Prescription glasses for £8.50 inc delivery, anti-scratch/glare and UV

[MSE Archna]

http://images2.moneysavingexpert.com/images/dp/wtd_icon.gif What's the deal?

Specialist online glasses retailer SelectSpecs (http://www.selectspecs.com/cheap-glasses/) is again offering prescription lenses and frames for £5-8 plus £3.50 delivery. You get the frames AND lenses, plus more importantly anti-scratch, glare & UV protection.

While it's possible to get glasses online elsewhere for around a tenner, the extra lense protection would cost around £30. All these together would normally cost around £40 or even more from a high st retailer.

http://images2.moneysavingexpert.com/images/dp/wtd_icon.gif Which can you get?

There are eight different styles of £5 frames, plus two semi-rimless styles for £8 to choose from. Currently there are around 10,000 pairs available on first come first serve basis, though the offer might be extended.

The offer applies to single vision glasses with the following prescription ranges:


Sphere (SPH) powers +6.00 to -6.00
Cylindrical (CYL) powers +2.00 to -2.00

You can only get two pairs per order but if you did need more, you can order again. SelectSpecs says it'll deliver glasses within 10 days.

Warning. Its worth remembering this is a small company, and the MSE weekly e-mail (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips)goes to 3.3m people so its possible that it will be overwhelmed by the reponse from the weekly email. slowing things down. Bear this in mind when ordering.

http://images2.moneysavingexpert.com/images/dp/wtd_icon.gif Getting your prescription to send

By law, opticians are obliged to provide you with a prescription. Once you have had a thorough eye test they must give you a copy of your prescription without requiring you to make a purchase.

When you order you'll need details to hand of your sphere, pupillary distance, cylinder and axis. More details in the Cheap Glasses (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/health/cheap-glasses) article.

http://images2.moneysavingexpert.com/images/dp/wtd_icon.gif Last time it ran the offer

Last time it ran this offer it struggled to keep up with the demand from MoneySavers. However this time it has said it's more prepared. This is what it's said:

To be honest we did not anticipate the flood of orders that we received last time. We have now bought more machines, employed more staff and tripled the size of our lab in the 6 weeks since our original promotion.

We are quite confident that we will be handle future orders of the same magnitude quite comfortably. However, as a measure to prevent any backlogs that may occur due to overwhelming demand we will temporarily pause the offer until such backlogs are cleared and kindly ask our customers to come back later to place their order.

Please be assured that we never ignore any emails from our customers and every inquiry is individually checked and responded to within 1 hour in most cases. Customers can also contact us with simple queries via Twitter - http://twitter.com/selectspecs/

Regards
David McMillan
SelectSpecs.com


http://images2.moneysavingexpert.com/images/dp/wtd_icon.gif Why's it doing this?

It says it wants to do this to give something back to customer but more likely is it knows this is a great way to get publicity and let people know about its site.

Also, a similar promotion has been run by the same company before, and we have just updated this original post with the new details. So a lot of the feedback near the top of the thread may refer to the earlier incarnation of the deal.

Related Articles

Cheap Glasses (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/health/cheap-glasses), Cheap Contact Lenses (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/health/Cheap-Contact-Lenses)


test

[robin58]

Thanks for this.

Don't fancy the cheap glasses but they are selling the type and size (because of the job I do) of the glasse I want and cheaper than a well known online glass provider.

Thanks again MSE

[froggy27]

Great. I have had 3 pair of glasses from Selectspecs and all have been very good and you can phone them as UK based if any probs or queries. I needed new pairs as my eye sight has gone down a bit.. was waiting for an offer!! I've ordered 2, delivery is the same so worth it IMO. Thanks for the tip

[I_KeepForgetting_My_name]

What's the deal

Specialist online glasses retailer SelectSpecs (http://www.selectspecs.com/cheap-glasses/) is offering prescription lenses and frames for £5-8 plus £3.50 delivery. You get the frames AND lenses, plus more importantly anti-scratch, glare & UV protection.

While it's possible to get glasses online elsewhere for around a tenner, the extra lens protection would cost around £30. All these together would normally cost around £40 or even more from a high st retailer.

Which can you get?

There are eight different styles of £5 frames, plus two semi-rimless styles for £8 to choose from. Currently there are around 10,000 pairs available on first come first serve basis, though the offer might be extended.

The offer applies to single vision glasses with the following prescription ranges:


Sphere (SPH) powers +6.00 to -6.00
Cylindrical (CYL) powers +2.00 to -2.00

You can only get two pairs per order but if you did need more, you can order again. SelectSpecs says it'll deliver glasses within 10 days.

Warning. Its worth remembering this is a small company, and the MSE weekly e-mail (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips)goes to 3.3m people so its possible that it will be overwhelmed by the reponse from the weekly email. slowing things down. Bear this in mind when ordering.

Getting your prescription to send to it

By law, opticians are obliged to provide you with a prescription. Once you have had a thorough eye test they must give you a copy of your prescription without requiring you to make a purchase.

Until 26 May Tesco is offering a free eye test (usually £10) plus 100 Clubcard points. For full info read the Forum Thread: Free Eye Test (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=21285831#post21285831)

When you order you'll need details to hand of your sphere, pupillary distance, cylinder and axis. More details in the Cheap Glasses (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/health/cheap-glasses) article.

Why's it doing this?

It says it wants to do this to give something back to customer but more likely is it knows this is a great way to get publicity and let people know about its site.

box


I have one big question about buying spectacles over the internet like this.
HOW do they make them fit your exact face shape.
I always need my 'arms' adjusted as my face is quite small and the 'arms' are too long. Never yet had a pair that didn't need adjusting.
And what happens when you get a problem at the moment I can pop into any branch of my spectacle provider ( well known chemist) and they will fix a missing screw or reshape them if I sat on them etc.
How will that happen when buying over the internet without a proper place to pop into.

Just a thought.
If just needed for reading I suppose you can manage but not for general myopia, astigmatism etc.

would love to hear from people who have actually bought these and managed everything I mentioned.
Best Wednesday wishes

[lucycat]

A wonderful price but how are measurements taken if bifocals are needed. The cheapest glasses I got last week cost me £250.

[A.Jones]

Great. You can pay by PayPal too, good for using up my little balance.

[A.Jones]

A wonderful price but how are measurements taken if bifocals are needed. The cheapest glasses I got last week cost me £250.

Bifocals are excluded from this offer.

[claudia999]

Sounds like an incredible offer. Must check it out. I noticed the thread about bifocals. I got a pair for my grandad from glasses2you and they were great only £37.95 and you can try them on with a really useful mirror. They came in 3 days.

[sandspider2000]

I have one big question about buying spectacles over the internet like this.
HOW do they make them fit your exact face shape.
I always need my 'arms' adjusted as my face is quite small and the 'arms' are too long. Never yet had a pair that didn't need adjusting.
And what happens when you get a problem at the moment I can pop into any branch of my spectacle provider ( well known chemist) and they will fix a missing screw or reshape them if I sat on them etc.
How will that happen when buying over the internet without a proper place to pop into.



The simple answer is, they don't! You need to do that yourself when the glasses arrive. I adjust my glasses myself (usually more accurate than opticians anyway), but for major things like re-positioning the bend in the arms, you can pop into a local optician and they'll do that for you, even if you didn't buy the glasses there. They may make a small charge for this (~£3 - £5 odd). I went into Vision Express the other day and they did it for free, no problem at all. Obviously, it helps if you order frames that fit your face fairly well in the first place - look at the arms of you current glasses, and there's often some measurements on the inner arm somewhere - bridge width, arm length, lens width etc. that you can then match to frames on the internet.

HTH,

Giles

[april mccafferty]

Is this an american website?

[claudia999]

Yes I think they are American but have an office in Margate?

[shelly]

I have one big question about buying spectacles over the internet like this.
HOW do they make them fit your exact face shape.
I always need my 'arms' adjusted as my face is quite small and the 'arms' are too long. Never yet had a pair that didn't need adjusting.
And what happens when you get a problem at the moment I can pop into any branch of my spectacle provider ( well known chemist) and they will fix a missing screw or reshape them if I sat on them etc.
How will that happen when buying over the internet without a proper place to pop into.

Just a thought.
If just needed for reading I suppose you can manage but not for general myopia, astigmatism etc.




I have astigmatism and have bought several pairs of specs online and they have all been fine (from the astigmatism POV)
Only problems I have had were the nose pads needed adjusting which I did myself and one pair I needed an arm adjusting, went to boots and they done them for me for free.

Wish I got the MSE email yesterday as Ihave just ordered a pair from goggles4u for £20 :rolleyes: Still a fantastic price though because specsavers want £100+.

[smala01]

Just ordered.

I went for a more fancy pair, but at 31pounds delivered thats great value.

Fingers crossed they arrive OK

Thank you to the origional poster!!

Smala01

[SlimJ_GBR]

Is this an american website?

Hi,

I'm a member of the SelectSpecs team - we are UK based but ship worldwide. :)

HTH

James

[deckard3001]

I wouldn't buy clothes online let alone glasses! There is such a thing as a false economy you know!:undecided

James: Do you employ any qualified technicians (SMC tech) or opticians (optometrist or dispensing optician)

[SlimJ_GBR]

James: Do you employ any qualified technicians (SMC tech) or opticians (optometrist or dispensing optician)

Yes, we do. :)

[deckard3001]

Yes, we do. :)

Why? They never have any direct contact with the customer so what's the point? (as you can tell, I'm quite old school!)

[insomnia56]

Hi
Has anyone here bought varifocal specs with thin lenses online. I know they are not included in this offer but I have avoided buying online as I can't see how they could be made accurately without being done in person.
If you know better I would be grateful cos am putting off going to have my eyes tested as I can't afford the £300+ they will cost.
thanks

[hutchie]

I wouldn't buy clothes online let alone glasses! There is such a thing as a false economy you know!:undecided

James: Do you employ any qualified technicians (SMC tech) or opticians (optometrist or dispensing optician)

I used to work for industrial optical company and buying specs online is not false economy if you are getting a bargain from Glasses Direct or Selectaspecs ,and the quality is excellent.I also buy clothes online and no probs and i'm a silver surfer too.Cheers

[crossleydd42]

I wouldn't buy clothes online let alone glasses! There is such a thing as a false economy you know!:undecided

James: Do you employ any qualified technicians (SMC tech) or opticians (optometrist or dispensing optician)

I hardly see that you can go wrong with purchasing single-lens glasses online - it's not rocket-science for these companies to copy the prescription. I would not buy varifocals through them , though, as these do require more specialist measurements and fitting.

[D Kassam]

Bifocals are excluded from this offer.

I had mine one pair of varifocal prescription glasses for £150.00 from Specsavers. I think, in high street, they are the cheapest.
D K

[jinky67]

Just ordered 2 pairs :T

we shall see what they are like when i get them. I have always been wary of getting specs on line before, but my last pair were £256, and I cant afford that now:cool:

[chrissie121]

This seems an incredible offer for those who have a reasonable prescription, but as ever when you need a -20 lense you have to pay through the nose. Not much choice of frames either as the lenses are so heavy.

[Yogibear]

glad you people are getting these cheap glasses,but what about the people with high myopia - 27 in both eyes is there anywhere we can get cheaper specs,mine cost £600 + 3 years ago,you get a voucher for £15 wow:eek:

[scotsbob]

SelectSpecs doesn't get very good reviews on consumer websites. Too many negative ones for my liking.


http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/online-shops/selectspecs-com/reviews/


http://www.ciao.co.uk/selectspecs_com_prescription_glasses_website__6393 116

[Yogibear]

Hi everyone, I noticed that selects specs had responded so I though no harm would be done to answer some points!! I work for glasses2you.co.uk and we do dispense varifocals online very successfully. We do this by means of a digital photo of the customer wearing their existing glasses . We then load this into our virtual mirror and the chosen glasses are then shown exactly to scale. Our mirror allows us to meassure the fitting height required and work out the individual pupillary distance measurments. To date we have been about 98% succesful which is better then the industry standard I believe. I hope this is helpful as I thought it would be useful to answer this point directly.

Thanks
what about high prescriptions,nobody seems to want to know,but have a wee giggle when you mention your prescription

[mentm]

Great find.. If you already have designer glasses though you can get them reglazed, I use www.ciliaryblue.com (http://www.ciliaryblue.com)

[shelly]

I wouldn't buy clothes online let alone glasses! There is such a thing as a false economy you know!:undecided



How is it a false economy?

I can pay £100 from specsavers for 1 pair of specs and they last maybe 2 years (If I am lucky and my prescription doesn't change or they don't get damaged) or I can pay £20 online and change them up to 5 times during those 2 years if I get bored of them.

Or am I missing something :confused:

[claudia999]

I have tried select specs on the phone and they just have an answer machine saying send us an email. I personally wouldnt be happy buying from a compnay that you cannot contact

[wildbri]

you can get varifocals from specsavers for under £75 I am wearing them! bri

[Java]

I took advantage of this deal. I ordered and paid for spectacles. I forgot something so cancelled order just ten minutes afterwards. The company emailed back and refused to accept cancellation saying the specs were already in production!

Ten minutes, I dispute that very much.

[insomnia56]

Thanks Wild but unfortunately mine work out a lot more than that at Specsavers as I have quite a high prescription plus an astigmatism and need thin lenses.My present pair came from there about 4yrs ago and cost about £300!!
Have just had a look at Glasses2you site and think they would work out a bit cheaper on there, plus you can see what they will look like on you by uploading a photo. Their guide to ordering varifocals looks pretty idiot proof too.

