£19 for two pairs of prescription glasses Deals Discussion

glassesdirect_company_representative

Hello.

Just a request/note about the very beginning of the offer. (ie, 11am friday). Last time, as mse have pointed out on their page about the offer, our site struggled initially due to the high traffic.

If everyone arrives at exactly 11am tomorrow then you may find your experience slower than you'd like.

If you do find the site slower than you'd like, then feel free to come back over the weekend or next week when things may be faster. We've got plenty of stock on the site. Around 100-150 styles/colours at £49 & £59 and many many thousands of pairs in stock in our warehouse.

Plus the voucher is valid for a month, so you don't lose out by coming back later.

TomGB_2

Dear, glassesdirect company representative,

Last night, when i saw this offer on MSE i decided to have a look at the frames on offer for £49, with buy 1 get 1 free, one design that i saw i liked (Mexx 5353).

Having made sure there was a frame i liked and it was in the correct price range so it would only cost me the cost of the voucher (£19), i went ahead and bought the voucher.

Tonight i notice that the Mexx 5353 has increased in price by 100% to £99, meaning it would now cost me approx £70 for the pair (+250% more than yesterday).

I am VERY disappointed with this as my budget will not stretch that far and the frames remaining in the £49 price range i do not like and do not trust that the prices will not change again.


Await your advice, Tom

steve2303

I too saw the same frames as TomGB yesterday for £49 and today noticed they'd increased in price to double what they were.

Very interested to hear what Glasses Direct have to say about this, but it's exactly the sort of thing that destroys trust in an offer. I feel a refund may have to be requested.

I've seen this sort of ploy used by car dealers - advertise a great deal on a car that doesn't really exist. Once the punter is in the door then try to sell him something else.

Disappointing!

Little_Star_3

has anyone received their voucher? I bought it last night but in my orders it currently says - Deal accepted, waiting for the necessary number of customers.
but on the info martin posted he said its usually sent within 15mins so im getting a bit concerned!

Thanks

cylmax

steve2303 wrote: »

I too saw the same frames as TomGB yesterday for £49 and today noticed they'd increased in price to double what they were.

Very interested to hear what Glasses Direct have to say about this, but it's exactly the sort of thing that destroys trust in an offer. I feel a refund may have to be requested.

I've seen this sort of ploy used by car dealers - advertise a great deal on a car that doesn't really exist. Once the punter is in the door then try to sell him something else.

Disappointing!

Exactly the same discovery myself. Had my eye on those Mexx specs. Got home from work and decided to show the wife the great design I was going to get for £19 only to find that they had disappeared off the list. I thought I had gone mad until I looked here to see others in the same boat.

I'm wondering if this was by design or just coincidence that they are no longer available hours before the coupons are released. I feel a little bit cheated now.

M.

competitionscafe

TomGB wrote: »

Tonight i notice that the Mexx 5353 has increased in price by 100% to £99, meaning it would now cost me approx £70 for the pair (+250% more than yesterday).

Isn't this what happened last time there was a Glasses Direct/Groupon offer promoted via MSE? I could be wrong as I didn't use the last offer and there is a very long thread about it which I can't be bothered wading through but the price increase complaint sounds familiar!?

1984ReturnsForReal_2

competitionscafe wrote: »

Isn't this what happened last time there was a Glasses Direct/Groupon offer promoted via MSE? I could be wrong as I didn't use the last offer and there is a very long thread about it which I can't be bothered wading through but the price increase complaint sounds familiar!?

It has happened on Groupon "my city" deals several times before.

MSE & Groupon are both fully aware of previous issues.

Yet it keeps happening.

Last time MSE had screenshots of prior prices but that was not a glasses direct offer it was sunglasses shop.

idlegirl83

Rick54 wrote: »

So how much do you think it would be appropriate for an optician to charge for fitting and adjusting glasses supplied by someone else? £5?, £10?, £20?

I presume the tip you gave: "Order the glasses and then go in to a high street optician for a final fitting and adjustment" assumes that people can rely on the goodwill of the optician not to charge for this service. Hmmm.

Whoever wrote this should try buying a suit from a catalogue and then going in to a tailor to have it adjusted for free - or how about getting a tyre from an online tyre outlet and asking your local tyre depot to fit it for free. You know as well as I do that if you tried that, you'd be told where to go - in no uncertain terms.

Don't forget that Opticians provide a service you won't get with online suppliers.
They are skilled in the measurements needed to adjust glasses and the techniques needed to adjust frames properly. They also have the right tools to do the job. A bit like tailors and tyrefitters really. Need I say more?

They also have the skill to advise you on the technical aspects of frames, lenses and the balance between the two - so those slim, elegant frames you like won't look like you've cut the bottoms off a couple of old milk bottles...

Oh, and just because an old frame fits comfortably, it doesn't actually mean that a new frame will. It's a bit more complicated than that (which is why Dispensing Opticians train for 3 years).

So, Perhaps you should suggest that a payment for this service would be appropriate - and I don't mean 50p in the charity box, (which is all a lot of opticians would ask for). Perhaps you should view things in the context that Opticians only get paid £20 for a comprehensive eye examinatiom. What other professional would charge such a reasonable fee after four years' training? Or perhaps Opticians should simply refuse to fit and adjust glasses which were not bought from them. Seems reasonable to me.

And while I'm about it, I think it's irresponsible of you not to mention that it is actually illegal to provide glasses for children and visually-impaired persons otherwise than as a qualified optician. I''m sure the suppliers point this out. So should you.

Finally, I'm not an optician, nor am I connected with the optical industry.

I just have a sense of perspective.

As a qualified Dispensing Optician it is great to hear from someone who understands the training we go through (it is 3 years) and appreciates that, no, we don't always want to do adjustments for free on spectacles that we have not supplied! :T

steve2303

Little_Star,
I believe the vouchers are to be sent 15 minutes after the deal closes, ie around 12.15am tonight. I certainly haven't got mine.

S.

cylmax

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

It has happened on Groupon "my city" deals several times before.

MSE & Groupon are both fully aware of previous issues.

Yet it keeps happening.

Last time MSE had screenshots of prior prices but that was not a glasses direct offer it was sunglasses shop.

I'm pretty certain that I have left my work PC on with that page on my desktop, showing the price of the Mexx glasses at £49. Do you think it would help if I issued the screenshot on these boards?

I'm a bit gutted as I had my heart set on a pair of those specs and I even badgered my friends to sign up to the scheme.

I hope GD can relist them and make us all happy again.

M.