Buying Glasses Advice

pavlovs_dog

littlemissmoney wrote: »

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:

im with boots opticians, and this is the dilema ive always faced, so i feel your pain!

littlemissmoney wrote: »

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??

ask yor optician to show you examples. i was shown a chart which explained at which point thinning became necessary, and i was also shown some different lenses.

i did eventually go for it this year, because i am slowly at risk of looking like i have fishbowl lenses :eek: the beauty about boots is that when you pay the extra to have your lenses thinned, you get an automatic 'upgrade' to posher pentax lenses which come with a variety of perks - anti reflection, anti scratch being the main two. i would never have paid for anti-reflection coatings before, but now ive tried it, i dont think i'll ever buy glasses without it!!! so in that sense, getting my lenses thinned, by boots at least, offers me good value for money. i dont bother with the second pair unless i need prescription sunglasses for driving.

if you dont want to pay to have your lenses thinned, the best way to disguise the thickness of the lens would be to choose plastic frames. depending on the thickness of the lens, it shouldnt be noticeable from the front, but it could well be visible if you take your glasses off that your lenses are thick. it may even be visible side on, if you are as blind as a mole!


good luck, whatever you decide.

jules85_2

I agree with a previous poster - if you choose a plastic frame the edges of the lenses can be hidden within the frame.

Also with minus (-) prescriptions, generally, the smaller the lens, the thinner the edges and vice versa for plus (+) prescriptions. Minus prescription lenses are thinner in the middle and get thicker as you move outwards, so choosing a smaller lens is more ideal.

Hope this helps!

NicolaJH_2

If you only need one pair of glasses have a look for a 25% of frames and lenses offer. I know Specsavers have done that in the past. Ask if they can do any other offers if they have 2 for 1 on. Many will as they want to make a sale. I've had prescription reaction lenses which have been standard lenses but that was -8 and a -5. They were noticeably heavier than my ordinary glasses. The -8 was pretty thick but the -5 was reasonable, about 5mm so you potentially just get the glasses you wear all the time thinned and if you want sunglasses leave those as standard. As other people have said careful choice of frames should help.

recovering_spendaholic

I need new glasses and was shocked at how much the frames were even at Costco so have been looking around the internet but I am not sure whether it is a good idea to order the whole glasses or to just get the frames and get them glazed by my opticians. Any Advice? Also, and this is incredibly shallow I know, but on that leslie Ash programme last night she had the most lovely glasses on - does anyone who saw the programme recognise them and know what make they are?

malahide

Hi Jane,

I have just bought a pair of glasses from a company called Metsuki and they are brilliant. I found a pair of Guess frames I loved in Boots and they were £140 plus the lenses so probably going to come out at around £200. I found the same frames on Metsuki and including the lenses and delivery they came to £86 - bargain!! You can go online and pick up to 3 frames which they will post out to you to try on. This costs £20 but if you order a pair then you get that off the price of the glasses so effectively it's a free service. I didn't need to do it as I knew the ones I liked but I did it anyway just to make sure and to try them on for my husband. I posted back my 3 frames on Monday and got my new glasses today which was really quick. I can recommend them 100% and the communication was excellent. You can have a look on https://www.metsuki.co.uk

Good luck!

SJ

malahide

Hi,

I have just bought a pair of glasses from an online company called Metsuki and they are brilliant.

I found a pair of Guess frames I really liked in Boots and they were costing £140 plus the lenses so probably about £200 all done. I found the same frames on www.metsuki.co.uk and including lenses they came out at £86!!! They offer a great "try before you buy" service where they can post up to 3 frames out to you to try on in the comfort of your own home and if you order after that then the service is free. If you decide against it then you will pay £20. But if like me you know the frames you want then it couldn't be easier. You fill in your perscription details online and hey presto! I sent back my frames this Monday and my glasses arrived this morning. Honestly, how easy was that??!!

Their communication was excellent with emails every day telling me the progress of my order and when I could expect them. They are very friendly and you can email them with any questions or advice. Ruth in Customer Service was particularly helpful. All in all I have a great buying experience and with a saving of £114 I am smiling :rotfl:

SJ

Running_Horse

Cool. Another user registering just to promote yet another entrant to the overcrowded online glasses market.

Sweet_Pea_5

Hello, I was just wondering about something after reading another thread way back.

Could the PD of my glasses be the reason for headaches and such? In the thread I read someone wrote 'If you have a particularly strong prescription and your pd is measured incorrectly, you will most likely get headaches, eyestrain and a feeling of being crosseyed.' this is exactly what I have but since it isn't time for another eye test I can't go and get things checked without having to pay, which I don't have the money to do. I've been to the opticians before and told them I had these symptoms and without even looking the doctor said 'no it can't be anything to do with your glasses, the perscription is fine' which seemed odd to me because I only get the headaches when wearing them!

I'm pretty sure I have quite a strong perscription (because I can't see anything clearly that's more than 1ft away from my face) but can't be 100% because I've never been given a copy. So buying glasses online would be impossible as well! The opticians is Patrick Duff.

sillyvixen

the pd is the distance between the pupils and the ocular center (clearist part of the lens) is matched to this, if this is a recent problem in long standing glasses it is time for a test. if the glasses are new you should contact the supplier. the pd measurement is part of the dispencing process and therefore if you belive this is the problem you should return to the suppliers of the glasses to have them checked first (even if your eyes were tested elsewhere) if the pd is found to be wrong they will have a duty to put that right.. if the pd is correct and you are still having probs return to the testing optom for a re test - they will check the product first.
if you got the glasses over the internet they are proberbly made up as ordered and if the pd is wrong you will have no comeback as you will have chosen or let them choose a pd for you!

sillyvixen

forgot to say - are the glasses for general use or reading - if reading are you having problems looking into the distance (ie around the room) causing the problem - if glasses are for reading then they will only help for near vision and will blurr the distance.