Reply With QuoteI got single vision coated lenses in Persol frames for £125 from smartbuyglasses
About a fifth of what the local optician wanted.
Had an eye test today and sure enough aging is taking its toll and I need new specs. I couldn't get over the prices though. I narrowed it down to two Hugo Boss frames which with mid-range lenses were coming in at close to £500. I felt I was being rushed/pressured so I just made note of the two frame models and said I was out of time and would return. Anyway just bought my favourite of the two frames online with the best quality slimmest anti-glare lenses for £175 delivered. Just shows how bonkers these high street opticians prices are now. I was nearly mugged but luckily I escaped!
I got single vision coated lenses in Persol frames for £125 from smartbuyglasses
About a fifth of what the local optician wanted.
Exactly where I just bought mine from! Went for Essilor lenses as I know they are great.
Did either of you have Varifocals (type)?
I'm still waiting for some I bought from Vision Express three weeks ago!
There's no express in it any more and they won't be getting any further business from me.
I didn't go for varifocals even though that is now an option for me (borderline though).
I do my showrooming at David Clulow, and then buy online at selectspecs.com - sunglasses and prescription. Good prices and fast service. Well worth a look IMO
I'm doing the same thing.
A pair of Tag frames are £450 in VE, getting them for £220 from a site who operate from Glasgow
Ciliary Blue have just replaced the lenses in 2 pairs of specs for me, very happy with their pricing and service.
Bought a pair of normal Ray ban's and a pair of Hugo Boss sunglasses, both with slightly thinned lenses, cost me just shy of £800.
Customer service was excellent though.
I've bought online before as well and had a good experience.
Excuse my ignorance as I don't wear glasses, but if you were ordering glasses for the first time online, how would you know what strength lenses to get?
If you don't have or know your current prescription, then you need to get it from your optician first, which might mean you'll need to have an eye test. Some of the online suppliers will measure an existing pair if you can do without them for a while.Originally Posted by jaytip
You have to get an eye test in the high street and then resist when they automatically assume you are now their captive and will buy some glasses off them. Take your results and leave. Or even better try some on to get a feel for the brands, shapes and ideally model numbers that work for you, then leave.
Totally agree with everything on this thread but i have to say sometimes the personal service is a plus point
I bought some oakley glasses from My opticians and around 18months later the wire snapped securing the lens, this was the day before the FA cup Semi at Wembley and i needed them repairing ASAP
I popped in and they dropped everything and repaired them within fifteen minutes with no charge (£20 in a charity pot seemed the right thing to do) they honestly couldnt have been more helpful
A few weeks ago i wanted to buy some perscription ray ban aviators but i had a few problems ordering the sunglasses i wanted due to my perscription (something to do with the lens size) my optician was happy to order the glasses i wanted and remove the standard rayban lenses and fit their own prescription lenses (which are excellent)
They supplied everything including the original ray ban lenses for a very reasonable price (around the same as online) and the service was great
I have popped in several times to have the glasses adjusted to fit correctly and they always are happy to help with no charge
You can save a fortune online but i personally like the personal service my opticians provide and i am happy to pay that bit extra
Anyone know a good online source for contact lenses?
Always wanted a pair of aviators but stuck with Wayfarers due to my fairly thick lenses (-6.5 and astigmatism as well).
The optician explained that the frame would be much thicker than standard at parts of the frame and went to the trouble of finding a lens blank and working out the thickness etc, i was happy to go ahead and i am very happy with them
If it's not too much trouble, how strong are your lenses, and could I see a picture of the glasses from the side?
Of course no problem, they are in the car but i will pop out and take a pic in a little while if thats ok
I don't think my prescription is very bad and i was surprised there would any issues getting them
I agree with Montybaber on the personal service at an opticians. I've just bought Lindberg frame and lenses and had the most thorough eye test yet. As well as that, my face was measured for frame size, my skin tone compared against frame colour and was given updates on what stage my glasses were at. I'm sure I could have got them cheaper at a high street chain but it's because of my last experience I decided to go back to an optician and very glad I did.
I know what you mean it costs a fortune.
If you have an old pair of frames that are fine get an eye test and send the old frames and prescription to Ciliary Blue. It's far cheaper!
