While I can fully understand his pain, I can’t quite follow how adding a paid subscription model will make his life easier (except financially).
Before, he had to deal with entitled asshats, and now he’ll have to deal with asshats feeling even more entitled, because they paid for it.
Actually, there is a company that makes resin printed children’s glasses for about €200 a pop. My son tried them at the opticians and I was impressed by the finish and flexibility. Just to say that 3d printed glasses are really commercially viable.