[techiatciliaryblue]

Hi
Has anyone here bought varifocal specs with thin lenses online. I know they are not included in this offer but I have avoided buying online as I can't see how they could be made accurately without being done in person.
If you know better I would be grateful cos am putting off going to have my eyes tested as I can't afford the £300+ they will cost.
thanks

Hi insomnia56
I'm one of the techi's at ciliaryblue, we do all types of varifocals, thin (1.60 index) start from £110 including anti-glare/scratch, we can only do them if you are using the same frame again or if we can take the exact measurements from one frame and apply them to another. You can ring us, there is always someone to advise you.

[deckard3001]

I took advantage of this deal. I ordered and paid for spectacles. I forgot something so cancelled order just ten minutes afterwards. The company emailed back and refused to accept cancellation saying the specs were already in production!

Ten minutes, I dispute that very much.

Sounds like a great company! I'd rather pay the extra and be seen by a professional. My local optician has always given me good service.

You pays your money and you takes your choice! Cheap deals can be found but don't expect to get the same as those who pay more.

[Pssst]

Why do online specs dealers do such restricted ranges? I mean -6.00 is hardly big time is it?

[techiatciliaryblue]

Why do online specs dealers do such restricted ranges? I mean -6.00 is hardly big time is it?
Hi Psst
The reason they do such restircted ranges is because some lens manufacturers only have a stock range up to that power, above that the lenses have to be made (surfaced) and cost much more to make. We at ciliaryblue use suppliers that go up to -10 or even -12 in some cases. It really does depend who you use to supply.

[oly2c]

I have had two pairs of specs from Spex4Less, one pair bifocals and one single. I can recommend them.
They have a wide range of frames, prompt delivery and you can speak to an optician over the phone.

[claudia999]

Hot on the heals of the success with my grandads bifocals, I ordered a pair of basic specs for me from glasses2you. Placed the order by phone and got some really good help. they came in 2 days! Dont mean to plug this company too much but when you get great service from a UK company I think its worth supporting them.I hope it helps xxx

[esmerelda98]

I have managed to damage the frames on both my pairs of spectacles. The lenses are alright though. I know it's a long shot, but does any company offer a service where I can re-use the lenses, and just buy new frames. I got them from Specsavers. Could they do this for me?

Thanks.

[clairebrown7]

It way be worth having a quick read of the article written in the Daily Mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1020632/Frames-Should-buy-specs-online.html

SpeckyFourEyes.com came out top rated in the UK with a score of 7/10

here's how they stood in the UK:

SpeckyFourEyes.com 7/10
Glasses2u.co.uk 4/10
Spex4less.com 4/10
Globaleyeglasses.com 1/10

No mention of selectspecs though :confused:

I've bought from several online opticians and www.SpeckyFourEyes.com (http://www.SpeckyFourEyes.com) are by far the best in my opinion.

[flowerofthewest]

I have managed to damage the frames on both my pairs of spectacles. The lenses are alright though. I know it's a long shot, but does any company offer a service where I can re-use the lenses, and just buy new frames. I got them from Specsavers. Could they do this for me?

Thanks.

I managed to break the frame of my specs a couple of years ago and specsavers were happy to re-use the lenses in new frames. I actually ended up going for a slightly smaller frame and they re-ground the existing lenses to fit, so you probably won't have a problem.
Hope that helps.

[analyst]

It way be worth having a quick read of the article written in the Daily Mail:Jeez, are you telling us there's something written in the Daily Heil that isn't:
a) a completely fabricated pack of lies
and
b) doesn't incite you to hate everything about living in this country

wow, I must get a copy - NOT!

Back to the glasses issue:
I got my first ever pair of varifocals online a few years back.
I had a lot of problems adjusting to them, never felt right.
After a long time I eventually concluded that they really were to low in height to accommodate varifocals and the supplier should have recognised that and advised against that style.

But here's the problem, if they don't feel right how do you resolve the issue of not knowing if the prescription (optician) was wrong or the manufacture (supplier) was wrong?

Anyway, I'm going to give this deal a try. If they do turn out bad its only cost me £5+, so no great loss. But hopefully this worst case scenario will not materialise.

[masterpainter1946]

please can you supply variafocals

[mopsymuffin]

Hi - This is a Q for SlimJ - GBR You mention that you are part of the SelectSpecs team & that you do employ in house optical staff. I see they have a UK base in Margate & a courier delivery in Westgate. If I live in the area i.e. Westbrook can I visit SelectSpecs in person to either buy my specs or at least pick them up & have them fitted? I notice that there is a UK contact number but as mentioned in other posts it is just an answerphone advises you to email & it just seems that you cannot talk to anyone about your order! It is not always easy to explain what advice you want in an e-mail.

[daveboy]

An idiot requires some help.

I am about to have an eye test (tomorrow - Friday) at a local Specsavers, and this is being paid for by my employer under the Display Screen Equipment Regulations.

My employer will also contribute £39 towards spectacles with Specsavers.

Would I be stupid to get them from Specsavers as there are offers elsewhere, or is letting my employer contribute £39 the way to go?

I have a strong feeling I'll need glasses so advice is greatly appreciated.

[MrCrip]

An idiot requires some help.

I am about to have an eye test (tomorrow - Friday) at a local Specsavers, and this is being paid for by my employer under the Display Screen Equipment Regulations.

My employer will also contribute £39 towards spectacles with Specsavers.

Would I be stupid to get them from Specsavers as there are offers elsewhere, or is letting my employer contribute £39 the way to go?

I have a strong feeling I'll need glasses so advice is greatly appreciated.

Dave, I spoke have seen a lot of negativity with regards the offer from SelectSpecs. I even saw one member complain there was an answering machine after hours!

Does anyone mind that you cannot call Amazon, the world's biggest online store?

Dave, get your prescription (if you need glasses that is) and get a pair of glasses for under £10.

It's a fantastic offer and one of mates sisters has ordered two pairs for her holiday just as back-ups.

It's a steal!

[rosered100]

Hi
Has anyone here bought varifocal specs with thin lenses online. I know they are not included in this offer but I have avoided buying online as I can't see how they could be made accurately without being done in person.
If you know better I would be grateful cos am putting off going to have my eyes tested as I can't afford the £300+ they will cost.
thanks

Yes - from goggles4u.co.uk & get 5% off through quidco as well. The frames are usually 12.99 & the lenses are £29 uncoated or £48 coated with free delivery. They have just set up in the UK but I have used them for a couple of years & have always had good quick service.

rosered

[techiatciliaryblue]

Hi scotsbob
I've worked for the company you mention for sometime, I try to give fair and helpful advice and try to avoid spamming at all costs. I haven't seen any 'very bad reviews' from any consumer groups, I'm sure the people I work for would like to see them? I'm sorry to anyone else who feels that I have been spamming!
Varifocals not variofocals.

[Running Horse]

Arf, and as soon as there is a thread about online glasses out come all the delighted customers of this or that company with low post counts.

[davidm_uk]

I normally wear contact lenses for distant vision, then add "off the shelf" specs at £20 or so a time for close up work (suggested by optician). I do a lot of handyman work so the specs get trashed quite regularly if in my shirt pocket and I lean or lay on something, or dotted with paint. SelectSpecs seems like a good option so I've ordered a couple of pairs to try out, not much to lose really.
(also have prescription specs for use when not wearing contact lenses).

[jinkssick]

Is the antiglare, anti scratch UV protection included as I cannot see it anywhere in my order.

theres a 10% off code for PRADA glasses expires 31/5/09.

prada10 is the code

[ernie-money]

An idiot requires some help.

I am about to have an eye test (tomorrow - Friday) at a local Specsavers, and this is being paid for by my employer under the Display Screen Equipment Regulations.

My employer will also contribute £39 towards spectacles with Specsavers.

Would I be stupid to get them from Specsavers as there are offers elsewhere, or is letting my employer contribute £39 the way to go?

I have a strong feeling I'll need glasses so advice is greatly appreciated.

Hi Dave,
Hope it isn't too late for you to read this reply now!
Your employer may pay £39 towards your glasses if it turns out that you need glasses due to using a VDU at work, but if you want to choose the frame you want, then the £39 is likely not to cover the whole cost, and you would have to pay the difference out of your own pocket - probably more than the cost of a pair from select specs. If you did however get your prescription from Specsavers and explained the situation to your employer, they may well be happy to pay the cost of your glasses from select specs instead if you bring in a receipt.
Hope this helps!

[19vivat]

hi
i have been very happy with specsavers. my husband paid DandA £300 for his glasses and they sent the wrong prescription...i thought opticians woudl check. when he wore them for several weeks he finally went back and they checked and the factory ahd sent the wrong lenses!
however, i am tempted by the cheap specs offer but want to know about going in to get them fitted by a high street optician which is recommended on the site. i would feel it unreasonable for say specsavers to spend their time fitting glasses unless they make some charge? any comments???
apologies if this is already somewhere on the thread already, i am in a hurry thanks

[hammodt]

I've used selectspecs twice, and have had problems both times.

First time, the glasses didn't arrive. I was told I would have to wait 28 days before they'd officially consider the glasses missing. When I phoned them up to complain, they told me I'd have to send them a letter in writing confirming the glasses hadn't arrived, for "legal reasons". I wasn't too happy at this as it meant buying a stamp, envelope and paper etc, and added to the cost of the glasses. When I told them I wasn't happy, they effectively accused me of FRAUD, and suggested or implied that I HAD received the glasses and was just lying to them!! They backtracked a bit when I pointed out that I considered that suggestion to be libellous! After many emails and a letter, I finally received my glasses, plus 30 pence in cash for the stamp. Hardly compensation for the poor service I'd received.

A year or so later, I had calmed down, and decided it was probably just a one-off poor service, and probably just the fault of Royal Mail. So, I decided to place another order with selectspecs, this time for some sunglasses and glasses. Once again, they managed to muck up my order. The tinted sunglasses game untinted, and if I recall they tinted the untinted pair! Their customer service was still fairly poor, and they originally wanted me to return the glasses to them AT MY OWN EXPENSE. I insisted that they refund me at least the cost of return postage, which they eventually did. The only compensation I got for their error was a free "cleaning kit", which is basically a cleaning fluid worth around a pound. Eventually the correct glasses were sent out.

All in all, they do deliver EVENTUALLY, but in my experience not without a lot of hassle. If things go wrong (which it seems they do), don't expect any offers of compensation! I guess you get what you pay for.

If you want a hassle-free service, avoid!!!

[Gendy]

I have done this twice in the past year successfuly buying new reading prescription glasses (wantglasses.co.uk).However, beware, there are opticians who will test your eyes but when you refuse to order there and then a new pair of spetacles,you may be handed an prescription that turns out to be wildly wrong.This happened to a neighbour of mine and almost to me but I had kept two previous prescriptions and noted that the last one was literally optical gibberish.The same dispensing optician was involved in our two cases.One presumes this is done to prevent your circumventing buying an expensive pair of glasses from the testing optician and accurate on-line dispensing.The Government requirements for the prescription omit the inter-pupillary distance which is needed for an accurate prescription.

[scotsbob]

I have done this twice in the past year successfuly buying new reading prescription glasses (wantglasses.co.uk).However, beware, there are opticians who will test your eyes but when you refuse to order there and then a new pair of spetacles,you may be handed an prescription that turns out to be wildly wrong.This happened to a neighbour of mine and almost to me but I had kept two previous prescriptions and noted that the last one was literally optical gibberish.The same dispensing optician was involved in our two cases.One presumes this is done to prevent your circumventing buying an expensive pair of glasses from the testing optician and accurate on-line dispensing.The Government requirements for the prescription omit the inter-pupillary distance which is needed for an accurate prescription.

And if your doctor handed you an inaccurate prescription what would you do?

If that happened to me I would be complaining to their regulatory body and contacting my solicitor.

So far as inter pupillary distance is concerned, that .can be measured by anyone who can operate a ruler

[LizzieG]

I just want to say that I think this is terrible! It is deals like this that is putting hardworking professionals like myself out of business. Now I know we all love a bargain but when we have to compete with prices like this, often giving a free eye test in the first place, is surely taking the emphasis away from the care and attention we should be giving you, the patient, and turning it to money. You wouldn't expect the dentist to examine your teeth for free would you?( unless you have an NHS entitlement - same for Opticians). AND you certainly wouldn't expect them and wouldn't want them to use cheap products just to save you money?

There was a previous post on here about what happens after you receive the glasses? What does happen?........What if they don't fit or don't look right? What if they break or what if you can't see in them? Who would you then turn to? US!? We have to fix the mistakes (again usually free).

Of course you are entitled to shop around but then why not go back to your optician we will always try and match prices, because at the end of the day we are just trying to help you see that little bit better.

[LizzieG]

I have done this twice in the past year successfuly buying new reading prescription glasses (wantglasses.co.uk).However, beware, there are opticians who will test your eyes but when you refuse to order there and then a new pair of spetacles,you may be handed an prescription that turns out to be wildly wrong.This happened to a neighbour of mine and almost to me but I had kept two previous prescriptions and noted that the last one was literally optical gibberish.The same dispensing optician was involved in our two cases.One presumes this is done to prevent your circumventing buying an expensive pair of glasses from the testing optician and accurate on-line dispensing.The Government requirements for the prescription omit the inter-pupillary distance which is needed for an accurate prescription.


Also just replying to this message.....this is highly illegal and no optician should do that. I would definately report them. They really didn't care about your eyes at all! I suppose therefore I can't speak for all opticians haha but i swear most of us really do care about your eyes!! :)

[FIL!!*]

Thanks Lizzie! I have been testing eyes for 20 years and that sort of practice has never ever crossed my mind, I'm not sure I know of an Optician who would do that? But I suppose, sometimes turnover is more important than professionalism?

