Prescription sunglasses

frugalacademic

Hi

I want to buy prescription sunglasses and have been looking around a bit. I saw nice model on vision express but the lenses are either £59 (standard) or £99 (Glare-proof polarised). Now: my prescription is quite big so I need my lenses to be cut down to be thinner. Is that included in the price or do I have to pay extra?

sillyvixen

The thinner lenses will be more, polarised lenses are 100% better than just a standard tint, in my opinion!

frugalacademic

I am definitely going for the polarised ones but I want to know how much extra I have to pay on top of that £99. Here is the link: https://www.visionexpress.com/sunglasses/lenses/prescription-lenses/

I feel a bit insecure walking into a shop without knowing how much money I will have to spend.

Dclutterchique

According to Vision Express's own site their Thin and Light lenses start from an additional £64. https://www.visionexpress.com/glasses/lenses/lens-add-ons/

I assume this is for the 25% option and thiner lenses incur a higher cost. I would provisionally double the cost (of either the sunglasses, or the thinning option) to be on the safe side.

frugalacademic

That seems a lot. I don't understand why they can't straightforward. I would not mind paying more but if it omes over £200 than it's not really worth it.

Dclutterchique

I'll admit I'm being pessimistic when it comes to the price (on the basics that if it's cheaper it's a bonus).

I'm partly basing my theory on the follow two situations:

When my mother got new glasses in October last year she paid out £300 at Boots for a pair that combined varifocals, transitions and I think something else like anti-glare, and that was with a 25% discount for being over 65. True she did go for £100 frames, but I don't think that cheaper ones would have made a big reduction to the final price.

Earlier this year my sister purchased a pair of varifocal safety glasses with anti glare for when she's using the computer at work from either spec savers or vision express (I can't remember which) for £250.

So, the more add-ons one wants on ones glasses the more they are going to cost and I suspect Prescription Glasses + Sunglasses Tint + Polarised Lenses + Thinning of Lenses = Circa £200 will probably be fairly standard.

ETA It has occurred to me that the cost of thinning might vary not only because of the percentage by which the lenses are thinned, but also because of the strength of the original lens.

Gloomendoom

if You have a set of suitable frames already, you may be able to reduce costs.

I have used these people for the last few years and have found their service excellent.

https://reglazemyglasses.com/pricing-guide.html

I have also found them willing to supply options not on their price list so don't be afraid to ask.

frugalacademic

Thing is, my glasses at Asda opticians were all-inclusive, no hidden costs. On Specsavers and Glassesdirect, I can also see the full price. I don't feel comfortable going to a store to hear that my glasses will cost £300 or more. I think I am gonna risk it and buy on glasses direct. Does anyone have experience with them, especially on the thinning of lenses? My regular glasses have a thinning of 1,60 I think but how does that translate in GD's gold/platinum package?

BananaRepublic

You can find reviews on sites such as TrustPilot. By the way, it’s not a thinning of 1.6. The thickness depends on the refractive index of the lens. The higher the index, the thinner the lens. I have lost faith in high street opticians, the staff are often clueless.

GlasweJen

frugalacademic wrote: »

Thing is, my glasses at Asda opticians were all-inclusive, no hidden costs. On Specsavers and Glassesdirect, I can also see the full price. I don't feel comfortable going to a store to hear that my glasses will cost £300 or more. I think I am gonna risk it and buy on glasses direct. Does anyone have experience with them, especially on the thinning of lenses? My regular glasses have a thinning of 1,60 I think but how does that translate in GD's gold/platinum package?

Asda would include the cost of the thinning (determined by your prescription) but charge £40 for the polarising, they'd still be cheaper than Vision Express who are one of the most expensive chains.

In Specsavers you'll pay the frame cost, £60 for the polarising and £79 for thinning (polarising only comes in 1.5 or 1.67 index for Specsavers). If you're only going to buy one pair they'll usually take £49 off the thinning (free thin and light offer) so you'll pay £90 over the frame cost. This only applies to the £69 and above frames as their £25 and £45 frames aren't included in offers.

Optical express charge around £179 for the thin polarising lenses.

Murphybear

I bought prescription sunglasses from Asda. I need varifocall lens plus extra thin for one eye and find the High St opticians far too expensive as everything is extra.

My OH treated me to polarised coating as well. I think this was £40 but this was about 2 years ago. I find my vision is crystal clear in bright sunlight plus I can wear them for driving,

I was very impressed with them