers who had bought solar viewing glasses and filters whose source could not be confirmed to be safe. Lewin recalls people driving for six hours to the American Paper Optics factory in 2017 to queue. “Each morning, there would be a line wrapped around the side of our facility—we eventually had to set up a pop-up shop outside the warehouse,” said Lewin. “People in charge of events and watch parties had no other choice.”
This year it’s not as bad. “The number of retail orders that we get each day has gone up, which lets me know that people are getting prepared earlier than in 2017,” said Lewin. “But I think there will be a shortage of American-made, ISO-certified eclipse glasses—based on demand.”
The main difference between 2017 and 2024 is increased supply of eclipse glasses from China.
Flooding The Market
Companies in China also produce film that meets the ISO 12312-2 standard, according to the American Astronomical Society’s list. The reseller section of its lists is divided into two main sections—Authorized Dealers of Products Made in North America or Germany and Importers and Dealers of Products Manufactured in China. “They’re just flooding the market,” said Dan McGlaun, an eclipse expert at Eclipse2024.org who only sells eclipse glasses sourced from the major North American manufacturers, in an interview.
As it gets more difficult to place bulk orders from U.S.-based manufacturers of eclipse glasses, he’s worried that resellers in North America are importing products from unknown Chinese suppliers using solar film of questionable quality. “If I’m a Chinese manufacturer and I want to fill this market, I’m going to use whatever I can get,” said McGlaun. “It may be that it’s perfectly fine—we may look back at this eclipse and conclude that without China, we wouldn’t have had enough glasses—but people need to trust who they’re getting glasses from.”
For the latest on all aspects of April 8’s total solar eclipse in North America, check my main feed for new articles each day.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