[scotsbob]

I just want to say that I think this is terrible! It is deals like this that is putting hardworking professionals like myself out of business...............AND you certainly wouldn't expect them and wouldn't want them to use cheap products just to save you money?



Can you please provide statistics or a reference to support your comment that hard working professionals are going out of business?

If anything, more employment is being created.

Most of the opticians who provide online services supply branded lenses, mine are Varilux, so please don't perpetuate the myth that online equates to cheap and nasty.

You also talk of "price matching." I take that to mean that you will initially ask me to buy lenses for £100 but if I tell you that I can get them for £90 you will match that. Why not sell them for £90 to begin with?

That's why people buy online, transparency in pricing.

[daveboy]

Hi Dave,
Hope it isn't too late for you to read this reply now!
Your employer may pay £39 towards your glasses if it turns out that you need glasses due to using a VDU at work, but if you want to choose the frame you want, then the £39 is likely not to cover the whole cost, and you would have to pay the difference out of your own pocket - probably more than the cost of a pair from select specs. If you did however get your prescription from Specsavers and explained the situation to your employer, they may well be happy to pay the cost of your glasses from select specs instead if you bring in a receipt.
Hope this helps!

My results from the test were as follows:

SPH: Right +0.25 Left +0.25
CYL: Right -0.50 Left -0.50
Axis: Right 125.0 Left 100.0

From what I've been told by others this is an easy one to sort...nothing special. I could order online or just find a shop and get a cheap pair.

I haven't yet done anything, so am open to anyone to suggest where I should go.

As for my employer contributing - on the paperwork that will be sent to the head office of my employer they ticked that it isn't solely for display screen use (will help with TV etc). I think employers will only cough up if it is solely for display screen use. I'd also have to have them from Specsavers.

So where should I go...I've held off on Selectspecs because whilst they are cheap they may not be the best place to go.

[scotsbob]

My results from the test were as follows:

SPH: Right +0.25 Left +0.25
CYL: Right -0.50 Left -0.50
Axis: Right 125.0 Left 100.0

From what I've been told by others this is an easy one to sort...nothing special. I could order online or just find a shop and get a cheap pair.

I haven't yet done anything, so am open to anyone to suggest where I should go.

As for my employer contributing - on the paperwork that will be sent to the head office of my employer they ticked that it isn't solely for display screen use (will help with TV etc). I think employers will only cough up if it is solely for display screen use. I'd also have to have them from Specsavers.

So where should I go...I've held off on Selectspecs because whilst they are cheap they may not be the best place to go.

Let me start the ball rolling. Mark Bowden at www.spex4less.com (http://www.spex4less.com) I have been a satisfied, repeat customer for the last three years. I have compared many others but his helpful and friendly service has won me over

[nedmundo]

Can you please provide statistics or a reference to support your comment that hard working professionals are going out of business?

If anything, more employment is being created.

Most of the opticians who provide online services supply branded lenses, mine are Pentax, so please don't perpetuate the myth that online equates to cheap and nasty.

You also talk of "price matching." I take that to mean that you will initially ask me to buy lenses for £100 but if I tell you that I can get them for £90 you will match that. Why not sell them for £90 to begin with?

That's why people buy online, transparency in pricing.

Hopefully this will explain the situation.

By the time overheads such as equipment, rent, staffing, fixtures, fittings, utilities and consumables are taken into account. the average eye exam costs at least £50 to provide, whilst the NHS (in England) pays a paltry £19.80. Most private fees aren't a great deal more. The argument given by the NHS has always been that we can subside it from dispensing - which is what we have to do as judging by this forum, most people begrudge paying £20 let alone £50 or £60 for an eye exam. The simple reason that some companies offer free eye exams is to tempt people in the hope that they will order some glasses (or contact lenses) there (you can draw your own conclusions from that).

Couple the overheads with the fact that the average independent practice doesn't have the buying power of online retailers or multiples then yes - we are more expensive than online retailers, but I can assure you that we (at least the majority) are not ripping people off. I'm sure you would be the 1st to complain if the practice was poorly staffed, inadquately equiped, shabby in appearance, inconvenient in location and didn't spend enough time to examine your eyes thoroughly.

So, if patients take their prescription elsewhere (which they are legally quite entitled to do), the optician makes a loss. If enough people do that, the optician will have to cease trading. Also, if there is not enough income generated from dispensing, there will not be any money left to reinvest in new equipment, training and services, which consumers rightfully expect.

Folks may think they are doing themselves a favour by buying glasses online, but ultimately, it will be they who suffer as either there will not be the choice in opticians, care and time taken with the patients and back-up should any problems arise, or eye exams fees will rise dramatically. Which way do you want it?

Oh - and I thought 'Pentax' lenses were exclusive to Specsavers. I can't see any mention of them on Spex4less. Incidently, you may interested to know that Specsavers own the rights to use the brand name 'Pentax' and can legally rebadge any lens they want to as 'Pentax' - things are not always what they seem.

[scotsbob]

Oh - and I thought 'Pentax' lenses were exclusive to Specsavers. I can't see any mention of them on Spex4less. Incidently, you may interested to know that Specsavers own the rights to use the brand name 'Pentax' and can legally rebadge any lens they want to as 'Pentax' - things are not always what they seem.

My apologies. Within the last week I bought some photographic equipment with the Asahi Pentax brand name and must have had that in mind. I have amended post number 63. It should be Varilux.

I live in Scotland and am over 60 so I qualify for a "free" eye exam on two counts. However, I choose to go to an optometrist and pay her fee. This means I get no hard sell.
If you are telling me that the fee she charges doesn't cover her costs that is her problem not mine. Maybe she should take a course in business management.
Having paid her fee and got my prescription the deal ends there. I am perfectly free to have that prescription dispensed wherever I choose.

The fact that I, and others, choose to divorce the examination from the dispensing seems to irritate you. Well I was irritated in the 1960s and 1970s when dispensing opticians wouldn't advertise prices and fought to prevent them being advertised. Looks like the public have long memories.

[nedmundo]

The fact that I, and others, choose to divorce the examination from the dispensing seems to irritate you. Well I was irritated in the 1960s and 1970s when dispensing opticians wouldn't advertise prices and fought to prevent them being advertised. Looks like the public have long memories.

As a profession (well before my time), we were not allowed to advertise prices - apparently it would bring the profession into disrepute!. If anything, the profession fought for the right to advertise.

[emlou2009]

i feel i should point out that they are offering anti reflection coating, not anti glare.

i'm a dispenser at specsavers and can confirm its totally possible to make up a totally accurate pair of single vision glasses with just the prescription and the pupil distance. not many optoms take the PD though they tend to leave it for the dispenser, which is fine, if a dispenser cant use a ruler then its a real worry!! if you ask the optom to take it at the time of your eye test, then providing the prescription is accurate and the online company make up the correct prescription, then the glasses will be fine. however, aside from the obvious fitting issues, why on earth would you want to order a pair of glasses without seeing what they look like first?! some glasses are wider than others so without knowing it you could end up with hugely wide glasses that completely dwarf you or you could end up with narrow glasses too small for your head!

i would never reccommend someone with a high prescription to order online with no fitting though, as i've found with a high prescription patients do find the end result beneficial when further measurements are taken, such as heights. i myself am a -4.00 which isnt particularly high yet i absolutely have to be looking through the centre of the lens at all times, if i look through the sides or top then the vision becomes instantly blurry.

[LizzieG]

Hopefully this will explain the situation.

By the time overheads such as equipment, rent, staffing, fixtures, fittings, utilities and consumables are taken into account. the average eye exam costs at least £50 to provide, whilst the NHS (in England) pays a paltry £19.80. Most private fees aren't a great deal more. The argument given by the NHS has always been that we can subside it from dispensing - which is what we have to do as judging by this forum, most people begrudge paying £20 let alone £50 or £60 for an eye exam. The simple reason that some companies offer free eye exams is to tempt people in the hope that they will order some glasses (or contact lenses) there (you can draw your own conclusions from that).

Couple the overheads with the fact that the average independent practice doesn't have the buying power of online retailers or multiples then yes - we are more expensive than online retailers, but I can assure you that we (at least the majority) are not ripping people off. I'm sure you would be the 1st to complain if the practice was poorly staffed, inadquately equiped, shabby in appearance, inconvenient in location and didn't spend enough time to examine your eyes thoroughly.

So, if patients take their prescription elsewhere (which they are legally quite entitled to do), the optician makes a loss. If enough people do that, the optician will have to cease trading. Also, if there is not enough income generated from dispensing, there will not be any money left to reinvest in new equipment, training and services, which consumers rightfully expect.

Folks may think they are doing themselves a favour by buying glasses online, but ultimately, it will be they who suffer as either there will not be the choice in opticians, care and time taken with the patients and back-up should any problems arise, or eye exams fees will rise dramatically. Which way do you want it?

Oh - and I thought 'Pentax' lenses were exclusive to Specsavers. I can't see any mention of them on Spex4less. Incidently, you may interested to know that Specsavers own the rights to use the brand name 'Pentax' and can legally rebadge any lens they want to as 'Pentax' - things are not always what they seem.

Thanks nedmundo i did write a reply yesterday trying to state this but then the website cleared it coz i wasn't logged on! Doh!

yeah unfortunately something has gone wrong somewhere and scotbob might be right maybe it stems back from the 60s. But if we have to compete with deals like this, which will consequently reduce our income, then there ends up being more pressure on us to sell sell sell so at the end of the day we can be paid therefore if you don't buy then we can't test. One big cycle! And I didn't train to be an optician just to become a sales person.

[shelly]

however, aside from the obvious fitting issues, why on earth would you want to order a pair of glasses without seeing what they look like first?! some glasses are wider than others so without knowing it you could end up with hugely wide glasses that completely dwarf you or you could end up with narrow glasses too small for your head!



99% of the spec sites I have browsed offer a service where you can order frames with clear lenses in to 'try before you buy'. Usually this is for a few £££ then when you make your decision you send them all back and they make up the ones you want.
Again 99% of frames I have looked at online have all the measurements listed and I only ever choose frames that are within a mm or two of my current frames as then I know they will be ok.
I have to say hubby and I have ordered nearly 10 pairs of specs from online between us over the years and I have only complained about one pair that to me looked nothing like they should have done. I got a satisfactory result on complaining so all is well :D

[lawsofnature]

High street opticians seriously need to buck up their acts - stop blaming people who buy specs online for failing business! You need to adapt eg. set up your own e-com business and compete. I find it utterly patronising that you blame customers for your loss of business, and how we 'the customer' should continue to fork out for high prices so you can continue providing a service and invest in better equipment.

My brother worked in the industry at corporate level, and I can report that the mark-up on contact lenses and glasses is HUGE (more so than most other products).

Now I'm happy to pay more to see a high street optician for my purchases (say £50-100 above an online price), but the prices differences are simply too wide now. I recently phoned around all the major chain and independent opticians in my area to get a price on 1.76 index lenses - the prices varied hugely, from £150 to £500 and this excluded the frame price. Now I understand prices will be higher than online (we aren't stupid, the customer knows how business works), but the mark-ups are simply at exorbitant levels in many cases. I had to spend an afternoon finding a reasonable deal on a thin pair of lenses - this is unacceptable.

Someone above mentioned opticians playing dirty with prescriptions (ie. making the illegible), well I experienced this too when asking for a contact lenses prescription from my opticians who has had a huge amount of business from me over many, many years (going all the way back to childhood). I got a scribbled unreadable prescription, and I saw the guy do the scribbling before he gave it to me - they lost all my business that day (they aren't one of the big chains).

I still prefer to buy my glasses in a store, but I'm going to take the chance with an online seller this time. If anyone is worried their prescription is intentionally wrong, get two eye tests done, and buy using a credit card that gives you some protection should the goods not arrive. With respect to measurements, I'm simply looking for a pair glasses that offer the same measurements as the glasses I have now ...you can find the measurements of your current glasses by looking at the inside of the arm.

[bignev]

Hmm...

Do opticians naturally have bad handwriting, or is it deliberate? Am I a conspiracy theorist? I would have thought they run the risk of being struck off if they give you a deliberately wrong prescription.

[~*Plushroom*~]

I just want to say that I think this is terrible! It is deals like this that is putting hardworking professionals like myself out of business. Now I know we all love a bargain but when we have to compete with prices like this, often giving a free eye test in the first place, is surely taking the emphasis away from the care and attention we should be giving you, the patient, and turning it to money. You wouldn't expect the dentist to examine your teeth for free would you?( unless you have an NHS entitlement - same for Opticians). AND you certainly wouldn't expect them and wouldn't want them to use cheap products just to save you money?

There was a previous post on here about what happens after you receive the glasses? What does happen?........What if they don't fit or don't look right? What if they break or what if you can't see in them? Who would you then turn to? US!? We have to fix the mistakes (again usually free).

Of course you are entitled to shop around but then why not go back to your optician we will always try and match prices, because at the end of the day we are just trying to help you see that little bit better.


You know what I think is terrible, that there are companies online that can charge between £5-£40 for complete glasses and regular stores will charge £40-£80 for glasses (Obviously excluding designer names there).

People do not choose to have bad eyesight, so of course we will shop around for the best offers - we have to pay for this for the rest of our lifes (Or for the laser surgery to fix it). So to essentially berate those who will buy online because the price is lower is a little much really.

This is coming from someone who has used both online and high street opticians and the only time there were problems was...the high street!

