Glasses Buying Cost Cutting Plan Article Discussion Area

sandy2_2

buglawton wrote: »

If anyone has ever been happy with their first pair of varifocals, please do announce yourself!

My optician is in England and I live in Spain, but i go to UK for my private eye test.My usual prescription was for mono vision ie one eye adjusted for distance and the other for reading, my optician was always trying to persuade me to varifocals. Varifocals are horrenously expensive in UK. Last year I decided to try them, but i bought from Zenni optical on line. I know a lot of people don´t agree with buying varifocals on line, but I thought I´d try after all they were only about
80pounds, and they´ve been brilliant
Sandy in Spain

Steve_xx

sandy2 wrote: »

My optician is in England and I live in Spain, but i go to UK for my private eye test.My usual prescription was for mono vision ie one eye adjusted for distance and the other for reading, my optician was always trying to persuade me to varifocals. Varifocals are horrenously expensive in UK. Last year I decided to try them, but i bought from Zenni optical on line. I know a lot of people don´t agree with buying varifocals on line, but I thought I´d try after all they were only about
80pounds, and they´ve been brilliant
Sandy in Spain

One has to ask why, if you believe that varifocals are so "horrendously" expensive in the UK, that you don't get yours in Spain?

sandy2_2

Steve_xx wrote: »

One has to ask why, if you believe that varifocals are so "horrendously" expensive in the UK, that you don't get yours in Spain?

Because they are expensive here as well!!

Steve_xx

sandy2 wrote: »

Because they are expensive here as well!!

In your post you say that you paid £80 for your varifocals. Yet in the UK Specsavers will currently fit varifocal lenses to any of their £69 or above priced frames. So then, how can that be expensive compared to your £80 foreign purchase? Oh and by the way they have a two for one offer on at the moment. Therefore your £80 foreign purchase is starting to look decidedly expensive and your comment regarding the UK being an expensive domain for the provision of spectacles is actually wrong.

Bear in mind that the varifocals supplied by Specsavers will be supplied and fitted, not simply supplied. The fitting is important with a varifocal and an online supplier simply cannot measure where the start of the varifocal should commence. In other words it's guesswork and whilst it seems to have worked for you, it may not always be the case.

GRM

buglawton wrote: »

If anyone has ever been happy with their first pair of varifocals, please do announce yourself!

My wife was, bought them from a local independent optician who we've been going to for 12 years (all four of us wear glasses). She's had them about 18 months and very happy. Took a week or two to get used to them.

sandy2_2

Steve_xx wrote: »

In your post you say that you paid £80 for your varifocals. Yet in the UK Specsavers will currently fit varifocal lenses to any of their £69 or above priced frames. So then, how can that be expensive compared to your £80 foreign purchase? Oh and by the way they have a two for one offer on at the moment. Therefore your £80 foreign purchase is starting to look decidedly expensive and your comment regarding the UK being an expensive domain for the provision of spectacles is actually wrong.

Bear in mind that the varifocals supplied by Specsavers will be supplied and fitted, not simply supplied. The fitting is important with a varifocal and an online supplier simply cannot measure where the start of the varifocal should commence. In other words it's guesswork and whilst it seems to have worked for you, it may not always be the case.

I think 80 pounds including frames for varifocals WAS a good buy. I was happy with them, but as i said before not everyone agrees with buying varifocals over the internet. But I didn´t mind risking 80pounds.

Steve_xx

sandy2 wrote: »

I think 80 pounds including frames for varifocals WAS a good buy. I was happy with them, but as i said before not everyone agrees with buying varifocals over the internet. But I didn´t mind risking 80pounds.

Yes I can see that you are happy with your £80 purchase and this is good.

However, you did say that varifocals were "horrendously" expensive in the UK and I pointed out to you that currently Specsavers will sell to you, and fit you with, two pairs of varifocals for just £69. This is markedly less than your £80 purchase from outside of the UK.

Surely you do not believe that the provision and fiting of two pairs of varifocals (in the UK) for £69 is "horrendously" expensive?

tangojulie

See if there is an optical manufacturing company near you. We have one on a local trading estate. It makes all the specs for the local opticians and it also deals directly with the public at a fraction of the cost. They are craftsmen who take a pride in their work, fit carefully, advise on suitability etc.

sandy2_2

Steve_xx wrote: »

Yes I can see that you are happy with your £80 purchase and this is good.

However, you did say that varifocals were "horrendously" expensive in the UK and I pointed out to you that currently Specsavers will sell to you, and fit you with, two pairs of varifocals for just £69. This is markedly less than your £80 purchase from outside of the UK.

Surely you do not believe that the provision and fiting of two pairs of varifocals (in the UK) for £69 is "horrendously" expensive?

I´m sure the cost of the glasses also depends upon the cost of the frame. so I suspect that in reality the cost I would pay would certainly be higher. As a matter of interest how long does it take these days to get a prescription pair made up in UK, when we were there it used to take a couple of weeks. A friend of mine has just reurened from UK with a new pair of varifocals which cost her 400pounds.

buglawton

GRM wrote: »

My wife was, bought them from a local independent optician who we've been going to for 12 years (all four of us wear glasses). She's had them about 18 months and very happy. Took a week or two to get used to them.

Yup... all the tips we keep seeing about bargain online glasses just don't apply to complex prescriptions.