[Alupis]

> why are these glasses so cheap?

The frames are being made from cheap materials (plain wire) closer-to or at the location of the recipients. Another HNer mentioned the person behind this invented a small wire bending device, and that's being used here to form the frames.

I would wager, as well, that the lenses don't have all the fancy coatings and such that you might get from an Optometrist (anti-scratch/fog/glare/shatter, etc)... although when your options are cheap glasses vs. no glasses, most people will opt for having glasses.