If high street stores are facing problems due to the online companies, perhaps that means that those companies need to look at changing the way they do business. If others are offering better prices people will go there - this is a recession you know.

As for your having to fix dodgy glasses from online retailers, why not make a note of where these people have gotten their glasses and make a complaint to someone? Or write reviews online giving your professional point of view having had to fix said websites glasses? Surely either of these methods would be more effective than getting people's backs up as you have. Just a thought.

[markfieldpete]

I had some varifocals from selectspecs over a year ago, and they are absolutely perfect. They cost under £45 including postage, and that was not a special offer, just their normal price, including coatings. I sent them an old pair of specs so they could check the distance between my pupils which is the important bit, and I took the frame size from an existing pair so they fitted just right without any adjustment. Previously I had paid £250 at a chain opticians!! And yes I too am a silver surfer, who likes to make the grey pound go as far as I can.

[nedmundo]

High street opticians seriously need to buck up their acts - stop blaming people who buy specs online for failing business! You need to adapt eg. set up your own e-com business and compete. I find it utterly patronising that you blame customers for your loss of business, and how we 'the customer' should continue to fork out for high prices so you can continue providing a service and invest in better equipment.

My brother worked in the industry at corporate level, and I can report that the mark-up on contact lenses and glasses is HUGE (more so than most other products).

Now I'm happy to pay more to see a high street optician for my purchases (say £50-100 above an online price), but the prices differences are simply too wide now. I recently phoned around all the major chain and independent opticians in my area to get a price on 1.76 index lenses - the prices varied hugely, from £150 to £500 and this excluded the frame price. Now I understand prices will be higher than online (we aren't stupid, the customer knows how business works), but the mark-ups are simply at exorbitant levels in many cases. I had to spend an afternoon finding a reasonable deal on a thin pair of lenses - this is unacceptable.

Someone above mentioned opticians playing dirty with prescriptions (ie. making the illegible), well I experienced this too when asking for a contact lenses prescription from my opticians who has had a huge amount of business from me over many, many years (going all the way back to childhood). I got a scribbled unreadable prescription, and I saw the guy do the scribbling before he gave it to me - they lost all my business that day (they aren't one of the big chains).

I still prefer to buy my glasses in a store, but I'm going to take the chance with an online seller this time. If anyone is worried their prescription is intentionally wrong, get two eye tests done, and buy using a credit card that gives you some protection should the goods not arrive. With respect to measurements, I'm simply looking for a pair glasses that offer the same measurements as the glasses I have now ...you can find the measurements of your current glasses by looking at the inside of the arm.

My post wasn't meant to be patronising, it was merely a statement of fact as to why there is so much disparity between high street and online prices. Yes there can be a high mark-up, but it really isn't that black & white.

So apart from setting up an online dispensing service, what you do you suggest? Also, what brand of 1.74 lenses were you asking for? They vary in cost and quality (optically and coating durability) enormously.

[bignev]

The offer is still on.....
I checked first thing this morning and it was not mentioned on the homepage. I thought the offer was over! The homepage keeps changing, but if you go to the "Prescription Glasses" section, they are still there. Apologies for any confusion caused.

[clairebrown7]

I agree with #69

Opticians on the high street have been making an absolute fortune on us - you always see them driving around in flash cars hmmm I wonder why?!

Online opticians are obviously the future. I use www.SpeckyFourEyes.com (http://www.SpeckyFourEyes.com) so does my boyfriend and so do my parents. My parents wear varifocal glasses and between them they have saved over £500 in the past 2 years by swapping to speckyfoureyes. £500 is a decent amount I'm sure you'll agree.

C:j

[nedmundo]

I don't think it is entirely fair to tar us all with the same brush. My car is so unflash you wouldn't believe!

[blue_haddock]

After seeing this offer and having just had my eyes done i decided i would try this place for my new specs.

I wasn't too sure about how to type in my prescription so ticked the "will post/fax my prescription" Next morning i got an email asking me to confirm i wanted plain glass and not prescription ones. I emailed back saying i would fax my prescriptionm over from work.

At work i duly faxed it to them and after an hour or so decided to call them to confirm they had received it and that everything was OK. Their phone line states something to the effect of "We are an internet based company and as such do not man the phone line so please email your query to us"

I then decided to email them to confirm they have received my prescription and also to ask why bother having a phone number if they do not use it. I have not had a response back apart from an automated one saying my glasses are in production now.

Based on my dealings so far i am not happy with the level of service received and would be highly wary of using them again.

[racey]

Received a pair of prescription sunglasses for £23 from spex4less within a week of placing order. Communication was good too.
Can't fault them :T

[Willy Heckaslike]

Re Select Specs
I have just received the two pairs of spectacles from this company. I am very pleased with the quality and the service. Very good frames and lenses.
The glasses are actually sent from Hong Kong. Mine were posted on the 29th May and I received them this morning 1st June. It did take a few days to complete the order though. I ordered them on the 20th May.
The whole process was simple enough, you will have to quote your pupil distance which was simple enough with a metric ruler and someone to take the measurements. The distance between my pupils was 67mm. No adjustment was needed either.
I was quoted over a £100 from Tesco opticians for a cheap pair. and the same from specsavers so £10 + £3.50 postage for two pairs was a no brainer. I don't know why people on this forum are making such a fuss about spending £5 on specs. Its cheaper than a pack of fags or 2 pints of beer. I will certainly be ordering from them again. I hope this helps some of you doubters out there. Thanks to MSE for letting me know about this fantastic deal.

[lawsofnature]

My post wasn't meant to be patronising, it was merely a statement of fact as to why there is so much disparity between high street and online prices. Yes there can be a high mark-up, but it really isn't that black & white.

So apart from setting up an online dispensing service, what you do you suggest? Also, what brand of 1.74 lenses were you asking for? They vary in cost and quality (optically and coating durability) enormously.


Actually for the customers - it really is that black and white - they want the cheapest optician on the purchase of an essential good. I have not seen anything in either your comments or other by opticians that have satisfactorily explained the massive mark-ups. As I said, and I am sure most people would agree, a mark-up is indeed necessary for a high street cf. to e-commerce, but there seems no justification for the HUGE mark-ups some opticians are charging.

Ah I thought the brand issue would be raised - I asked for Zeiss, as I used to wear Zeiss 1.74 glass lenses and they served me well. None of the sales assistants would confirm whether they sold Zeiss - a good majority that I spoke to actually had to leave me hanging on the phone just to discover if they sold 1.74 lenses. The brand doesn't really bother me as I change my glasses regularly - frankly I'd prefer two pair of cheap 1.74 glazed glasses then one expensive pair of Zeiss (this is assuming all the online sellers use cheaper plastic...Iris who undercut the high street quotes said they do use Zeiss).

But for sake of argument, putting the lense issue aside, this still leaves the huge mark-up differences on the price of designer frames in-store cf. to online.

[nedmundo]

Hopefully this will explain the situation.

By the time overheads such as equipment, rent, staffing, fixtures, fittings, utilities and consumables are taken into account. the average eye exam costs at least £50 to provide, whilst the NHS (in England) pays a paltry £19.80. Most private fees aren't a great deal more. The argument given by the NHS has always been that we can subside it from dispensing - which is what we have to do as judging by this forum, most people begrudge paying £20 let alone £50 or £60 for an eye exam. The simple reason that some companies offer free eye exams is to tempt people in the hope that they will order some glasses (or contact lenses) there (you can draw your own conclusions from that).

Couple the overheads with the fact that the average independent practice doesn't have the buying power of online retailers or multiples then yes - we are more expensive than online retailers, but I can assure you that we (at least the majority) are not ripping people off. I'm sure you would be the 1st to complain if the practice was poorly staffed, inadequately equiped, shabby in appearance, inconvenient in location and didn't spend enough time to examine your eyes thoroughly.

So, if patients take their prescription elsewhere (which they are legally quite entitled to do), the optician makes a loss. If enough people do that, the optician will have to cease trading. Also, if there is not enough income generated from dispensing, there will not be any money left to reinvest in new equipment, training and services, which consumers rightfully expect.



What's written there is true - whether you want/choose to believe it is up to you.

As I implied a bit earlier, some online suppliers also have a huge mark-up, which they hide by pointing the finger at high street opticians. The difference is, they pay less for goods and have lower overheads. Therefore, there are occasions where they are not necessarily any cheaper and have an even bigger mark-up!

I'm bowing out of this one now - I think both points of view have been well expressed and I'm happy to leave people here to make their own minds up.

[shelly]

Last week I received my £20 specs from goggles4u and as usual I am very pleased with them. Have been wearing them for a few days and so far no adjustment is needed anywhere at all.

Can highly recommend them.

[hayley11]

Wow this is a really good offer, i've just paid over £100 for a pair of glasses and sunglasses from Boots. I have really weird eyes so can't get them from places like this, such a shame, hate forking out for specs!

[jinky67]

Just got my two pairs of glasses

they are :j :j :j

i cannot complain at all. Fab:D

[lawsofnature]

Further to my previous comment, I have now found out GlassesDirect supply Kodak 1.76 lenses for £135, the undercuts all high street quotes I received. Specsavers will not tell me what lenses they use (but will charge £250), nor will D&A. One regional opticians firm said Zeiss, and want over £400.

I think I can safely assume Kodak lenses are a decent quality.

[blue_haddock]

Well i'm still not happy with the service i have received from there. Sent a couple of emails and had no reply apart from the auto emails telling me my glasses are being processed.

Even if they turn up and are ok i will still not use them again.

[mopsymuffin]

Not sure if many people r still reading this thread but if u r.... I ordered 2 pairs from SelectSpecs on 20th May but still havn't rec'd them. I am getting the regular twice a week updates saying that they have been sent for glazing. Mine was a very simple single lens prescription so cannot really understand why they have taken this long... 20 days so far.. well over the 10 working days as was quoted. I do appreciate they may have had a lot more orders just from the MSEMail. If u r reading this can u please post an update to say if u r experiencing the same problem.

[Tixy]

I think the reason they may be taking so long is as quoted in the original post

Warning. Its worth remembering this is a small company, and the MSE weekly e-mail (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips)goes to 3.3m people so its possible that it will be overwhelmed by the reponse from the weekly email. slowing things down. Bear this in mind when ordering.


If people look at the thread they will see it has been viewed over 87,000 times. Perhaps all us MSE's have taken them by surprise.

My mom received hers today (ordered 21st I think) and is delighted with them :T:T - so much so she'll be ordering another pair. I ordered mine a week later so fingers crossed they will arrive next week. At this price I'm not going to complain if they take a month to come.

(For anyone eagerly awaiting theirs I think Mom's turned up 1 week after she had a 'dispatched' email).

[Stardust]

I think ive had about six 'glazing' emails for two pairs of simple glasses.

[buckrogers]

Not sure if many people r still reading this thread but if u r.... I ordered 2 pairs from SelectSpecs on 20th May but still havn't rec'd them. I am getting the regular twice a week updates saying that they have been sent for glazing. Mine was a very simple single lens prescription so cannot really understand why they have taken this long... 20 days so far.. well over the 10 working days as was quoted. I do appreciate they may have had a lot more orders just from the MSEMail. If u r reading this can u please post an update to say if u r experiencing the same problem.


Hi i ordered a pair of
Hush, Red Fox 801, 1; 28.95 28.95
Gunmetal//Silver , Special Offer, 136/18/50
Rimless/

1x Photochromic treatment/ 25.00 25.00
1x Anti reflection treatment/
1x Ultra violet treatment/
1x Scratch resistant treatment

recived email saying on the 30th May order sent out, after 7 days was getting worried as i thought been in Kent they should of come by now, i emailed them and they said sometimes it takes up to 20 days, which still seems a long time, but anyway Monday morning they arrive 8 days later :-)
very pleased with them so far, one other thing they arrived from Hong Kong sent as a gift and value $10 its looks, so maybe thats why they take so long, i did not have a tracking number and thought they where coming from Kent


hope this helps


http://i42.tinypic.com/2iayfrr.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/21c78k1.jpg

[analyst]

I've been reading around t'internet and there's a few reviews out there reporting from people who sent money but got nothing back.

My order was placed May 23rd and now I see the regular 'Order Progress' emails have stopped about a week ago.

I'm beginning to smell a scam in progress here.
I too, believed it was a UK company, not that I've got a problem with Hong Kong, many of the CD suppliers ship out of there.

As the expression goes . . . "if something seems too good to be true, it usually is"

[Gman401]

I ordered 2 pairs of basic prescription glasses on 21 May and received the same 'Your order has entered our laboratory' email half a dozen times since that day.

I received the first email less than 24 hours of placing the orders and thought that I would receive them in good time. 3 weeks later I have no glasses and no dispatch email, despite payment being taken within a few days of ordering.

I did email them and they replied within the hour apologising for the delay and said that there has been a 'delay with the production of these lenses,' and my order 'will now be completed just before or just after this coming weekend' which seems pretty vague.

Assuming this will happen and add on the 10 to 20 days for delivery, which like others I didn't realise would be from Hong Kong, it's going to be 4 to 5 weeks before receiving the glasses from time of ordering.

I have my fingers crossed that I will eventually receive them and hope the delay is just down to the amount of orders they've received with such a cheap offer.

[analyst]

A little aside . . .

I order CDs from online retailers which are shipped from Hong Kong. Usually arrive within 2 days, sometimes even the following day.

[buckrogers]

i was worried too, as reading around the internet there's a few reviews out there reporting people who sent money but got nothing back. but as i said i emailed them as 7 days had passed from the email i recived saying order sent, 'placed order on the 22nd May' the next day they came, so they must be ok, just that i didnt think they where coming from Hong Kong which maybe is why some take longer, mine where non prescription, so maybe why mine came within a week.
notice that they say that up to 4 weeks for prescription glasses.
and
We cannot treat a parcel as missing until 5 weeks after dispatch. If the parcel is not delivered by then we will supply a free replacement.

