Contact Lens Cost Cutting article discussion

rwalton159

Quentin wrote: »

You push this optician hard here.

You sure you have no connection with them?

Plenty other opticians will give you a free trial using branded items (not your "own brand") which we can then buy cheaper elsewhere!

Where else can you buy your "brands"?

LOL - What am I supposed to post. Perhaps I should use Spec******

I am posting the name of the Opticians I am using? Would you rather I use their GPS reference?

This is an important subject and unlike saving £5 on a mobile phone etc it is crucial advice is spot on. If you mess up you may damage your sight.

pmduk

Altarf wrote: »

Another thing to know is that if you do buy your contact lenses from Tesco (not sure about Asda), but their online prices are cheaper than their instore prices (the prices are about 20% more instore). However they are quite happy for you to have the fitting / contact lens checks instore at their opticians, and then go away and order from them online. Even on the first order.

I buy mine from Asda having had an assessment from them in August, at the time they were charging £15 including 12 months aftercare. Prices are the same instore as online and are the cheapest I've found for my lenses. Prices may have changed as both Tesco and Asda follow each others prices very closely.

Quentin

rwalton159 wrote: »

This is an important subject and unlike saving £5 on a mobile phone etc it is crucial advice is sport on. If you mess up you may damage your sight.

Why not answer the question? You seem to be pushing "your" optician on price, but they use their own brands don't they?

rwalton159

Quentin wrote: »

Why not answer the question? You seem to be pushing "your" optician on price, but they use their own brands don't they?

I have no connection with SS apart from using them for glasses and now the contact lense trial.

I am not pushing them on price. I am quoting purely what I am paying them (or might after the trial)

Do you ask everything such daft questions?

What's the matter with you?

pmduk

Quentin wrote: »

Why not answer the question? You seem to be pushing "your" optician on price, but they use their own brands don't they?

People can only comment on what they know. Specsavers rebrand major manufacturers lenses to ensure loyalty. Rather like Currys etc use exclusive model numbers to avoid price comparison.

rwalton159

pmduk wrote: »

People can only comment on what they know. Specsavers rebrand major manufacturers lenses to ensure loyalty. Rather like Currys etc use exclusive model numbers to avoid price comparison.

Exactly

Quentin

rwalton159 wrote: »

Exactly

Yes, exactly the problem.

They rebrand under their own brand name, thus trying to deny you the opportunity to get them cheaper elsewhere!

rwalton159

Now can we get back to "Contact Lens Cost Cutting article discussion" please.

mikey72

Cheapest I could find, online or high street.

Specsavers online, no longer have an own brand, they were made for them by CIBA, they sell them boxed as CIBA now.
For daily torics, they beat everyone.
The high street price is competative as well.

(In the past, they would tell you who made them, if you asked them.)

Altarf

rwalton159 wrote: »

Thanks for your post Altarf.

For £13 a mth Specsavers offer:

all routine aftercare checks as recommended by your Optician.
any additional contact lens checks you require. Free check-ups as required or as recommended by your Optician.
up to 2 free contact lenses*. You are entitled to 2 free Specsavers own branded monthly disposable lenses to replace lost or damaged lenses every year
one pair of half price Standard PENTAX single vision glasses or sunglasses per year** from our £69, £85, £99 or £125 price ranges.

So I ask if its worth saving a few quid a month and miss out on these benefits?

To make the maths comparable £13 a month = £156 per year.

The contact lenses I buy from Tesco (Bausch & Lomb) are £21 for 3 pairs, so £84 per year, plus £10 checkups, and £12 a year in solutions from Costco (4 x 250 ml bottles), a total of £106 per year.

The 'free' replacement lenses if you lose them are worth £7, but personally I have never lost any.

For my prescription, I find Asda impossible to beat for glasses, as they include the price of the thinner lenses in the shelf price, but Specsavers and the rest charge extra. So Specsavers 1/2 price offer would cost me hundreds of pounds more.

So overall around £50 a year (1/3) cheaper at Tesco than Specsavers, you are not tied into a contract, and you can buy the lenses anywhere as you have a prescription for branded lenses. The prices at Asda are very similar, but Tesco just happens to be more convenient for me (before Quentin accuses me of replacing Phil Clarke).