After being a Zenni customer for years, Warby Parker's prices seem really high. I've tried their glasses on at one of their retail stores, and I don't see much of a difference in quality.
Then there are customers who only need a trial (or a small amount of information "what is it") before they come on board.
Finally you get to tough sells: people who already have a good enough alternative - why would they want to pay the same amount as someone who had no systems in place? The marginal benefit to them isn't as high.
As you expand out from your original customer base, each new ring of customers is more expensive to acquire. This is the situation Casper, Blue Apron, and many others face. Meanwhile, their competition has also ramped up - providing other alternatives (which might fit niche customers better)
I don't know much about the business side of things but asuming the $290 on marketing and the $270 on admin don't scale less than linearly (preferably much MUCH more flatlined), then the $160 loss could be closer to a $300 profit. Even if you lower the sale price by $299 (extreme scenario), you still get a dollar in profit.
At the end of the day, I think the product has to be consistently good enough and the branding will "stick". I imagine the goal is to gain enough market share.
I'll share an anecdote: I bought an InstantPot for a decent discount a few years back on Black Friday. I've personally "sold" at least three since to people I know. I'm sure the cheaper brands are likely almost as good as InstantPot but for me to take a chance on them, I'd need to trust they have a no questions asked return policy.