[JJ7]

Hi, just thought I'd post to say that I too ordered from selectspecs and was surprised to receive a parcel from Hong Kong but am thrilled with my glasses which were £8.50 inc p&p - can't be bad. I think mine took about a week to arrive.

Thank you MSE Archna for a great find.

[mtp123]

Delighted to say glasses arrived today, just basic ones ordered at £8.50 inc postage. Think ordered 20th May, plenty of emails to keep me up to date. Yes sent from Hong Kong they fit perfectly!!

[analyst]

This gives me hope :rotfl:

[Tixy]

I've had an email today - 'sorry we are experiencing delays & we are expanding into another glazing lab due to huge demand' type thing. (I hadn't complained or chased on it). Guess they are worried about people thinking its a Scam. I'm not worried or in a particular hurry but I'll be pleased when I get them.

[analyst]

Got the same email. Looks like a holding move eh?

Funny how I've had a few emails saying they have 'gone to the lab for glazing', only to be now told they are building a new lab to make 'em . . . hmmm!

[Lolabelle]

Received my two pairs on Tuesday - they were ordered 20/05/09 and my prescription is at the stronger end of the range. No probs apart from one pair where the legs were a wee bit loose but I think the cases they come in don't help there as they bend the frames!!! Nothing a screw driver couldn't fix:rotfl:A great post, - got 2 pairs for £13.50 - my last glasses from Specsavers basic range cost £152 for one pair. Okay - they are a bit 'cheapy' feeling and probably not that robust - but at that price I can afford to keep changing them...thank you OP for a great find.:T:kisses:

[freyae16]

hiya i order 1 set of rimless glasses on the 22nd of may have had numerous email reporting they are being glazed very unhappy with the service as im moving house next week and they will not change the delivery address even though they are the ones that caused a delay.

help anyone on what to do?

[Tixy]

Have you set up a mail re-direction? They come by royal mail so you should still get them if you have.

[analyst]

I know we are all guilty of a little impatience, no criticism intended. But we all want to order today and get it delivered tomorrow.

To be fair, these are glasses made specifically to prescription, not CD's, ready packed, sitting in a computer controlled warehouse with an auto-picking system.

And I think we underestimate the power of Martin's board/email system punting out a deal like this one. I can honestly believe these guys might well have found themselves suddenly swamped with orders way beyond their wildest imagination.

We are getting reports of deliveries coming through so I think we do have to give 'em a chance.

[skinnymom]

JUST RECEIVED MY CHEAP GLASSES TODAY COST ME £8.50 AWESOME PAIR OF GLASSES FOR THE PRICE FIT PERFECT. WAS A BIT WORRIED THAT THEY WOULDNT BUT ARE GR8.:T

WILL DEFINATELY BUY AGAIN:beer:

[skinnymom]

hiya i order 1 set of rimless glasses on the 22nd of may have had numerous email reporting they are being glazed very unhappy with the service as im moving house next week and they will not change the delivery address even though they are the ones that caused a delay.

help anyone on what to do?


ORDERED MINE ON 20TH MAY AND RECEIVED THEM TODAY SATURDAY 13TH JUNE SO THEY SHOULDNT BE TOO LONG. WORTH THE WAIT THOU AS LOOK AND FIT GR8 :beer:

[mopsymuffin]

Thanks Skinnymom Did they just arrive today or were you sent a mail advising they had been sent out & a tracking number? If so, please can u advise what date they were posted to you.

[skinnymom]

Thanks Skinnymom Did they just arrive today or were you sent a mail advising they had been sent out & a tracking number? If so, please can u advise what date they were posted to you.

got a few messages saying glazing then on SUNDAY 7TH JUNE I GOT A MESSAGE SAYING THEY HAD BEEN SHIPPED. AND THEY ARRIVED TODAY SATURDAY 13TH. WITH A HONG KONG POSTMARK DELIVERED BY THE POST MAN SO BEAR WITH THEM WELL PLEASED.:T

[mopsymuffin]

Got my message today saying glasses have been sent so hopefully should arrive by the end of the week.

[froggy27]

Also rcvd my glasses yday.. had rcvd email saying they were dispatched on 5th June so one week to arrive from HK. Happy with the glasses. fit v.well. I had used Selectspecs before this offer for 3 of my pair of glasses and they 're normally quicker or shipped from UK but i think this time the demand was so high that they had help worldwide...Anyway for that price, it's worth waiting for...:D

[chris_yo]

Some of the posts on here are negative about the fact that this supplier is shipping direct from Hong Kong, so I thought I'd respond since I have a bit of experience in this area. I receive about 200 parcels a year, usually electronics/computer stuff ordered on ebay, and around half of those end up arriving from Hong Kong. Usually it takes about 7 days for shipping, but I've had parcels on my doorstep 3 days after ordering. As regards satisfaction, I've had no more problems than with U.K. companies - I've had a company in Hong Kong immediately send out a replacement and tell me to keep the item I already received when they've shipped the wrong thing, and I've had a U.K. company tell me after 3 weeks that they didn't have the item in stock (but said they did), but now they do, and shipped it an hour ago so I can't cancel. I've had good service and bad service with both U.K. and H.K. based companies, but there is no difference in general. What I'm saying is that there is no problem in general with buying stuff that ships from Hong Kong - most of the suppliers there are friendly and want to provide good service, and they have very good postal links with the UK (probably a relic of being a British Colony).

[Gman401]

I haven't felt any negativity from the posts re shipping from Hong Kong. Like others I have no problems with this. I just like to be aware of accurate shipping information, not too much to ask.

It seems it is more that this company have an issue with telling their customers they ship from Hong Kong, for what reason I don't know, they are pretty vague in all their communications, including shipping estimates.

The recent estimated dates of shipping in my latest email has come and gone and still no sign of dispatch. I ordered May 21st.

[mopsymuffin]

Mine arrived today :T They are excellent value for the price paid. They were posted to me on 13th June & arrived this morning so only 4 days. Any1 still waiting I am sure they will arrive soon & they are definitely worth it. Mine took 25 days from order to arrival but this was due to the huge amt of orders probably as a result of our MSE mail :T

[racey]

I ordered on May 25th and was informed they were shipped yesterday.

[Gman401]

Ordered 21 May and received my shipping email yesterday :j

[boozy chick]

Also ordered two pairs of glasses on may 20th, just received email june 16th stating they have been shipped, so not long now i hope!!!

[Thriftysolo]

I have been improving my eyesight with vision therapy and needed a half power pair of glasses for training purposes, so I ordered the cheapest pair I could from SelectSpecs using this offer. The order date was the 29th of May and I have just received my glasses today on the 22nd of June. So, it took just over three weeks for the item to arrive, which was a little bit longer than expected, but I'm not complaining as I'm very happy with the price and the product. Many thanks for the thread starter for notifying me of this excellent offer. :money:

[Tixy]

Mine came! I'm pleased with them. I bought a plastic frame pair -I'm not going to say they are the best glasses / strongest frames I've ever owned but they are more than good enough and will be great as a spare pair for me.

An excellent offer

[analyst]

My order arrived. Yipee! :j
Two pairs of prescription glasses, ordered 23rd May, notified of shipping on 16th June and arrived from Hong Kong today 22nd June and all for a fiver each. Not bad eh? Not arf!!

I am bowled over. They are great, fit well, look good, shame about person wearing them tho' ;)

So if others are waiting, hold tight I'm sure they are on their way soon.

[allyaec]

I ordered 2 pairs of glasses on the 3rd June and haven't had word of when they will be delivered (20 days later!). The company don't have a phone number with someone manning the lines anymore (just an online contact form). I have emailed twice a day since the 10th of June. I still don't have my glasses and feel quiet cheated and if they don't arrive soon I shall be contacting paypal for to get my money back.

Very very very upset and disappointed. Not worth the time.

[racey]

Glasses, two pairs, finally arrived today from Hong Kong. They appear to be plain glass and not made according to the prescription I attached. I thought it was too good to be true.
I've emailed a complaint. I'm hoping for a refund as I'm not prepared to pay for postage for their return

[racey]

They have told me that I ordered distance not reading glasses. I don't remember being given the option to choose.
Has anyone else had the same problem?

[boozy chick]

Two pairs of glasses arrived on the 22nd june, over a month after placing my order from select specs. If the whole world of mse's and his dog have taken this offer up, i can understand the delay. The glasses are great value for what i paid, £16.50 inc postage is not to be sniffed at. If you don't want this delay, specsbypost.com are great value also. A pair. of single vision glasses cost me a little over £13.00. They were ordered on a saturday morning, and i had received them by wednesday.

[bh026]

Hello guys,

Can someone plz tell me the cheapest place to re-glaze my specs.

Selectspecs is doing for about £37.50 + p+p. Plus after looking the reviews from others, I am not sure, to send my new £70 frame through post to these guys.

thx

[fisheye]

I just got an email from fashionspecsdirect.co.uk offering free transitions. If you go to their transitions page (http://fashionspecsdirect.co.uk/transitions.php), it says its expired - but they said it was still ok until Thursday.
I got two pairs, just put in the code "transitions" when asked.
Now I just need tix for Wimbledon..

[sarahxcore]

has anyone used specsuperstore.com? looking at some glasses that are super cheap on there, but can't find any online reviews or anything, so feeling a bit nervous about ordering!

[racey]

Excellent service from Specs-by-post. Ordered on Thursday and received glasses on Saturday. Good value too.

[gemmabe]

I'm currently wearing my selectspecs glasses. They are fine. They were however dispatched from Hong Kong, and in my email to them I asked how they would be being sent, as I wished to get them prior to my holiday - I was told 2nd class royal mail - clearly this was not the truth. My glasses arrived a week after I went on my holiday. In summary, glasses generally seem to be fine, customer service not good. Proceed with caution! I much prefer www.wantglasses.co.uk (http://www.wantglasses.co.uk) - got a great pair from them last year but I broke them (my fault). Wish I had just re-ordered instead of trying to get cheaper elsewhere!

[allyaec]

Just got my glasses today... and guess what I had to email this morning to them....

Good Morning,

I received my two pairs of glasses with thanks this morning. The plastic pair, Savannah Acacia, are great, fit really well and fantastic value for money (£5).

However, the second metal frame pair, Savannah Mopane, are very disappointing. Although they fit nice and are a nice frame there are four faults in the glasses.

1) A major set of scratches on the lens near the bridge of the nose
2) A thin scratch in the main lens frame (looks like a tool mark)
3) The plastic arms (which I expected to be metal by the way from your product description) are
a) not finished properly (have rough plastic ends)
b) they don't line up properly with the metal frame/not fitted properly onto the frame/loose

Can you please advise on the next course of action please as I am not satisfied with this second pair, and shall not be wearing them.

------

I wait to hear back as I am not happy and want a replacement or money back :)
x

[smala01]

Avoid SelectSpecs like the plague. Six weeks ago i order a very simple set of glasses. I am still waiting for them to arrive. Apparently they were recently posted from HONG KONG, and have to wait another 20 days!!

If you order, don’t bet on getting your glasses!

[carolpinkdreamer]

My glasses have arrived from Selectspecs. I'm absolutely delighted with them. Lenses are lovely and clear with perfect vision. I wear contact lenses during the day so didn't want to spend too much for glasses to wear around the house.
These glasses are so nice and comfy that I WILL wear them to go out too. Best £8.50 I've spent in ages.

[samuelthomson240]

i have just bought a pair of presciption glasses for 22.45 from select specs will they be any good please tell me or pm me thanks sam

[Marty999]

However, the second metal frame pair, Savannah Mopane, are very disappointing.

I received my pair of Savannah Mopane glasses last week and I am really pleased with them. They fit me better than my specs from Vision Express, and there are no scratches or faults with them.

[Thriftysolo]

Hi

I ordered another two pairs of glasses from Selectspecs (I won't buy any more, I swear) and strangely they arrived only 11 days after ordering. The first pair I ordered took nearly a month to arrive. I don't know why these two pairs arrived so quickly, but I am quite happy with them.

Craig

[buckrogers]

i have just bought a pair of presciption glasses for 22.45 from select specs will they be any good please tell me or pm me thanks sam

i was pleased with mine.

mine came from Hong Kong, of a matter of interest, did anyone have a tracking number? mine didnt, but just wondered if others had, and maybe they could track to find where there glasses are for those still waiting?

[racey]

Received today.
Very happy with them at £13.50 for 2 pairs.

[buckrogers]

racey , did yours have a Royal Mail tracking number? did they come from Hong Kong?

[G_Model101]

I ordered a cheapo pair from selectspecs, they arrived yesterday. I have to say the build quality is hardly much worse than specsavers. I couldn't fail to be concerned when the parcel arrived with "Hong Kong" stamped all over it, but I'm quite satisfied with them. For £8.50, more than ten times less than my previous pair of glasses, what more could you want?

[Silverbird]

My glasses arrived last week and are great with no problems whatsoever and very clear and sturdy.

I am short-sighted and wear contacts during the day and glasses at weekends and in the evenings. I just ordered these as a spare pair (I have a constant fear of losing or breaking my glasses, as I can't wear contacts all day every day). They are perfect for a spare pair and I'm ever so pleased to have paid so little for them. I'd have paid probably 8 to 10 times more at an opticians.

[racey]

racey , did yours have a Royal Mail tracking number? did they come from Hong Kong?
They came airmail from Hong Kong.

