# How to Vibe Code Your Own GR8 Sunglasses (and Stop Paying for It)

> Luxury Sunglasses & Watches for Men & Women

- Site: https://gr8sunglasses.com
- Category: E-commerce Storefront
- Platforms: Web app
- Verdict: **Weekend build** (90/100 vibecodeable)
- Estimated effort: 1 weekend

## Verdict

Build a personal e-commerce catalog clone in a weekend, but keep paying for the real items since you cannot replicate authentic luxury designer inventory.

Replicating the frontend presentation of an e-commerce storefront like GR8 Sunglasses is straightforward using modern web frameworks. A solo developer can easily spin up a product catalog, filtering system, shopping cart drawer, and promotional code engine using Next.js and Tailwind CSS. The real difficulty is not the software engineering—it is sourcing authentic designer inventory and managing supplier relationships. For personal use or learning, building the frontend and catalog interface is an excellent weekend project.

### What you can't replicate

- Authentic luxury brand inventory and manufacturer agreements
- Direct customer trust and verified review history
- Established supply chain and physical warehouse operations in the UK

## What it does

An e-commerce storefront specializing in retailing luxury and designer sunglasses, watches, and fashion accessories from high-end brands and exclusive designer collaborations.

### Core features

- Catalog browsing with brand, gender, and category filters
- Detailed product page with specs, material data, and image gallery
- Shopping cart drawer with quantity updates
- Discount code validation engine (e.g., 30% off second pair)
- Secure checkout integration with multi-payment provider support
- Customer reviews and trust rating display
- Editorial journal/blog section for fashion guides

## The business

### Pricing

- Retail Merchandise: Varies by item (£49 - £500+) — Direct purchase of luxury designer sunglasses and watches.

Founded 2023.
Team size: 1-10.

## The hard parts

- Securing wholesale or direct authorization to sell luxury designer brands legally
- Inventory management across hundreds of fast-rotating luxury SKUs
- Handling multi-currency pricing and international shipping logistics

## How to vibe code GR8 Sunglasses

### Prerequisites

- Node.js (free): Runtime environment for building and running the Next.js web application.
- GitHub (free): Version control and repository hosting to deploy directly via Vercel.

### Recommended AI tools

- Cursor: AI-native code editor ideal for iteratively building React components, Tailwind styling, and catalog filtering logic.
- Claude Code: Terminal coding agent capable of scaffolding the entire e-commerce database schema and setting up API routes.

### Stack

- Frontend: Next.js with Tailwind CSS
- Backend: Next.js Server Actions
- Database: Turso (SQLite at the edge)
- Auth: better-auth
- Payments: Stripe
- Other: Vercel AI SDK, Lucide React Icons

### Hosting

- Vercel (Hosting the Next.js storefront frontend and serverless API endpoints with zero-config GitHub deploys.): $0/mo (Hobby Tier)
- Turso (Storing product catalogs, categories, variants, and mock user orders in a lightweight edge SQLite database.): $0/mo (Free Tier)

### Build guide

1. **Project Scaffolding and Layout** — Initialize a Next.js project with Tailwind CSS and configure the core layout including header announcement bar, navigation menu, search bar, and footer links.

```
Create a new Next.js 16 app with Tailwind CSS and TypeScript. Build a responsive e-commerce layout featuring a top announcement bar ('30% OFF SECOND PAIR with code 30PERCENT'), a sticky header with navigation links ('Home', 'All Brands', 'For Him', 'For Her', 'Watches'), a search input, and a footer with policy links and social icons. Ensure clean component structure using Lucide React icons.
```

2. **Database Schema and Product Seeding** — Define Turso SQLite schema for products, brands, variants, and categories, and populate initial luxury eyewear and watch data.

```
Connect Turso SQLite to the Next.js project using Drizzle ORM. Define tables for products (id, name, brand, description, regular_price, sale_price, category, gender, images, specs JSON, stock_status), brands, and categories. Write a seed script that populates realistic luxury items like Giles Deacon sunglasses, Ann Demeulemeester frames, and Burberry watches with sample image URLs and metadata.
```

3. **Catalog Browsing and Filtering** — Implement product listing pages with filtering by brand, gender, category, and price range, plus sorting options.

```
Build a dynamic catalog listing page that fetches products from Turso. Add a sidebar filtering component allowing users to filter by Brand (Ray-Ban, Gucci, Balenciaga, etc.), Gender (Men, Women, Unisex), Category (Sunglasses, Watches), and Sale status. Include sort dropdowns for price and popularity. Ensure URL search parameters sync with active filters.
```

4. **Product Detail Page and Image Gallery** — Create a rich product detail page featuring thumbnail image switching, detailed technical specifications, and related product recommendations.

```
Create a product detail page route at /products/[id]. Display an interactive image gallery with a main preview and thumbnail selector, product title, regular price vs. sale price savings banner, detailed material specifications (frame color, lens type, size measurements, made in country), and an 'Add to Cart' button. Below the details, render a 'Similar Products' carousel featuring items from the same brand or category.
```

5. **Shopping Cart Drawer and Promo Code Engine** — Build a slide-over shopping cart drawer supporting quantity modifications, subtotal calculations, and discount code application.

```
Implement a slide-over shopping cart drawer state managed via React Context or Zustand. Support incrementing and decrementing quantities, removing items, and calculating subtotal totals. Add a coupon code input box that validates codes like '30PERCENT' to dynamically apply a 30% discount on qualifying items (such as a second pair). Persist cart state in localStorage.
```

6. **Mock Checkout and Order Confirmation** — Integrate Stripe or a streamlined checkout flow to handle mock purchases and order success states for personal use.

```
Build a checkout page and Server Action that integrates Stripe Checkout for processing test payments. Collect shipping address and customer contact details. Upon successful payment completion, clear the local cart state and redirect the user to an order confirmation summary page displaying ordered items and estimated shipping times.
```

### Cost vs paying

**Starting costs (one-time):**

- Domain name registration: ~$12/yr
- Total: ~$12 one-time

**Ongoing costs (monthly):**

- Vercel Hosting & Turso Database: $0/mo
- Total: $0/mo

- Paying for the SaaS instead: N/A (Retail Store)
- Build time: 12-16 hours
- AI tool credits: $20 (Cursor Pro or Claude Code)
- Break-even: N/A (Personal build)

## Sources

- [GR8 Sunglasses Official Website](https://gr8sunglasses.com)
- [UK Government Companies House - GR8 Sunglasses Ltd Filing History](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14664787)
- [Trustpilot - GR8 Sunglasses Review Profile](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/gr8sunglasses.com)