Spex4less - buying glasses spectacles on line?

Bprudent

Hi Folks

This topic is aimed at those of you like me that have always been completely dismissive of the idea of buying glasses on line.

I usually spend hundreds of pounds on new glasses and frames from high street opticians. Some of those purchases have proved far from satisfactory in term of the quality of the frames and the way that the lenses have been ground to fit.

Out of pure curiosity I decided this week to take a gamble. I ordered a pair of glasses from Spex4less having taken some time to view their huge range of frames on line. I deliberately opted for a cheap pair of frames with no fancy extras on the lens front. The order value including single vision standard prescription lenses was less than £25.

At that price I honestly expected the bottom of the barrel in terms of quality.

My new specs arrived today. I can honestly say that I have never been so impressed with an online purchase! The quality of these spectacles (including the frames and the way that the lenses have been fitted) is exceptionally better than I could have wished for. I can not fault them. And most importantly the vision is 20/20 unlike any of my existing 8 pairs of glasses.

If you have read this thread so far... If you like me have spent hundreds of pounds previously on high street opticians...consider looking at their web site.

If you do decide to buy on line, I recommend that you take time to ensure you get a frame that is suitable for you by spending a bit of time to understand the frame size codes. It is very easy to get to grips with. I opted for a similar size to my existing favourite frames and it turned out perfect. Also supplying the prescription is not at all as daunting as it may seem.

The aspect that most impressed me with this company, is that you are dealing with a relatively small family business. They pledge to deliver on service. They certainly did that for me.

I will now be ordering some more spectacles because at their prices and quality, it will save me a fortune.

Craig:beer:

BelindaArch

Must agree with all you've written Craig. My family and I have been using them for quite a few years now. They also do good promotions from time to time and i put those on here (when I remember!). There service is amongst best I've experienced.

rizla01

I found that I didn't really save a great deal cos the prices tempted me to buy tinted as well as a pair for the computer (Between reading & distance) as well as a separate pair for reading/everyday plus dedicated reading. (4 pairs) Lol.

Becket

I have been using Spex4less for a few years and have to admit I was a bit wary at first after only ever getting glasses from high street opticians (Specsavers) being a Varifocal lens wearer but their glasses are great for the price and their customer service is FANTASTIC!!

On Monday I stupidly trod on my glasses smashing the frame and contacted then asking if they could put the lenses in a new frame.

I posted them off on Tuesday and were delivered to me here in Cornwall on Thursday morning exactly 48 hours later!

There was no bill in the envelope and when I emailed them asking for the cost they said there was no charge!!!!

I could not believe it----how good is that!!

doobydoo1

My frames broke - I checked on the spex4less website and they have a 1 year guarantee - SO I sent them back and they repaired mine for free in 1 day - couldn't believe it !

I have dealt with selectspecs in Hong Kong and their attitude sucks ,it takes ages for them to arrive and if there is a problem then it's a nightmare.

pmduk

doobydoo1 wrote: »

I have dealt with selectspecs in Hong Kong and their attitude sucks ,it takes ages for them to arrive and if there is a problem then it's a nightmare.

I don't know when you last used selectspecs, but they seem to have got the message at last. My last cheap pairs (bought last December) arrived in just 7 working days.

SelectSpecs_company_representative

doobydoo1 wrote: »

I have dealt with selectspecs in Hong Kong and their attitude sucks ,it takes ages for them to arrive and if there is a problem then it's a nightmare.

Hi,

Sorry to hear this, did you have an order number so I can look in to the problem for you? If there's a problem then we'll always try to resolve this as best and as quickly as we can.

Most orders for standard budget single vision glasses arrive with customers within 7-10 working days at the moment, often quicker especially for those based in the UK.

Just for clarity, we're based in the UK (Westgate on Sea), and not Hong Kong (although we have a glazing lab there).

Kind regards,

James
SelectSpecs.com

squibbles

I have posted this on another thread as it related to a PD issue but I feel it would be better placed here as I can't praise spex4less enough for value and especially for service!

Initially I went to a well known high street optician for an eye test and was quoted £278.00 for one pair of distance and one pair of Bi-Focal glasses full framed glasses including transition lenses, anti-reflective and anti-scratch coatings.

After a bit of haggling I got them to come down 15% to £238.00. However, I took my prescription on-line and searched through the various on-line opticians before deciding on spex4less because their reviews were excellent and their fitting system was simple to use.

This decision saved me £40.00 because the spex4less charge was only £198.00 and the glasses were with me in just 3-days. But this was not the best thing The best thing was the way that they all helped to resolve some issues that I had.

It became apparent that whilst the Bi-Focal glasses were brilliant the distance one's appeared fuzzy at the edges. I complained and returned them along with my prescription and they checked all of the dimensions, did re-coats and returned them saying everything seemed correct, but from my point of view the problem remained.

I know it was cheeky but I then took them to the high street optician which did my initial eye test and they said they could see nothing wrong so in desperation I went back to spex4less who asked me to take my PD and send it to them (them gave me instruction on how to do this.)

However, I again explained that I felt the fault was with the glasses and sent them back, along with the Bi-Focal glasses and with a detailed description of what I was seeing through my eyes.

Again, their tests revealed nothing but (and this is what I call going the extra mile) they changed the lenses entirely and refunded all of my postage costs!

I am delighted to say that now I am in possession of both sets of glasses and they are PERFECT!

I have to say that they showed patience, understanding and perseverance in dealing with me.

neutron

Have bought from Spex4less and previously been very satisfied.
However the coatings on my 2.5 year old transition bifocals recently severely deteriorated, the guarantee on lenses from Spex4less is only 2 years. It's not unreasonable to expect lenses to last several years and I consider these were not fit for purpose. I have not experienced this with glasses purchased elsewhere in the past.
Maybe a high street optician would use better quality lenses?.

ripplyuk

Could anyone tell me if you can use an NHS voucher for glasses when buying online? I've always assumed you must get them from the optician. I'm also wondering how much the optician would charge for the prescription if I'm not buying glasses from them.

pmduk

If I understand correctly you cannot use NHS vouchers online. You pay for an eyetest (if applicable) and the optician is obliged to give you the prescription as part of that test.