[racey]

They are perfect for a spare pair and I'm ever so pleased to have paid so little for them. I'd have paid probably 8 to 10 times more at an opticians.
I agree entirely. I wouldn't hesitate about getting more glasses from them.
They are so cheap that I can have a pair in work, another pair in the car, a couple of pairs at home, etc.

[kiwigirluk]

I had previously brought from Selectspecs several years, and the glasses were brilliant. I decided to 'update my look', and re-ordered... Customer services was terrible; despite being promised delivery within ten days, it took forty days, and their customer services number goes to a IVR message advising they cannot be contacted by telephone, only email, which are then ignored.

I'm currently dealing with Specsuperstore.com for some rayban sunglasses; quoted £45 cheaper than Vision Express, but three promised delivery dates so far and no delivery yet. The sunglasses are for my partner, and they're not prescription so can't understand the delay!

[have_a_banana]

Hi, first time poster here so be gentle...
Just had an eye test today and now face my bi-annual torture of trying to find frames to fit my stupidly large head. The optician recommended I look for something with a lens size of at least 57mm (more if poss) and a bridge of 17mm+. I'm hardly John Merrick but I tend to feel that way whenever I'm looking for specs and end up having to shoehorn myself into something just so i can see properly.
I note that various people in the industry have contributed to if anyone can point me in the direction of large frames I'll be forever in your debt...

[sue34]

Has anyone had a tracking number for there glasses? so you can check where they are ? or did they they just post normal postage?
thankyou

[Marty999]

Has anyone had a tracking number for there glasses? so you can check where they are ? or did they they just post normal postage?
thankyou

No tracking number, they just arrive in the normal post from Hong Kong.

[sue34]

just checked my email, had a email from them in my junk folder,
i have not recived my glasses over 5 weeks now and had to fill out a form to send to kent last week, and just had a email from them saying a replacement is been processed, i can check on the web site now and it shows how far the order is been done, so looks like i ll be getting them soon :-)
so very quick to give me a replacement.

[gemmapouncy]

Hi

I bought some prescription sunglasses from goggles4u a couple of months ago, and they're great. Granted my prescription's not very strong, and they are only single vision, so it's a simpler thing to get right than bifocal etc, but as I need my glasses to drive, and don't have a couple of hundred quid floating around to spare, it's brilliant.

To anyone who's a little dubious, would it not be worth trying once? Particularly at this price, surely it's worth it to save yourself so much over a long period if it works at least the once? If you put in your entire, comprehensive prescription, there's not a lot that can go wrong, is there?

[slummymummyof2]

WOW! Fankoo very much! Some new specs to make this slummy mummy feel more yummy! :j

[the rottweiler]

Had an eye test last week and discovered that I not only need new glasses to see (£189) but I need glasses to read as well (£25 but free due to cost of main glasses) I dont want varifocals
I am grateful for this thread cos I need another pair of main glasses (just in case of damage) and was thinking about getting online. I will be doing this but will probably go with a uk company.
Any other hints and tips will be gratefully recieved and acted upon

[Nenen]

Hi, first time poster here so be gentle...
Just had an eye test today and now face my bi-annual torture of trying to find frames to fit my stupidly large head. The optician recommended I look for something with a lens size of at least 57mm (more if poss) and a bridge of 17mm+. I'm hardly John Merrick but I tend to feel that way whenever I'm looking for specs and end up having to shoehorn myself into something just so i can see properly.
I note that various people in the industry have contributed to if anyone can point me in the direction of large frames I'll be forever in your debt...

Both me and my dh have the same problem - our heads are enormous to contain our big brains! LOL! Joking aside, we have found Boots opticians do a special selection of extrra wide frames if you go in and ask. Not sure if any online retailers do the same.

[DDonut]

Just a question, has anyone with a very high prescription ordered from them? I mean like over -10 or +10? Do they do high prescriptions I am struggling to find someone who does :(

[glassesdirect company representative]

Hi, first time poster here so be gentle...
Just had an eye test today and now face my bi-annual torture of trying to find frames to fit my stupidly large head. The optician recommended I look for something with a lens size of at least 57mm (more if poss) and a bridge of 17mm+. I'm hardly John Merrick but I tend to feel that way whenever I'm looking for specs and end up having to shoehorn myself into something just so i can see properly.
I note that various people in the industry have contributed to if anyone can point me in the direction of large frames I'll be forever in your debt...

Hello, I'm David Carruthers UE Manager at Glasses Direct. *interest declared* :)

I just wanted to say that we have a range of glasses designed for people who require a larger sized frame. The range is men only at the moment, and only 6 frames currently. Let me know what you think of them.

I can't link to it on this forum, but if you go to our homepage then click on a designer brand called 'Stetson XL' in the left navigation.

I hope this isn't spammy - was just trying to help out with this question - let me know if it's innapropriate.

have_a_banana & Nenen, I may message you privately if that's OK to figure out how we could make our site better for people with bigger heads.

[Summer76]

I bought some glasses from Selectspecs when they had the last promotion (picked up from this site). Must say I was very pleased when they arrived. Ordered a screw driver too as the accessories were also cheap. Only problem was they said delivery would be 7 days it was actually more like 5 weeks. I emailed a couple of times before I got a response and they only responded when the glasses had been despatched. I would use them again though and will try and get a pair for my mother as she is a pensioner and still has to pay ridiculous prices for her specs. I was not sure about the sizes though and mine were a little bit too big but as I only use them as a spare pair for reading it's not bad. I will take them into Boots as I know they will adjust them free of charge. Noted someone has said about checking the size inside the frame of your glasses, will have a look at that, but will need my glasses to read the small print!! Can we bring back the sunshine so I can order some sunglasses too - missing that big yellow thing that I keep hearing about heading our way, but no sign of yet.

[raw_neon]

Hi DDonut-

They can't do over -10/+10 as it constitutes a 'complex' prescription and has to be fitted by a qualified dispensing optician/optometrist.

R

[mrsmcdade]

I ordered these glasses last time around and was very impressed.

The glasses arrived from Hong Kong and the frames are very light plastic (not a bad thing IMO) but they really do have anti-glare. It recently cost me £140 extra to have anti-glare on my glasses on the high street so this is a phenomenal deal :D

[angelicghost]

I bought a pair of single vision glasses from this site and although i had a delay on my order of an extra week or so they are brilliant value for money. I have been trying to save for nearly a year for a new pair of glasses and i paid the sum total of £8.50 for the ones i have now!!! I have been struggling to read for nearly a year simply because i couldn't afford my new glasses, i would definitely advise people to give selectspecs a try.

[skyt]

Add my name to the satisfied customer list!
I bought some of their specs on the last offer (my eyesight is just deteriorating with age so its a sort of upgrade from 'ready-readers' which have been fine for me up 'til now) they arrived much more promptly than I expected and came with a cheap but effective case (and a decent cleaning cloth).
I must say I was impressed, so I ordered some more and bought some of their more expensive glasses too. I'm very satisfied with the glasses and the delivery the second time around too, I don't see how you can go wrong at the price if you want the convenience of a couple of extra pairs to leave round the house.:T

[mystified]

Have a look at zenni.com
Excellent service and quality for straight-forward simple glasses.
American address, pay in dollars on Pay Pal, and the come days later through the post... from HongKong!

[LeeUK]

I bought some designer glasses from GlassesDirect last year. All very well except they were a bit lob sided on my face. You would at least think they would make sure the frame was straight before sending them out. Least with a highstreet optician you can go back to get them adjusted.

[wagsforever]

Thanks for this post. I have a habit of losing my glasses when I've had a beer so these cheap pairs will come in handy.

[shelly]

I bought some designer glasses from GlassesDirect last year. All very well except they were a bit lob sided on my face. You would at least think they would make sure the frame was straight before sending them out. Least with a highstreet optician you can go back to get them adjusted.


I took some specs that were bought online into Boots for some adjusting and when I asked how much they would charge they said nothing and they done them for free.
Worth a try?

[glassesdirect company representative]

I bought some designer glasses from GlassesDirect last year. All very well except they were a bit lob sided on my face. You would at least think they would make sure the frame was straight before sending them out. Least with a highstreet optician you can go back to get them adjusted.

Hi LeeUK,

I'm the UE Manager at Glasses Direct. I'm really sorry you had that problem with glasses from us. All our glasses are QC checked before they head out so that shouldn't really happen. When did you buy them last year? Did you manage to sort them in the end?

If you're not happy with them, you always have 14 days to return/exchange them, or alternatively we'll always try and resolve any issues. I'd be happy to get one of our opticians to give you a call and talk through what you can do if it's still a problem.

Happy to talk on private message if you want.

[tia1803]

my eyes are -10 and -10.25...are there any cheap companies that accomadate high prescriptions?

[LeeUK]

Hi LeeUK,

I'm the UE Manager at Glasses Direct. I'm really sorry you had that problem with glasses from us. All our glasses are QC checked before they head out so that shouldn't really happen. When did you buy them last year? Did you manage to sort them in the end?

If you're not happy with them, you always have 14 days to return/exchange them, or alternatively we'll always try and resolve any issues. I'd be happy to get one of our opticians to give you a call and talk through what you can do if it's still a problem.

Happy to talk on private message if you want.

Thanks for your reply, I bought them last July I think it was. I got them adjusted at a local option in the end while I was in getting some basic frames for "in the house" wear. I know I could of sent them back to be adjusted but then I could of ended up having to send them back and forward again to get the adjustment right. Other than that I am happy with the designer frames and lense options which I bought from Glasses Direct.

I'm due an eye exam soon so will probably be after some new designer frames from Glasses Direct. :)

[13roses]

hi i would just like to say i have bought my glasses for the last 4 years from select specs and have never found a problem with them and i have ordered 2 pairs from there offer last week . WELL DONE SELECT SPECS KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.:j

[sandy2]

Just received my new glasses from select specs (posted in Hong Kong) ...really good. I have used them before for reglazing, but usually buy new specs from Zenni Optical.

[SezBomb]

Hi, first time poster here so be gentle...
Just had an eye test today and now face my bi-annual torture of trying to find frames to fit my stupidly large head. The optician recommended I look for something with a lens size of at least 57mm (more if poss) and a bridge of 17mm+. I'm hardly John Merrick but I tend to feel that way whenever I'm looking for specs and end up having to shoehorn myself into something just so i can see properly.
I note that various people in the industry have contributed to if anyone can point me in the direction of large frames I'll be forever in your debt...


Hiya. Specsavers have a frame called "Jamie"

If you search on specsavers website for "Jamie" under frames it comes up

Eye size is 58mm, Bridge size 18mm
Comes in Brown or gunmetal.
Its 241 at the moment so £85 for two single vision pairs.

Hope this helps! x

[raden]

A wonderful price but how are measurements taken if bifocals are needed. The cheapest glasses I got last week cost me £250.
I've just had a pair of varifocals with transitition and anti-scratch in memory metal frames for just over £100 from 3w dot glassesonspec dot.co dot uk (Forum seems to think I'm new, which I'm not and won't allow me to post a URL). They are local to me so I just walked in and they measured me up. You could try getting someone local to mark up an old pair and send them in for the measurements

[dragonflyjen]

Hi everyone,

I have been reading these boards for some time now and thought I should get more involved. As I purchased glasses from Selectspecs on their last promotion I thought I would let you know what I thought about the 2 pairs of glasses I purchased.

First of all, the glasses took about 5wks to arrive (due to the large number of orders from all us msners!) They did reply when I emailed them as I wanted them to arrive for my holiday and they replied saying they would be dispatched within 1-2 days - don't think they were though. Anyways, on return from my holibags my glasses were waiting and I was really happy with the first pair - Savannah Aloe in Red. Actually nicer than the pic, a bit different and trendy...and 3 people who didn't know me seperately told me that they thought I was 19 when I was wearing them!! (I'm 28!) So I'm happy lol!! :T

The second pair I'm not happy with at all (Gardenia gunmetal frame). Took them out of the box and the front has a scratch on the grey metal showing a horrible bronze colour underneath making them look cheap and nasty. Sending them back and hoping they will replace them with another style. By email they said they will refund my return postage (to Kent) once they have been inspected (hope they don't think it was me who scratched them then!) Another point to make on these glasses is that the frame is quite narrow - my Mum has a small head and they are small on her. Think the Mopane frame will be the same re quality and size.

Overall for cheap glasses I would defo buy from them again, but personally I would stick with the plastic frames as they seem more durable. Sorry for such a long first post! lol :rotfl: Hope this helps someone about to puchase from them.

Jen

[dragonflyjen]

By the way, I have also purchased half-rim glasses from Glasses Direct for about £30 with discount codes. Had them for about a year and I'm really happy with them (Venice - Lavender/Silver) - very smart and flattering and I think they would suit any age.

If you register with them they will send you a personal 15% code off your first order valid for a week from date issued (plus remember 18% Quidco), and if you buy 2 or more pairs you get them delivered free.

I'm away this time...honest! :rolleyes:

[Always Harassed]

Bought spare pair from Select Specs and they look great. Absolutely no problems and they sent me regular emails to keep me up to date with progress. Easily as good as some of the £60.00-£70.00 pairs on the high street.

[Always Harassed]

I just want to say that I think this is terrible! It is deals like this that is putting hardworking professionals like myself out of business. Now I know we all love a bargain but when we have to compete with prices like this, often giving a free eye test in the first place, is surely taking the emphasis away from the care and attention we should be giving you, the patient, and turning it to money. You wouldn't expect the dentist to examine your teeth for free would you?( unless you have an NHS entitlement - same for Opticians). AND you certainly wouldn't expect them and wouldn't want them to use cheap products just to save you money?

