Glasses Buying Cost Cutting Plan Article Discussion Area

mnbvcxz

I went into tescos and had my free eye test. Then I pulled out a printout of their online order page and asked what do I put in the PD box? And they said Oh and happily measured it for me and told me what to do so now I'm all set. Though I did actually order my glasses from tescos for £10.

buglawton

So they left that box blank until you asked? Interesting.

Steve_xx

buglawton wrote: »

So they left that box blank until you asked? Interesting.

They are not obliged to supply the PD as a part of the prescription.

mnbvcxz

buglawton wrote: »

So they left that box blank until you asked? Interesting.

Sorry to be unclear. There is not box on the prescription at tesco's. But they also sell glasses online as well as in the store. So I took a printout of the online order form and asked what to put in the bit for PD value.

I imagine if I had bought glasses in the store they would have measured my pd value then.

However as tesco's eye tests are free and as they sell by mail order I don't see why you could not just go into one of their opticians and ask them to quickly measure your pd value so you can order from their mail order site. I would make no sense otherwise.

(In my case I ordered online from tesco's as I wanted them sent to a different store as I was elsewhere in the country for the following month)

Steve_xx

mnbvcxz wrote: »

Sorry to be unclear. There is not box on the prescription at tesco's. But they also sell glasses online as well as in the store. So I took a printout of the online order form and asked what to put in the bit for PD value.

I imagine if I had bought glasses in the store they would have measured my pd value then.

However as tesco's eye tests are free and as they sell by mail order I don't see why you could not just go into one of their opticians and ask them to quickly measure your pd value so you can order from their mail order site. I would make no sense otherwise.

(In my case I ordered online from tesco's as I wanted them sent to a different store as I was elsewhere in the country for the following month)

The optician is not obliged to provide you with the PD measurement on your prescription. The provision of the PD measurement is a chargeable extra; though most opticians will provide it for free if asked to.

buglawton

Perhaps the online merchants should be offering a DIY PD measurement kit in advance of taking your order?

Patr100

buglawton wrote: »

Perhaps the online merchants should be offering a DIY PD measurement kit in advance of taking your order?

Some advise on this and show you how to measure your own or just accept the average measurement when you order, which for me , for example seemed to match what I measured. It hardly seems rocket science .

No doubt the high st opticians will want to continue to mystify the process.

Steve_xx

Patr100 wrote: »

Some advise on this and show you how to measure your own or just accept the average measurement when you order, which for me , for example seemed to match what I measured. It hardly seems rocket science .

No doubt the high st opticians will want to continue to mystify the process.

There is no attempt by high street opticians to mystify the process. It is not supplied as part of the prescription because there is no mandatory requirement to provide it. However, and to reiterate that which I have already stated, most opticians will provide the PD free of charge if they are asked. But, they are not obliged to do so.

I appreciate that the requirement is to obtain spectacles at the lowest possible cost and there are many satisfied customers of the online providers. However, this is not a one-size fits all situation and some people require complex fitting of their spectacles and this requires the presence of a suitably qualified individual. You can't have that for nowt I'm afraid.

jase1

Is there any evidence at all that the chains are measuring anything more than PD? I certainly wasn't at Tesco -- and it must be said that I've had a hell of a time with my new glasses due to two compounded mistakes by optical chains.

1) Vision Express measured my left-eye axis at 55 degrees. They dispensed glasses at 72 degrees. My eye adapted to this incorrect dispensing, and my new prescription, verified at 45 degrees now, was not appreciated by my left eye!

2) Tesco did not adjust the new glasses correctly, despite being given two attempts to do so. As a result, the glasses as they sit on my face were ten degrees off perpendicular, and I was left to find this out for myself.

The result of this was significant discomfort over a couple of weeks.

It must be said that these errors have given me far more discomfort than a subsequent pair of on-lines that I bought where the PD was 1mm out from the correct setting (I only found this out after purchase). A slight (very slight) tugging sensation on the eyes which subsided after an hour or so, and my eyes now accept either setting.

The chains lose my vote. I will be going to an independent next time -- and then ordering extra pairs online once I know everything is right.

(I should point out that my prescription is moderate... -5.25 in one eye -5.75 in the other with relatively nominal astigmatism of -.75 and -.5).

zurpher

Alonso14 wrote: »

Ive just ordered a pair of Armani glasses with Polycarbonate lenses (Essilor Airwear) and Crizal Alize A/R coating from www.coolframes.com. Came to $293 delivered (~£148). Ill post back when I receive them...

I have ordered glasses with specs-by-post. A no-name frame for £15 with Essilor (1.59) Airwear Crizal Forte coating for £40. They have promised my a very quick 3 day turnaround. This is much faster than when ordering cheap glasses with SelectSpecs.com as they are manufactured and shipped from Hong Kong.

I was contemplating to buy designer frames from Eyewear-Warehouse at eBay and then to send them for glazing to ciliaryblue but then I have decided that I would want my new glasses asap.

Essilor praises their Crizal Forte coating as top notch. No surprise here. I wonder if their is an independent website that compares the quality of different lenses for spectacles. My impression is that £40 is a good price but then there is also a lack of market transparency. The ones offered at eyebuddy are certainly much more expensive. Does anyone know which lenses are used by ciliaryblue?

sparkythe_fish wrote: »

Exactly right... reflections from lights behind you are often the biggest problem, hence why an AR coating is applied to both sides of the lens.

I don't think that it is standard to apply anti-reflection coating on both sides. Why would Essilor for example advertise such a feature as a USP for their Crizal Sun coating?