Buying Glasses Advice

vegankris

**dancingbutterfly** wrote: »

pattycake,

with a prescription like yours +14.00 was it? you would be entitled to a voucher towards the cost of your lenses as you have a 'complex prescription' (i think i am correct! please tell me if im not!) now this voucher should be roughly £56 towards the cost of your lenses

i will double check this at work for you!

It was me not pattycake, and it's -14. It is a complex prescription. I was told it was just over £10 a few months ago, but maybe the price difference is because I'm in Scotland and it could be that English people get the £56.

**dancingbutterfly**

apologies vegankris!

yes i was right, (for once!) in england you would get £56 towards your lenses, shame that its different in scotland.

robot1000

I went to the opticians a couple of weeks ago after my glasses seemed to be in a wrong shape. My optician said that the glasses were faulty and he was going to order a replacement from the company (who was based in Italy)

I got a call last week saying that the glasses have been discountinued and that he only has the same make in another colour which I don't want.

What I want to know is that if I go and choose another my pair what my rights of getting a similar pair for free, seeing as the pair I purchased (which cost me £80) and has gone faulty?

Any advice would be most helpful

sillyvixen

i think as the frame is now discontinued it would be fair for the optical practice to offer you another pair from the same price range (if it is only the frame that is faulty and you choose the frame in the alternative colour the lenses could be transferred into the replacement frame - if it is a different frame the lenses would have to be remade - but you choose the frame because you liked the colour) it is not unreasonable for you to have a pair made up for you that you like and pay any difference in price.

Running_Horse

Can you explain what you mean by wrong shape? Most frames can be adjusted. Did they break or get damaged? If you sat on them most opticians could refuse a replacement, but many would do it for the customer goodwill. Unfortunately, most frames these days are made in bulk in China (even Italian ones), and once that model gets discontinued you have no chance of getting a replacement.

carpy

any updates on where to go for the cheapest thin lenses as looking myself at the moment?

i'm looking to buy some new glasses + lenses.

thanks

sillyvixen

if you have a -4.00 thinner lenses will give a better finish in any metal frame - choose a metal frame you like for the first pair and have the thinner lenses - if you find a plastic frame for the bogof the thicker plastic frame will hide the edge thickness and give you 2 different looks... if it is a plastic frame you are looking for for both pairs you will get away with standard lenses in both pairs generally.. there are other factors such as width and where your eyes sit in the frame can alter the edge thickness but if your sales person knows their stuff they should be able to advise you on which frames are more suitable for your prescription.

Running_Horse

My experience of making glasses for 20 years is that -4.00 is just about the right power to get maximum benefit from thinner lenses. Much weaker and it may not be worth it. Much stronger and it is more a case of having to and still looking thick. As others have said. the smaller and rounder the frame the better.

SparkyG

Beware of being fobbed off with thicker lenses because the wrong size blank (is that the right word?:o ) was used to cut the lens.

This is my experience. I have quite a complicated prescription, with short sight in one eye, long sight in the other, and astigmatism in both:rolleyes: . I have been wearing glasses for 40 years so have been 'round the block' a few times with different opticians.

Currently I use Specsavers and am generally happy. (This is not a go at Specsavers!). A few weeks ago I chose new semi-rimless frames which were quite a bit wider than my previous ones, and I did realise that the lenses would be slightly thicker at the edges, but as my prescription is low, -1 short sight, +1.5 long sight, I was told it would be ok. My new varifocal prescription was different from the last one - not stronger, just 'different'- very complicated!:D

When I picked them up an optical assistant served me, and when I expressed my horror at how thick the lenses were, she just said that was because of the width of the frame. Well, I hated them, not only were they disgusting looking, but were so heavy they made great sore dents on my nose!:mad:

Naturally I went back and this time asked to see the dispensing optician, a lovely man who always has plenty of time to listen and put things right. He explained that the lenses had been cut from a 70mm blank and thought a 65mm one would be adequate and make them much thinner. They were redone, and boy, what a difference! I fell in love with them over again.

Now, this is not a go at optical assistants, but I really do think that if I'm paying on average £200 - £300 for a pair of glasses, I expect them to be dispensed and fitted by a dispensing optician with professional qualifications. I could easily have 'believed' the assistant who I originally saw, and would have ended uup with a pair of horrible glasses:mad:

As I said this is not a go at Specsavers as I have found from experience most opticians seem to have the same system. You get seen by whoever is available at the time.

Anyone else feel the same as I do? Would welcome comments especially from Running Horse.

Running_Horse

I doubt switching from a 70mm diameter to 65mm would make much difference on your prescription. It would make none on a minus, and lots on a high plus. Most manufacturing computer programmes would see those uncut sizes as fairly interchangable on that power. You may just have got unlucky, or be used to better quality.

In an ideal world every frame would be scanned for every job, and it depends who the optician send them to. Essilor are very good on substances, almost to the point of being too thin and hard to edge to the frame, while other suppliers (who I won't mention by name) are completely useless. Specsavers are franchised, so customer service varies from store to store.

As for price, you would be surprised by how small the mark up is on a pair of glasses (about 5% at Boots, when they weren't losing money). You are paying for all the shop overheads, expertise, and cost of remakes when something goes wrong. You can ensure you are seen by a qualified dispensing optician at an independent, but will probably pay more than at Speccies.

Like everything in life you get what you pay for, and you would be amazed how many will spend fortunes on clothes, cars, holidays, phones, PCs, etc, but won't invest money in the only pair of eyes they will ever have.