There was a previous post on here about what happens after you receive the glasses? What does happen?........What if they don't fit or don't look right? What if they break or what if you can't see in them? Who would you then turn to? US!? We have to fix the mistakes (again usually free).

Of course you are entitled to shop around but then why not go back to your optician we will always try and match prices, because at the end of the day we are just trying to help you see that little bit better.

I understand you being upset but maybe its time to split the testing and dispensing service. When you go to the doctor for medicine they don't have any influence on where you fill your prescription.

[Running Horse]

Precisely. If you went to the dentist you wouldn't expect a free filling, only to be forced to buy a £100 toothbrush on the way out.

[sue34]

just checked my email, had a email from them in my junk folder,
i have not recived my glasses over 5 weeks now and had to fill out a form to send to kent last week, and just had a email from them saying a replacement is been processed, i can check on the web site now and it shows how far the order is been done, so looks like i ll be getting them soon :-)
so very quick to give me a replacement.


got replacement today :-)
very pleased with them, well worth the money :-)

[purpleemma1981]

i ordered a pair of these glasses they look great just not to sure about the delivery though, ordered them last weds and my account says they haven't even received the frames and lenses yet so much for 7 day delivery but what can you expect for the price suppose

[JustRimless]

When you go to the doctor for medicine they don't have any influence on where you fill your prescription.

Indeed, if you found out they owned the nearest pharmacy you would be suspicious if you came out with a prescription with numerous items on it.

[SelectSpecs company representative]

i ordered a pair of these glasses they look great just not to sure about the delivery though, ordered them last weds and my account says they haven't even received the frames and lenses yet so much for 7 day delivery but what can you expect for the price suppose

Hi,

Can you give me your order number (post here or via PM) and I will check your order for progress for you. As far as I'm aware all orders are being fulfilled in good time at the moment.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

[SuperMum2008]

My select specs glasses have just arrived after quite a lengthy wait (which I understand due to great price ets), but the frames are not what I ordered - I ordered red frames with butterflies and the ones I have received are plain red and really "rough around the edges". I presumed that the cheapness was to lure me in as a full time specs wearer, so that I would be wowed and would order from them again. I have to say I wont be doing so - if I had thought that the price reflected the poor quality and incorrect item, I wouldnt have bothered placing the order. I usually use Glasses Direct and they have been completely fabulous every time. Very disappointed and wouldnt recommend. :confused:

[SelectSpecs company representative]

My select specs glasses have just arrived after quite a lengthy wait (which I understand due to great price ets), but the frames are not what I ordered - I ordered red frames with butterflies and the ones I have received are plain red and really "rough around the edges". I presumed that the cheapness was to lure me in as a full time specs wearer, so that I would be wowed and would order from them again. I have to say I wont be doing so - if I had thought that the price reflected the poor quality and incorrect item, I wouldnt have bothered placing the order. I usually use Glasses Direct and they have been completely fabulous every time. Very disappointed and wouldnt recommend. :confused:

Hi SuperMum2008,

Sorry to hear that you are dissatisfied with the product you received, a member of our team will be in contact with you shortly about a replacement. We are in the process of changing some of our stock over so a slight mix up has obviously occurred.

With regards to shipping and a lengthy wait, from the date of order to delivery your order has taken approximately 14 days, this timescale is clearly stated on our website. Delivery for these items (after order completion) from our Hong Kong lab is usually within 7 days although delays can occur.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

[graemeallan]

I ordered a pair of the £5+£3.50p&p glasses on 23 July, they arrived today (from Hong Kong). They fit well, vision is excellent - I'll use them again.

[clair2305]

Hi everyone,

I have been reading these boards for some time now and thought I should get more involved. As I purchased glasses from Selectspecs on their last promotion I thought I would let you know what I thought about the 2 pairs of glasses I purchased.

First of all, the glasses took about 5wks to arrive (due to the large number of orders from all us msners!) They did reply when I emailed them as I wanted them to arrive for my holiday and they replied saying they would be dispatched within 1-2 days - don't think they were though. Anyways, on return from my holibags my glasses were waiting and I was really happy with the first pair - Savannah Aloe in Red. Actually nicer than the pic, a bit different and trendy...and 3 people who didn't know me seperately told me that they thought I was 19 when I was wearing them!! (I'm 28!) So I'm happy lol!! :T

The second pair I'm not happy with at all (Gardenia gunmetal frame). Took them out of the box and the front has a scratch on the grey metal showing a horrible bronze colour underneath making them look cheap and nasty. Sending them back and hoping they will replace them with another style. By email they said they will refund my return postage (to Kent) once they have been inspected (hope they don't think it was me who scratched them then!) Another point to make on these glasses is that the frame is quite narrow - my Mum has a small head and they are small on her. Think the Mopane frame will be the same re quality and size.

Overall for cheap glasses I would defo buy from them again, but personally I would stick with the plastic frames as they seem more durable. Sorry for such a long first post! lol :rotfl: Hope this helps someone about to puchase from them.

Jen

Hi Jen

I'm about to order the aloe savannah ones as well, just concerned regarding my prescription, I normally have my lenses thinned (1.67) and I notice these are 1.49, just was wondering what your prescription was to compare with mine.

thanks
Clair

[Miss_J]

I received my glasses yesterday & its not what I ordered.
I was expecting to receive the aloe savannah with butterflies on the arm but they didn't have the butterflies pattern.
I have emailed selectspecs about it and they replied quickly saying that their designs have changed and do I want a exchange/refund?
I just want what I've ordered... and why couldn't they have emailed me and given me the option to accept the changes or not...

[racey]

I received my glasses yesterday & its not what I ordered.
I was expecting to receive the aloe savannah with butterflies on the arm but they didn't have the butterflies pattern.
I have emailed selectspecs about it and they replied quickly saying that their designs have changed and do I want a exchange/refund?
The same thing happened to me except that they didn't offer exchange/refund. It's not the end of the world but you do expect to get what you order.
The glasses seem fine, though.

[peejay307]

Just got my 2 pairs of glasses from Hong Kong! I thought by getting 2 pairs for £19.50 that would be any good was expecting too much and thought at least one pair would be passable but both are rubbish! I can see Ok if I look straight ahead but if I move my eyes around everything is out of focus. So to be of any use I need to move my head not my eyes which isn't really practical! Also the arms on both pairs are just pushed on to the hinges and are lose, they slide back and forward about 1/2 cm. I didn't expect the frames to be much good, and I was right, but thought I would at least have one out of two cheap pairs of glasses if I needed some I could actually see with. Glad I only paid £19.50 not too much money to lose, would be extremely unhappy if I had paid £50 or £60 for a pair. Back to specsavers for me!

[Kalli]

I ordered my glasses through this deal and they arrived this morning. I opened them up and they are not the ones I have ordered. I have sent an email to them to see what they are going to do about it

[bluebird51]

I order a pair of these glasses and while they did take some time to arrive i was fairly pleased with mine. The glasses were cheap and plastic but for a temp pair i thought they were fine. Please do be aware you have to wait around 3 weeks for them to come

[racey]

I've had 4 pairs of the cheapest £5 glasses and they are fine.

[forestfox]

:beer: Just wanted to let you know that I ordered a pair of Savannah Mopane glasses on the 1/8/09 for £21.45 inc P&P. They arrived on Wednesday and fit perfectly, I estimate I have saved over £200 and I am so happy that I will be ordering another pair in a different style.

Thank you so much and what a great Tip!

[Chuggwaz]

Hi folks, (note I updated my post from earlier today as I mistyped the original confirmed dispatch date was end of July, not start of July)

does anyone know how to contact Select Specs customer service as they have stopped replying to me? I ordered glasses weeks ago, they confirmed dispatch at the end of July, and the delivery has not arrived. I have queried this several times, and did get several replies, but their last response on 17th August was they would require to wait 5wks after the dispatch date before they will query Royal Mail to try and find it.

Selectspecs reply on 17/8 as follows:
"Thank you for your email, there is very good a chance that they have been delayed in the postal system and you should receive the presently.

In the event that they do not arrive however, we will have to 5 weeks from the original dispatch date before we can place an enquiry with the Royal mail, we only start to make a replacement after a confirmation from Royal Mail that they have not been delivered.

Apologies for the inconvenience caused, please keep us posted. If you have any queries, please don't hesitate to contact us. Please retain all the previous correspondence when replying to this email.

Kind Regards"

So, here's the stupid point, they don't send items with tracking, and probably it's coming from Hong Kong. I can only see this as a delaying tactic.

My wife ordered glasses at the same time and her order arrived weeks ago, but they were not the frames shown on their website, but some cheap and nasty looking "99p" type. She has asked for a refund but the company says they will replace but "can't refund custom items". Get a grip, of course glasses are a custom item, but do you think we want some other shoddy replacement. VERY VERY dis-satisfied. They no longer have telephone support, just e-mail contact site.

I only used this company on Moneysaving Expert's recommendation.

[SelectSpecs company representative]

Chuggwaz,

Please can you PM me you order number and I will check this for you and we can arrange a replacement as it is clearly over the 25 days period.

We ask customers to wait up to 5 weeks (25 days) for items to arrive as more often than not items arrive within this time - delays in the postal system are beyond our control and on occasions items do get lost. It is usual that we get emails after 7 days from dispatch only to reply to be told the order has been received. Many items are sent with tracking numbers but due to the value of these goods and the aggressive price we are offering this product at it's just not cost effective to send these recorded.

This product IS coming from Hong Kong, we do not hide this fact on our website.

We no longer offer a manned telephone service for cost reasons, we cannot offer an aggressively priced product and manage a team of phone support agents, if we did this cost would need to be passed on to you the customer.

Did your wife email us about the problem with her frame? We would only send the frames we advertise but in some cases mistakes are made and on several occasions some frames have been sent without patterns on the side as displayed on the photograph, we have been quick to replace these.

We must also point out that since we have run this offer we have taken many 1000's of orders for this product with a very limited number of complaints or problems, these complaints we deal with quickly.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

[Running Horse]

Some people make me laugh. You pay peanuts and expect a proper service?

[Chuggwaz]

Yes, I can appreciate your comment but as this company did get a reasonable write up from Martin, I expected more.

[Running Horse]

Take it up with Martin, or the company?

Failing that, report them to trading standards (and anyone who generates business for them).

[meanmum]

I've also had problems with the frame quality - I got the Savannah Aloe, the lenses are great, but the arm is loose & twisted on one side. I have had a number of e-mails where I sent photos of the problem, & it ended up with them asking me to send them back to them. I don't want to do this at my own expense, as the fault is clearly theirs, so have asked for either a freepost or prepaid envelope, or just a straightforward replacement (I'm sure that would actually be easier & cheaper for them). Since I asked this over a week ago they have been totally silent, despite a number of follow up e-mails from me. I am really unhappy that their customer service is so bad. Yes, I know they were cheap glasses, so what did I expect? - actually, what I expected was decent lenses in economy but functioning frames. Zenni can do it perfectly well. Like a few others here, I used this offer to trial Selectspecs for any future purchases, as although I have no problem with the glasses being made in the far east, I liked the idea of having a UK contact if anything went wrong! How wrong can you be.........

[Chuggwaz]

The silence is deafening now from their customer service. No reply to me from the web enquiry I sent, and you can see the post from their representative... I sent the PM as requested giving my order details. Was promised a reply yesterday, but nothing.

Come on Select Specs, don't ruin your reputation!

Please contact me asap, ...

Disgruntled customer

[Chuggwaz]

Still no reply from the "company representative" on this forum. Where are you now...? Have e-mailed the customer (no)services again and now have been given a form to complete and post back to confirm "non-delivery". I have to sign to say "blah blah , will co-operate with the carrier if they need to check I didn't receive it, I have not made claims like this before etc..etc.." All for £8.50 + P&P., I think they just expect me to give up.

[SelectSpecs company representative]

Apologies, we do not visit this forum every day and on occasion we miss comments due to the post not being on the first page.

We sent you a non delivery form as standard procedure as we need to make a claim with the postal service to reimburse the value of the order as non delivery was their fault.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

Still no reply from the "company representative" on this forum. Where are you now...? Have e-mailed the customer (no)services again and now have been given a form to complete and post back to confirm "non-delivery". I have to sign to say "blah blah , will co-operate with the carrier if they need to check I didn't receive it, I have not made claims like this before etc..etc.." All for £8.50 + P&P., I think they just expect me to give up.

[babyshoes]

Well, I ordered 2 pairs a few weeks ago, they both arrived today and are as expected. The frame quality is not fantastic, but adequate, the lenses are correct and I can see fine.

From what I can tell, there is a risk of problems when ordering from them, but at £13.50 for two pairs, I think it is worth a risk - obviously not a risk that you should take if that is a lot of money for you to lose.

I am actually quite chuffed with the 'Savannah Aloe' ones - I think they are quite funky and suit me, whereas the ones my partner preferred, the 'Savannah Kariba' ones are lighter and more comfortable, but don't really suit me as well. Still, both ok vision wise, and the less flattering ones will go as spares in the car.

[Bigcammy]

I'm very glad that I paid for my glasses through Paypal, as I was able to get a refund after waiting for 7 weeks with no delivery. When I did get replies from their Customer Service I was fobbed off with the 5 week waiting period. Then given another date to expect delivery and then "We're confident these glasses will arrive by 12th September" All the while the clock was ticking on my Paypal dispute. At least they did refund me in the end though.

[lornalorna01]

I ordered a pair which took weeks/months to arrive and I cant see a thing out of them. Lesson learnt. I would have been far more content giving the money to charity that I have wasted on these glasses.

