Glasses Buying Cost Cutting Plan Article Discussion Area

I found the article a bit miseleading. I used to work for a small opticians in the south. As I no longer work there, I feel I am not biased to portray an opinion based on working there. (If that makes sense)

I worked as a Dispensing Optician in training, I was learning and doing everything I needed to know to become a qualified D.O. I was the girl who tested PD, sorted out NHS and private sight test forms, advised on spectacle frames and lenses, and fitted the glasses. It was a fantastic job and I loved every minute. I am not the most knowledgable of the optically trained people who have posted on this thread, but I hope that I can get my point across wihtout sounding like I am trying to ward you off buying off the internet.

Now, I don't approve of £300 for a pair of specs. That is nigh on theft in my opinion. I know how much the frames REALLY cost, and the lenses. We had to rip off invoice totals when the specs came back for checking, so the customer didn't find out how much they were.

I truly hated that part of the job. The sale. Our branch was instructed only to advise, and not enforce sales techniques though. If someone wanted +6.00 lenses in £30 frames without any types of glazes or treatments, we were happy for the patient to have it. It generates a much more happy customer base, than having a conveyor belt with unfeeling staff and being goaded into lens treatments you don't want.

You can ALWAYS go into an opticians and try on their frames, and get advice on which ones suit you, there should be no problem with you doing so. You could even ask them to see if they fitted, and ask about whether a frame is suitable for varifocals or bifocals. They should not charge you for checking such a thing, we never did, and our profit margins were fine and we all got paid at the end of the month. The only charge we had was for private sight tests and contact lens tests (about £25)

Each frame has a combination of letters and numbers on the inside of the arm. See here on the right arm If you note it down you could search for a particular frame you like, by that code. It should make it easier to buy the frame you like online. Also if anyone came into our branch and then told us they were going elsewhere, we often offered them vouchers for 25-50% off the total cost of specs (inc lenses). Its always worth saying that you are shopping around for a good deal, and letting them know if there is a better deal elsewhere.

Also, most opticians will help fit and/or repair your glasses even if you didn't buy them there, for a small fee (anything from £2.50 - £7.50) because it gives a better impression than if they didn't.

You can also bring your own frames in and have lenses fitted. The cheaper lenses are just as good as the expensive ones.

My view is this, get your sight test done in an opticians, have a look around in various opticians at frames if you need them, take note of the codes on the frames you like, look online for those frames, get a quote from local opticians for lens prices, and see what's available. A lot of online lens retailers don't have the right kind of customer support that local opticians have.

If you only need glasses for reading, and have no cyl, axis or prism, then you can always buy ready readers. They can be bought from places like pharmacies, and range from +1.00 - +5.00 in some places. I think some Sainsbury's do them too. They price at about £3 - £10 and its always handy to have a spare pair of readers