Buying glasses on line.

loudcloud

I, like I guess many others, have just read Martins article regarding buying glasses online.

I work for a large High Street optician. While I agree totally with Martin and the savings that can be had online, I feel that I must voice some concerns with using such services.

Firstly, “Pupiliary Distance” or PD. Using a mirror to take this measurement is a good idea. The problem arises when you have a mid to high prescription.

When you Sphere, or sph for short, is greater than 2.50 then having this measurement out by more than 1.0 of a millimeter can create something called prism. This can cause dizziness, headaches and sickness, as well as poor vision.

With the PD the higher the prescription the more accurate it needs to be.

Secondly, when you have a prescription of 4.00 or more you also need to know your pupil height. This is the distance from the lowest point of the frame to the center of the pupil. This measurement can only be taken when the person is wearing the frame.

If this measurement is out you might have similar problems to above.

For these reasons I would be very careful when using such services if you have a high prescription. A small amount of prism can greatly affect your vision.


Thirdly, on the subject of Varifocals and Bifocals. I would have to say stick to your optician. These lenses need a lot of measurements. These measurements require the customer to ware the frame that they have chosen so that the exact position of the pupil can be taken in relation to the lowest point on the frame.

Lastly, the frame it’s self. Yes it looks good on the screen. But how do you know it fits?? What with bridge do you need so that the lenses sit ether side of your nose not in front of it? How wide is your head? How far back are your ears? These are all things that your High Street optician will be asking and looking at.

Feel free to contact me with your questions or opinions to anything I have posted here.

:xmassign:

JasonLVC

They are all valid statements you have made here.

I've got a fairly weak prescription and have used foreign retailers for the last three years. Still get my prescription checked each year in local opticians - so for now at least, no worse vision.

My Dad uses varifocals and was exploring the foreign brands option (his current specs cost £250 each time - he likes very thin lenses). But I put him off by saying that the higher the prescription the more suspect it would become to buy away from an local optician.

However, you have to admit a problem in UK glass prices. The big opticians in this country source their frames from China, etc. Lenses probably come from there too. Opticians in UK then grind and fit lenses, pay for expensive stores and charge the customer more.

eg. My last pair of UK specs were from VisionExpress. £110 for plain semi rimless, not designer. (another £40 for tints, another £30 for coatings, couldn't afford this). A lens broke after about a month due to being fitted too tightly. Replaced it no problem. I dropped them about a month after that and chipped one lens in the corner. VisionExpress quoted me £55 to replace it!. One lens!!.

Used Googles4U (indian), got a 'fake' pair of semi-rimless Bvlgari, all the coatings and light reactive tints with the thinest lenses I have ever seen......for £13.00 including postage. Used my PD from last checkup and adjusted the arms myself. No headaches, perfect prescription, etc.

£13.00!

Used Opticals4less (US), got a pair of rimless glasses, all coatings (but not tints - but free option) for £18.50, got a pair of sunglasses thrown in for £10.00

I think your advice is very sound and I agree whole heartedly with your cautions. Your eyes are not to be sacrificed for a few quid. But until the UK shops stop charging these silly amounts, people will risk their eyes for a saving.

loudcloud

got to aggree £40.00 for a tint!!!!!!!!!! the chain i work for charge £12.00 for a fixed tint!!

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I have a very high prescription with slight astigmatism, is it recommended to order high prescription specs online??? I would also be looking to have the lenses thinned down and varies coatings put on.

loudcloud

if you add your Sph and Cly numbers from your prescription together and thay are = to or greater that 4.00 I would say dont buy online. The risk of prism is quite high and could give you some problems as i have already posted.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

yes it's much higher than that, but the cost of new glasses is astonomical too.

rockykabir

I have a prescription as follows:

Right: -4.25 (SPH), -0.50 (CYL), 180 (AXIS)
Left: -4.00 (SPH), -0.50 (CYL), 160 (AXIS)

What are your thoughts....should I try online? Anyone with a similar prescription try the same?

rockykabir

fudge that....I ended up just buying from Vision Express...

It's a defeatist attitude but I don't want to risk my eyesight with all this business tbh. Maybe next time eh?

abomb1969

I have 2 pairs of goggles4u's and my prescription is -8.00 your eyes adjust to any variances ;-) in manufacture, to be honest both are perfect for me.

trucker_4

In answer to all the above, I found this article whilst hunting for cheap online specs over the last couple of days.

http://www.specsdot.com/usefullinks.php

I've just posted elsewhere on the forum, the same link, as I genuinely think that at least this site are trying to be sensible about what is and is not feasible in the market of online prescription specs.

I was happy to buy a pair from them as they seem very genuine and to be honest, my prescription is straightforward and minimal.

I think that loudclouds comments earlier in the thread pretty much echo what can be read in the article I've linked to. Hope its of some help