I'd agree with this - last time I needed to get new glasses, I bought two pairs from Vision Express - one with photochromic lenses (so I could use as sunglasses) and others with the thinnest lenses I could. It took quite a while to work through lens and frame options once eye test was done but ultimately was very happy with that I ended up choosing - both on a functional and aesthetic level
Of course it's like buying a carpet in a souk to an extent - you sit down and negotiate over price and ultimately come to a mutual agreement over extras and upgrades etc - everything is discountable to an extent
I'm sure at that point, had I noted all the permutations chosen I could perhaps have reconstructed online for cheaper
However, I pop in often to get them to quickly straighten my glasses if they get a little loose etc and they're always helpful
For me, glasses are something I wear everyday and so, happy to never have to worry about them
I need to find an optician like this locally.
My first pair of glasses was Tesco optician two week wait my next was vision express four weeks! When I rang and asked they treated me like an idiot as if that was a rush job! Last two pairs from Specsavers, brilliant go in, eye check, choose frames glasses ready in two days. I went back a month later to buy some cheap second pairs from last prescription, chose the frames they said ready next day. I told them I'd be away a week, he rang upstairs and told me to come back in half an hour.
Swear by them now.
Obviously, buying on the high street you are paying for the additional costs of running the shop and the people within it. Sometimes also, if the business is running as a brand franchise you are also paying the service fee to the franchiser.
Buy on line and the over heads are much lower because the infra structure costs are much lower too.
What I find interesting though is the disparity between prices on the high street. I would expect that any of the large chains have roughly the same overheads so, for a given margin, the prices for the same product should be about the same. In my experience though this is often not the case. Perhaps there may be a marginally better quality product offered by the more expensive ones but I wonder if this is typically the case.
I don't mind paying a little more for good service. I hate to feel ripped off though.
I had a voucher from work for an eye-test (VDU regs-related) and used this in a local, independent optician in Twickenham. I had bought a pair of buffalo horn frames in Vietnam about 8 years ago knowing that someday it would pass (I had them glazed as sunglasses in the interim) and they were quite happy to fit the prescription lenses to my frames. The lenses were £80, fitted (there were cheaper options available) and, having established the precedent, I intend to buy frames as I please and get the local chap to fit them. Mercifully the optician's father was hanging around the shop when I brought the frames in - he was the only person in the shop who had worked with real horn before though it was over thirty years since he'd handled his last pair.
I was amused to find out that there are Girard-Perregaux branded frames and I can see them being my next pair. SWMBO had a new pair of glasses done recently and the bill came to something like €1000. I know that Germans take their glasses seriously but I've no intention of paying that kind of money.
Last edited by Carlton-Browne; 28th June 2015 at 12:42.
Very difficult to compare like for like, stores unlikely to carry the same brand of lenses for example. Also always a myriad of special offers and options.
Anyone wanting to buy online might want one of these (link)
Their video is pretty good (IMO) if you're buying single vision lenses:
But I think this one is better and most important if you're after varifocals:
I've not bought from either company.
Do you have to oil the buffalo horn to stop it cracking?I had a voucher from work for an eye-test (VDU regs-related) and used this in a local, independent optician in Twickenham. I had bought a pair of buffalo horn frames in Vietnam about 8 years ago knowing that someday it would pass (I had them glazed as sunglasses in the interim) and they were quite happy to fit the prescription lenses to my frames. The lenses were £80, fitted (there were cheaper options available) and, having established the precedent, I intend to buy frames as I please and get the local chap to fit them. Mercifully the optician's father was hanging around the shop when I brought the frames in - he was the only person in the shop who had worked with real horn before though it was over thirty years since he'd handled his last pair.
I was amused to find out that there are Girard-Perregaux branded frames and I can see them being my next pair. SWMBO had a new pair of glasses done recently and the bill came to something like €1000
Ive heard of bespoke spectacle makers who charge obscene money - but if you've money to burn, you are maybe advertising that fact in the middle of your face with a unique pair.
My wife just bought a pair of varifocals at >£600 - a bit of a margin over Smartbuy, but perhaps the personal service from the optician was a factor More likely its a case of whatever I think is a good idea is automatically a no-no.
I had read about that and I've seen pairs of glasses being offered with a little vial of ointment. The advice from my optician was, unless you're pretty sure about what you're doing it's better to leave well alone. Using the wrong stuff could hasten their demise and since they'd managed for 8 years with no ill-effects then the view was, if it isn't broken etc.
I suspect that most of the true bespoke makers probably don't have a visible name so it's probably fairly low risk - you're probably more likely to get mugged for the HMT on your wrist.
I use VisionDirect for mine - competitive prices, next working day delivery (complete with a little bag of sweeties, which is a nice - if insignificant - touch), very user-friendly website, and repeat orders a doddle, with e-mail or text reminders if you want them. And, if you can't send them a copy of your prescription (still required under UK dispensing regulations for contact lenses), then they simply do the dispensing via their Netherlands sister site.
