Prescription lenses - where to buy cheap

Johnny_B_good

Coopdivi wrote: »

The fact is Mark, a lot of online retailers cherry pick their customers just like certain insurance companies do. So, for instance, Online Glasses stipulate in their terms and conditions 'we will not accept orders for lenses of 8 dioptres or over'

I don't think it has anything to do with cherry picking. I was told by someone who works at Vision Express that online glasses retailers are not allowed to supply glasses with prescriptions above plus or minus 8 so that is probably why they won't do it. My sister, who has a very high prescription, had to buy hers from Boots Opticians because none of the big online suppliers were allowed to sell the high prescription to her.

Actually, I've used one of the companies you mentioned in your post and I thought they were quite good. Not the quickest, but then again who cares when your spending half of what you would normally pay!

yahweh

I think it was Martin or someone who mentioned in a recent blog a spec company that does specs for £5 plus postage - now I cannot find the lead anywhere - can anyone help?

Banchie

Johnny_B_good wrote: »

I don't think it has anything to do with cherry picking. I was told by someone who works at Vision Express that online glasses retailers are not allowed to supply glasses with prescriptions above plus or minus 8 so that is probably why they won't do it.

No sure it's anything to do with being 'allowed' to supply lenses for prescriptions over and above + or - 8 more that, depending upon who you speak to, + or - 6 diopters is considered a 'standard' lens and anything outside of this range needs to be specially made. Most websites will only offer what's considered standard lenses.

I found though if you shop around and phone the people concerned, you'll find those that know what they're at and will be able to provide lenses outside of the 'standard' range their websites mention.

Like others have said though you'll also come across those that don't know they're stuff, i spoke to one guy who claims to be a 'UK only' supplier who let slip that his frames and lab are all in India......hence the minimum 3 week wait!!:eek:

Johnny_B_good

Banchie wrote: »

Like others have said though you'll also come across those that don't know they're stuff, i spoke to one guy who claims to be a 'UK only' supplier who let slip that his frames and lab are all in India......hence the minimum 3 week wait!!:eek:

I agree, I very nearly got stung by an online company claiming that they were in the UK but they were based in the USA. I only found this out by going through the 'whois' website to find out who owned it and where they were based. They even had the cheek to display an 089 number which was re-directing the calls to their centre in the US!!

I ended up going with a UK based retailer who was only about 20 miles from where I live and had a local phone number displayed on their site. I think they are a small family owned business but they gave me a fantastic deal and were so helpful at helping me choose glasses within my budget. After speaking to someone on the phone I was satisfied that these guys could deliver what I needed - and they did!! Will definitely use them again next year.:T

Lirin

Glasses I'll happily buy cheap. Contact lenses I am looking for a decent supplier, but I'm very wary of buying online as I'd like to know where they're from first. I'm blind in one eye, and can't risk any infection in the good eye. On the plus side, this technically means all my lenses are half price anyway at my local opticians as I just order both scripts for my good eye!

punksluck

Lirin wrote: »

Glasses I'll happily buy cheap. Contact lenses I am looking for a decent supplier, but I'm very wary of buying online as I'd like to know where they're from first. I'm blind in one eye, and can't risk any infection in the good eye. On the plus side, this technically means all my lenses are half price anyway at my local opticians as I just order both scripts for my good eye!

I think I know where you are coming from. My Uncle is registered partially blind in his left eye and only gets charged for one lens from his local Specsavers. With regards to contact lenses I have used lensway before and got 6 months worth of daily lenses which worked out much cheaper than my local opticians. I actually used a prescription that was 1 year old but it went through ok. The only thing about getting contact lenses online is that you can't get the check-ups that you would receive at your opticians. I believe these are very important in checking the health of your eye.

Shrimpergarry

Interesting debate!

My wife's varifocal sunglasses arrived and she is delighted with them!

They matched the lens type from her existing glasses (Jai Kudo Wideview) and so there is no problem there. Ciliary Blue were very helpful and discussed the type of varifocal lens with me before ordering. They matched all the measurements to the existing lenses and therefore they're absolutely fine - would have no hesitation in recommending them.

WEASELL

I thought I would feed back my experience for other money savers. I wanted rimless glasses reglazed. My previous glasses had varilux lenses and I hate cheap lenses because they are thick, heavy and blur at the sides. Cillary Blue were very helpful when I phoned them up. On my insistance I had the best lenses available, I ended up with 1.67 elite lenses with all the coatings, glare, steam up and whatever. They sent me a box and I put some old glasses and the new frames in the box back to them. The cost was £170. The glasses were not photochromic. I am delighted with my glasses, I think the lenses are fantastic!
P.s. I have a varifocal lense.
I hope this helps someone else.

[Deleted User]

I'm so glad you had such a good experience with ciliary blue. I phoned them this week and the guy I spoke to was really helpfull. I'm going to order some varifocal lenses for my old specs using my NHS voucher to cover part of the cost. I'm very impressed with their prices and he didn't try to fob me off or convince me to buy the most expensive. I'll let you know how I get on when I get my specs back :0)

esuhl

Banchie wrote: »

Most websites will only offer what's considered standard lenses.... though if you shop around and phone the people concerned, you'll find those that know what they're at and will be able to provide lenses outside of the 'standard' range their websites mention.

I've been putting off buying a new pair of glasses as my last ones cost over £600. I hadn't really thought that I might be able to get a new pair online.

When I've bought them before, the frame is put on my face and the positions of my eyes are measured to ensure that the lenses are centred correctly... I guess this wouldn't be done if I just had an eye test and bought empty frames, and with such a high prescription (-13ish) that's probably quite important. Do the online shops even sell lenses this strong?