[SelectSpecs company representative]

I ordered a pair which took weeks/months to arrive and I cant see a thing out of them. Lesson learnt. I would have been far more content giving the money to charity that I have wasted on these glasses.

Hi Lorna,

Have you contacted us regarding your order? If there is a mistake with the lenses that is our fault then we will rectify the problem for you FOC. However, it may be that you have entered your prescription wrong or not entered a correct PD - this is a common reason for why some customers are unable to see properly through their new glasses.

Feel free to PM me or contact us through our website here: http://www.selectspecs.com/information/

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

[SelectSpecs company representative]

When I did get replies from their Customer Service I was fobbed off with the 5 week waiting period

Thanks for the message. Just to clarify the 5 week (25 days) waiting period is quite common across internet retailers - see someone like Play.com for example. Royal Mail will not allow us to report a parcel missing until after a certain amount of time and given that the packages for these items are sent from Hong Kong we have to allow a little time for the parcels to arrive in the UK in addition to the RM guidelines. The majority of orders usually arrive within this 25 day time frame anyway.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

[MrGumby]

Royal Mail will not allow us to report a parcel missing until after a certain amount of time.

That's true, of course, but it isn't relevant to your customer responsibilities. Dealing with customer complaints of non-delivery and claiming compensation from the PO are unrelated - the first should not be dependent on the second.

If I buy something from Amazon and it doesn't show up within a few days of despatch, they send another or refund me, then worry about getting the original package back from their carrier.

[omracing]

I order two pairs of glasses at the end of August and I'm still waiting for them. I have followed this up and was given the 25 days response, which has now expired. I have contacted them again and wait for their reply. :mad:

[MrGumby]

I order two pairs of glasses at the end of August and I'm still waiting for them. I have followed this up and was given the 25 days response, which has now expired. I have contacted them again and wait for their reply. :mad:
Don't be fobbed off. The 25 days problem is theirs, not yours. They are under contract to supply your specs.

[SelectSpecs company representative]

I order two pairs of glasses at the end of August and I'm still waiting for them. I have followed this up and was given the 25 days response, which has now expired. I have contacted them again and wait for their reply. :mad:

Hi,

Do you have an order number for this so we can check this for you?

MrGumby - thanks for your comments, it's nice to see we're being compared to Amazon! :) Please bear in mind Amazon have different delivery policies to us and do not sell tailor made items like we do, they also have far more financial clout than us. If we send items from our UK office (for designer brand items) to UK addresses all orders normally arrive within 3 days which is the same as Amazon - HK orders take a little longer, usually around 10 days.

We have also recently upgraded our shipping process, this will hopefully resolve any delivery problems that may have occurred for some customers - we're closely monitoring this at the moment.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

[MrGumby]

Hi,
Please bear in mind Amazon have different delivery policies to us and do not sell tailor made items like we do, they also have far more financial clout than us. If we send items from our UK office (for designer brand items) to UK addresses all orders normally arrive within 3 days which is the same as Amazon - HK orders take a little longer, usually around 10 days.
Fair comment, and I accept your point about tailor-made goods, but perhaps your policies are faulty. I, as an Amazon trader, am probably considerably smaller than SelectSpecs, but when a customer complained after a week that his order had not arrived, I refunded immediately and then took it up with the PO, despite being a little suspicious (Japanese email address with a postal address in Ireland).

[nickysel]

..........so I don't understand company rep's comments re UK postage.

That said, I couldn't be happier with the service - I ordered 2 prs for £13-50 after seeing the deal on MSE. They took about 2-3 weeks to arrive, which I didn't have a problem with (my high st opticians take 7 days). Both pairs are brilliant - well made, fit great, ultra-stylish. Just received an email from them offering the same deal over a bigger range of frames, so have ordered another 2 pairs, again for £13.50....I could pay that for generic ready readers!

£27 for 4 great pairs of prescription specs - What's not to love??:T:T:T

[MrGumby]

Sounds good. I think I'll take a risk and order some - not much to lose - and post an update in due course!

[Cuidadosa]

Dear SelectSpecs representative,

I've got today my pair of glasses, but they are not the ones that I ordered?:confused:

I ordered a Marula frame and got what it seems to be a Mukwa frame.

Order Number: 101128 (Saturday, 19th September 2009)

I don't even know if it's the right prescription?

They were shipped on the 26th September, so no problems with waiting times .
Ship date: 26 SEP 2009
1, ss5.12 Savannah, Marula, 1; Marula, Black Frame / Black &
Red Arms with Pattern, 135/18/45 Full rim

Who should I contact?

Thanks a lot.

[SelectSpecs company representative]

Cuidadosa,

This is unusual but it may be that a mistake occurred our end during packing. I've passed this on to our support team and they will contact you shortly.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

[SelectSpecs company representative]

Hi Cuidadosa - I have just sent you a PM regarding your order.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

[omracing]

Hi,

Do you have an order number for this so we can check this for you?

MrGumby - thanks for your comments, it's nice to see we're being compared to Amazon! :) Please bear in mind Amazon have different delivery policies to us and do not sell tailor made items like we do, they also have far more financial clout than us. If we send items from our UK office (for designer brand items) to UK addresses all orders normally arrive within 3 days which is the same as Amazon - HK orders take a little longer, usually around 10 days.

We have also recently upgraded our shipping process, this will hopefully resolve any delivery problems that may have occurred for some customers - we're closely monitoring this at the moment.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

I have filled in the non delivery document that was e-mailed to me and I have faxed it back to SelectSpecs. I also sent it back to the PO Box address and I await your reply.

[honeyD]

Hi,

HK orders take a little longer, usually around 10 days.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

Is this 10 days or 10 working days?
I have ordered from Selectspecs and am awaiting my order to say its shipped as it is coming from Hong Kong yet still doesnt say its been shipped. The "part entered glazing" info says 2-4 days and it has been over that.
If I knew they were coming from HK I probably would have paid a bit more to get them from somewhere else as I didnt think I would be waiting too long.
Will keep waiting obviously, just a bit annoying for me because my glasses that I already have are no good for my eyes anymore so having to strain and squint at everything. :(

[DaveBarnes]

Hi. Still waiting for my new specs after report saying they had been sent out from Hong Kong on 20th October 2009. Emailed customer service and got a reply back that 15-25 working days was standard!?

Anyone else still waiting? Read loads of stuff on here and elsewhere saying people not received, or fobbed off, or can't get money back.:confused:

Cheers Dave Barnes

[stickybun9]

Hi Dave,

I ordered two pairs of specs on 14th October, had the invoice on 21st Oct for both pairs and advised one pair was shipped on 21st and the other pair was shipped on the 23rd. Strangely, I have received the pair that was shipped on the 23rd but not the pair shipped two days earlier.

I have to say I am really pleased with the pair received, excellent for £5. I am tempted to order some more as I am always leaving my glasses around but will wait to see if the other pair turns up first. As you say, I doubt they will do anything yet, so I willl wait until the 25 days are up.

[SelectSpecs company representative]

Hi. Still waiting for my new specs after report saying they had been sent out from Hong Kong on 20th October 2009. Emailed customer service and got a reply back that 15-25 working days was standard!?

Anyone else still waiting? Read loads of stuff on here and elsewhere saying people not received, or fobbed off, or can't get money back.:confused:

Cheers Dave Barnes

Hi Dave,

As stated before we have to allow a reasonable amount of time for items to arrive as the vast majority of delayed items normally arrive within 25 days (sometimes just after this period when we have already issued a replacement), to make matters worse at the moment the postal strikes from the past few weeks may have affected some deliveries.

We do anticipate that your order should be with you shortly - if it doesn't arrive within 25 days then please do let us know.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

[SelectSpecs company representative]

Hi Dave,

I ordered two pairs of specs on 14th October, had the invoice on 21st Oct for both pairs and advised one pair was shipped on 21st and the other pair was shipped on the 23rd. Strangely, I have received the pair that was shipped on the 23rd but not the pair shipped two days earlier.

I have to say I am really pleased with the pair received, excellent for £5. I am tempted to order some more as I am always leaving my glasses around but will wait to see if the other pair turns up first. As you say, I doubt they will do anything yet, so I willl wait until the 25 days are up.

Hi Stickybun,

Thanks for your comments, we're glad you are happy with the first part of your order. Please note that these orders are likely to have dispatched from 2 separate addresses as we're in the process of setting up a further lab in Hong Kong to cope with the additional (and future) demand for our Super Cheap Glasses.

Hopefully the rest of your order will arrive shortly. Please keep us informed. :)

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

[swallowbride]

I ordered a pair just to try out.
Ordered on 26-08-09, Came today 10-11-09..
I will defo be buying from these again. Well worth the wait...
Can keep my expsive ones for going out now..

LOVES A BARGAIN!!!

[swallowbride]

*expensive*

[DaveBarnes]

Hi. I take it all back. Specs arrived this morning and I have to say very impressed with them baring in mind they cost £5 and £3.50 postage. I believe the same specification would have cost £60-£80 on the High Street were I had my original eye test. High Street Opticians watch out!!

Thanks selectspecs.com although perhaps you should reiterate that delivery may take longer than expected. :T

Kind Regards,

Dave Barnes.

[avifec]

I ordered mine on the 2nd October and I'm still waiting. I havn't given up hope yet but they should definately give more realistic delivery times on their web site.

[omracing]

I have now received one pair of my replacement glasses but they are wrong. They were ordered with a tint but these arrived with normal lenses. :confused:

As for my other glasses these were shipped a week earlier but have still not arrived.

[cjmessa80]

:mad:[

Hi, if someone from SelectSpecs could answer, why my mum's order has taken so long to arrive? She placed an order on the 10 June 2009, apparently it should have not taken more than 3 months and to this date she has not even received an apology. She's very upset and I'm just so angry, as I really think this is a cleaver way to scam people out of their well earned money! The worst thing is I told her to order from selectspecs instead of visiting a well known optitians instead, at least there you have the benefit of the doubt that you will receive you well needed GLASSES! I really trusted the selecspecs site and had read about how pleased many people were regarding the price and quality of the glasses. My mum has written to Selectspecs on numerous occasions and all she receives back an email stating “ your order is being progressed”, and one cheeky letter stating that they have written to her stating that " The order is being progressed". All I can say is DO NOT USE THEM, they don't even have a telephone number where you can speak to someone direct, their excuse is to apparently cut costs, yeah right! I really feel this company is very untrustworthy, don't give your money away! I’m sure there are more people in my mums same position, do not be fooled by the professional looking website and so called account they make you open.
I totally agree with deckard3001, I don't beleive in buying specs online.

[SelectSpecs company representative]

Hi cjmessa80,

I'm sorry to hear this. Can you provide me with an order number so I can check this order for you - There's probably a good reason why you haven't received this yet.

As stated before, we don't have a contact number otherwise our prices would not be as low as they are.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

[SelectSpecs company representative]

I have now received one pair of my replacement glasses but they are wrong. They were ordered with a tint but these arrived with normal lenses. :confused:

As for my other glasses these were shipped a week earlier but have still not arrived.

Hi omracing,

Did you contact us about this issue? If you can give me an order number I can look into this problem. Regarding the shipping of the other glasses, these were likely shipped from one of our other labs in Hong Kong so items often arrive at different times.

Please also note that we have been notified that some shipments from Hong Kong have been delayed, this is due to the Christmas rush according to our shippers. This is affecting other companies as well as ourselves.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com

[geranium72]

I ordered 2 pairs of the £5 glasses with the insured delivery so total £17.50. The website was quickly updated at each stage and I ordered the 30 Oct and they were shipped on the 7th November. Both arrived together on the 17th November

Great fit, good vision ( I have a -1.75 prescription with astigmatism in my right eye), nice frames

Very impressed and will order again

[cjmessa80]

Hi cjmessa80,

I'm sorry to hear this. Can you provide me with an order number so I can check this order for you - There's probably a good reason why you haven't received this yet.

As stated before, we don't have a contact number otherwise our prices would not be as low as they are.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com
Hi, thank you for quick response. My mothers order number is 88593 this was done on the 10th June 2009.

[stickybun9]

Hoorah! My glasses have arrived and I'm very pleased with them. I'd ordered two pairs, one arrived fairly quickly but these, which had apparently been dispatched first, seemed to be lost. But today I got home to find them on my doorstep.

I'm pleased with them too, these were a semi rimless pair for £8 - they fit well and seem to be just as good as my prescription pair from Boots.

So to all those who are still waiting for their glasses, don't give up hope. It's been nearly a month since ordering but these were well worth the wait and I shall be ordering some more.

Perhaps Select Specs should manage customer's expectations a little better by warning that delivery could be a month or more.

[SelectSpecs company representative]

Hi, thank you for quick response. My mothers order number is 88593 this was done on the 10th June 2009.

Hi cjmessa80,

I have looked in to this for you and can see our email conversation with you. We have received several emails from you and we have replied to all your messages but not had a response from yourself. We think the problem could be that our replies are being captured in your junk / spam folders hence the reason why you think you are not getting a response from us - When customers contact us we advise them to ensure our email address is on you 'safe' list so this will not happen in future.

The reason why your order is on hold is that we asked you to confirm the item you ordered (this Mimas frame (http://www.selectspecs.com/Glasses/Mimas/MD8012/ss244.07.html) option 1 - Gunmetal) is correct after the error you suggested in your email to us, but we didn't receive confirmation due to the email problem.

Can you confirm this is correct? if so we can go ahead with this if you still want to place the order or refund your money. I have sent this to your email address also - please check this.

Sorry for any confusion.

Kind regards,
SelectSpecs.com