Worth checking out, IMO.
I'm due to go to the opticians on Wednesday and dreading the costs for a new frame, here in Finland, everything is expensive, so if I can save some money, it would be a bonus as going away on holiday next month.
Pippip, do you have a link to the website you used mate?
Had an appointment at the local Tesco this morning (having trouble with a pair of glasses I had made while on holiday in Germany a couple of months ago).
This being Tesco, my expectations were pretty low. But the optometrist was very good I thought.Was in there for almost an hour. Even felt a little bad for not having to pay for it. Only trouble is they haven't got any frames I like.
It's in the thread:
Due to my (stupid!) prescription I can't seem to find an online supplier that will do my glasses (-11 and -8.5 with astigmatism in both to varying degrees).
However, Specsavers have always been very reasonable for me (similar prices to what you guys are quoting online) plus they help out when I need (new nose pads, fitting, free eye tests, etc.) so I'll probably keep using them.
Cheers,
Mark C
Have you called www.selectspecs.com? They say:
What if my prescription is outside of your range?
If your prescription is not available to order online please contact us with the details of the frames and lenses you are interested in, we will be happy to advise on the availability of your prescription.
Just plugged in my numbers and they are more expensive than Specsavers for worse specified frames/lenses - I'll pass :-)
Cheers,
MarkC
Most high street opticians will flat out refuse to give you your Pupillary Distance, which is needed to make the glasses properly.
As mentioned below you'll need a friend and a proper measure. The computer programs/videos that claim they can do it for you are, in my experience, highly inaccurate
I like glasses and tend to buy maybe two pairs per year. With my prescription the lenses end up much more expensive than the frames, but I tend to always go for the full options list with every upgrade there is. If there is one thing I will never feel guilty about spending money on, it's my vision. I've shopped exclusively at David H Meyer in Leeds for 6-7 years, and will continue to do so, as the personal service I get there is exemplary. Similar to the mentioned above, they've fitted prescription lenses to Ray Ban Aviators for me, they've done the same to a pair of Tag sunglasses, they've custom created a shape of frameless lenses based on my design as I didn't think the standard ones suited me, etc.. I really don't care if I could get glasses cheaper elsewhere as the price I pay seems entirely reasonable for the service and product I get.
Easy work round: send an old pair of specs off to the online store, and they can measure. Job done.
I'm amazed that high street opticians have survived this long, because there are only so many old/rich people out there. In the end I'm guessing they'll have to monitise eye tests and/or try to match the mainstream online players. But AFAIK Amazon aren't in this market - in the Uk at least - yet, but must be looking at it....
I'd like to see independent high st opticians survive, but like bookshops they're going to need to adapt or die - and soon, I'd say. Sure some already have.
You are their dream customer!
Can it accurately be done in reverse?
I know. I have no problem with that.
See these two replies from specsaver.co.uk on their Ask the Optician pages:
"All varifocals have 'invisible' markings and depending on the make, they could be logos or circles with numbers. They are to allow glazing and checking and designate the optical centres and measurements of the position of the lens in the frame taken on dispensing. They are impossible to see when being worn, but on some lenses they are slightly more visible."
and
"All varifocals have 'invisible' markings which designate the manufacturer or make of lens and the reading addition, and also the optical markings in order to work out and check the optical centration and position of the varifocals. When wearing the lenses it is (or should be) impossible to see them."[/I]
Thanks, that's good to know and should give the PD although if not done properly any errors will be propagated.
Will be less good for the vertical measurement (where variofocal progression starts) which is best done with the glasses on the face.
Boots did for me without any fuss.
Too true...although having your old pair should enable them to compare the lens heights and position the line of the pupils accordingly. But, as you say, that's why at the optician they measure while you're wearing our chosen frames. There's a lot to consider see (as I wear Varilux): fitting guide.
Under verification they show this:
And this is their guide to Lens Engravings.
More info at Varilux Guide...all for varifocals, obviously. My problem is that I wear my current pair all the time and don't have a suitable old pair.
I have worn Lindberg for about 7 years. The best glasses I have come across and like watches I have tried a lot. Worth the extra the optican charges, I have bought from 4 of different Opticans all offered very good service and after sales as mentioned here by Tony-GB.
They do look good, but I can't see anything to suit me...I'm probably a bit to old for their style. It looks as though I'll be sticking with my current frames from Charmante, only a new pair. There weren't many large Ti frames that I liked when I first chose them and not a lot seems to have changed about that.
I just wear the air. Unbelievably light and not issue with suiting as they are just about invisible well worth a look and visit to a stockist even for a bit of advise
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