Buying Glasses Advice

lipidicman

You are probably short-sighted. So reading is easy, but your distance vision is blurred!

I have astigmatism - which means you need correction at all distances!

Edinburghlass_2

lipidicman, I divide the cost of my glasses by 365, last ones worked out at approx 60p per day for something that goes on first thing in the morning and comes off last thing at night

I was lucky with this last pair as the local optician was celebrating two years of being in business with a third off but it would still have been worth a £1 a day for me to have the glasses that I liked.

lipidicman

Cool lets try. My last pair were £140 and they lasted 7.5 years

13000p/(365*7.5) = 4.8p

5p a day - bargain!

However the new ones were £250, and I doubt they will last that long. I did leave it a long time last time, I was lucky though - basically my prescription in each eye hadnt changed - I just needed some Prism put in for binocular vision (how your eyes work together)

As I say, I dont even look at the price tag when it comes to glasses - and I am normally so price sensitive

Savvy_Sue

I think the people with funny eyes - astigmatism etc - usually know they have this problem, and the optician should explain the prescription as well. But there are those of us who are just getting old, or our arms are not as long as they used to be, or SOMETHING. And my optician agrees with my assessment - I go every couple of years, as recommended, and so do all the family. Middle son's been warned he mustn't try to drive without glasses but he's fine until then!

Like the OP, all I need is a little bit of magnification if the light's not good or the instructions are printed in miniscule writing or I'm trying to thread a needle (although even with glasses on I usually have to use one of those threader things!) In fact I have a magnifying glass in the kitchen ready for those annoying packets where the instructions are smaller than the small print in an HP agreement, because that's quicker than finding one of my pairs of glasses and putting them on.

Because at £1 per pair - or even up to £5 a pair - I reckon I can afford to have a pair of glasses wherever I'm likely to need them. Next to the bed, in my handbag, and in the dining room. They don't seem to last that long, because I seem to wreck the arms. But at that price - who cares?

If I wore glasses all the time I'd be prepared to spend more on them. In fact I persuaded my OH out of NHS hornrimmed glasses and into flattering styles not long after we married. For now, I'd rather have 'em cheap and where I need them, because if I've to go looking for a pair I'd probably rather not bother reading whatever it was I wanted them for!

littlemissmoney

Hi

I need some advice about paying to have the lenses thinned when buying glasses. Lots of opticians have great offers on like "2 for £99" but they always include standard lenses. If you want the thin lenses you have to paying about £80 per pair. So the offer actually costs £260 :cool:

My questions is, how much difference does having the lenses thinned actually make?? My prescription is -4.00. I've paid to have them thinned since forever, so I don't know what "thick" lenses look like. How much difference does it make?? I don't want to pay hundreds of pounds, but I also don't want to end up with 2 pairs of glasses that I won't wear because I'm self conscious of the lenses. :rolleyes:

Does anyone work in an opticians and able to give me any guidance?? Does anyone have my prescription or worse with standard lenses and can tell me how thick the lenses are?

Just to give you an idea of the type of glasses I'm going for (I can't find the ones I actually want online, but these are similar to give you an idea):

http://www.visionexpress.com/glasses/framefinder/Emporio_Armani/Female/all
(second down on the left)

And prescription sunglasses like these:
http://www.visionexpresssunglasses.com/product_EA9350.shtml

Thanks in advance :A

P.S. I know you can get glasses much cheaper online, but I want to try them on as I'm fussy

loobylee

My px is the same as yours and my lenses are standard specsavers and are about 6mm thick at the edges.

CarolnMalky

ASDA are doing a great offer of two frames and lenses for £160. They lenses are thin and coated etc...was the best deal I could find when I was hunting for new frames.

melancholly

i always get my glasses at costco. i'm about -9 now in each eye so i have to get the thin lenses (even at the thinest i can get, with small frames, they're 7mm at the edge). thinner lenses for me are well into 3 figures so i completely understand the horror at the cost!

having been in recently, they had a chart showing the actual width at various prescriptions (although only up to a -6!). it seems to be about 30/35% thinnner (i'm assuming plastic lenses as glass ones get quite heavy). i'd recommend looking at them to make your decision.

i would guess that your glasses with standard lenses would be similar to mine with thinner lenses, or a bit thinner. it's not perfect, but with small frames certainly not a problem. i tried to look at the frames in hte link but it won't work for me.

planetpops

if you scroll down to May 6th of this blog: http://www.ciliaryblue.com/spectacle_lenses/

You will link to some pics of comparisons between different lens indexes. I have been looking for 1.67 lenses for reglazing and the best prices appear to be from http://www.specs-by-post.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=46&idproduct=1161 , http://www.ciliaryblue.com/pricelist.html and http://www.vitaoptical.co.uk/reglaze-glasses-53.html. I have not used any of them so any recommendations would be appreciated. I'm sending some to specs by post in the next fortnight if i dont here anything! £45 for 1.67 index is £100 cheaper than 4 high st opticians that asked for 1.6 index lenses

regards,

pops

planetpops

yes, but there is a reglaze fee so the cost will be at least £60.

regards,

pops