Great Cheap Glasses Hunt

paws17

Before you buy that natty pair of designer spex on-line you'll be needing a free eye test courtesy of those very nice people down at Dollond & Aitchison.

See P13 of the latest National Trust magazine (Autumn edition - No 106) for the voucher - plus 50% off frames when you buy their Nikon lenses to go with a frame. (https://www.danda.co.uk for nearest branch)

(P.S. Don't believe all the hype you'll get about the stunning quality of Nikon lenses, BTW. They scratch - period - and if you take issue with them, they'll just remind you that "they are made of plastic, Sir.")

cheers,
paws17 :beer:

kalico

Never ordered from them but www.myoptics.co.uk look ok. From £15.

kalico

Can anyone clarify the situation with Customs when buying specs from the USA or China etc? (or anything else for that matter, but specs may be classed differently).

I understood that 'importing' goods worth more than about £32 gives rise to duty. Also, if it is deemed that duty is payable, then many courier firms will automatically pay on your behalf and then will not release the goods until you pay them the duty.

Anyone else with experience of this?

silps

Specsavers tend to do a buy one get one free every summer. So a couple of months ago we got a pair of eye glasses and a free pair of prescription sunglasses free. They will let you have anything from the starting price for the offer upto the designer ranges. After looking and trying all the ranges we surprisingly prefered the cheaper £85 range, so two pairs for £85.

They have a digital monitor which you can take a snapshot of yourself wearing the frames and compare upto 4 different shots to see which one you like. This is great because when your trying the frames on they obviously don't have your prescription lenses so it is hard to see what you look like in a mirror. :rotfl:

Just checked their website and they are still running the offer:

Two for One
Our Two for One offer is available on glasses from our £75, £85 or £99 ranges and now includes PENTAX lenses at no extra cost. You can either choose two matching pairs or different styles, as long as they are both from the same price range. Your free second pair will be fitted with the same PENTAX single vision, bifocal or varifocal lenses as your first pair, to the same prescription. Extra options are available for both pairs at an additional

Mary_Fisher

I want a cheap source of x2 and x3 lenses, preferably round. NOTprescription lenses, just magnifying, with no frames.

Mary

AmyFlo

I wear glasses and contact lenses. Glasses for daytime & work and lenses for evenings out and when I am doing sports (or if it is raining and I am sick of wiping my glasses!)
Because I get Specsavers lenses and pay on Direct Debit I get half price on some of thier glasses range (I think it has to be from the £70 or above range though). So far they are the cheapest glasses that I have found.

Matilda

I've always got new glasses when passing through Bangkok, with great results. There are lots of opticians on Petchburi Road - pick the frames you want and bargain - you ought to be able to get about 25-35% off the asking price. I have always paid about £40-50 for designer frames with scratch-resistant and anti-glare coatings. It usually takes about a day.

There is also a shopping centre (mall) about a 10-minute taxi ride from the airport - if you are staying at an airport hotel the front desk will know. I got glasses made there a year ago in an hour.

I'm told Beijing is also good but have never tried it.

sparkles_2

I am currently looking to buy some new glasses. My current ones are zeiss lenses and cost £400.00.
I really cannot afford to pay that again.
I was wondering if anyone knows if I can get them cheaper online anywhere?
Also wondering if pentax and hoya lense can have the same thinness as zeiss?
Thanks

RufusA

Regarding Customs (VAT and Import Duty), for a definitive answer you need to contact your local Customs and Excise office for advice.

However generally speaking spectacles (either prescription or sunglasses) have a 2.9% duty and 17.5% VAT rate. EXCEPT that prescription glasses are a little more complex.

When buying glasses in the UK there are 2 elements which make up the price, the first is the cost of the raw materials (frame, lens material etc.) plus profit on them, the second is the skill of the optician to assemble them and ensure they are correct for your prescription the "dispensing element" + profit. In the UK it could be that 70% of the cost is dispensing and only 30% is materials. Look at a VAT receipt from a highstreet purchase for an idea of breakdown.

Dispensing is VAT exempt! So for a £100 purchase of glasses in the UK you would only pay say 17.5% on just £30 of that.

For imported spectacles I have no idea how C&E would determine the dispensing element and apportion VAT. I strongly suspect that on even £70 spectacles taking in to account dispensing there would be insufficient VAT or Duty to make it worth their while to collect.

In my experience I have yet to be charged either Import Duty or VAT on mail order glasses. Even if you were hit in full with these, plus a handling fee from the Royal Mail IMHO it would still be a substantial saving on the UK highstreet prices.

YMMV - Rufus.

pre9pms

Can i second the suggestion of www.goggles4u.com.

I've got my contacts from specsavers for the last 8 years. In that time ive spent £100's and £100's on glasses i hardly ever wear. My last pair cost me £120 for the frames + lenses, £40 to "thin" the lens cos i'm v. short sighted, and £25 for a non glare coating.

I paid £14 for a pair of rimless standard glasses from goggles4u. They are very, very well made, can see perfectly (obviously!), and the lenses are thinner than any i've ever had from specsavers. To the point that i'm wearing my contacts less and less.

Took 14 days to arrive, but worth it. Have now ordered new pairs for the whole family! I would recommend them very highly.