Prescription Glasses Online

RogerRizla

Bear with me on this.

Just got prescription reading glasses for the first time. I wasn't away that you can't buy these without a prescription.

However, now I've had a comprensive eye-test and have all the spec needed for a new pair of glasses to be made is it possible to go online to say India or SE Asia and use these specs to buy further glasses much cheaper than the £150+ I paid over here.

Or even get them made abroad when I'm on holiday.

Poor old pensioner here so need all the help I can get.

Thanks.

mebu60

Reading glasses can be bought inexpensively on the high street. Just look for the relevant magnification level. But don't expect the frames on really cheap ones to last! That said, I've still got three pairs I bought in Walmarts in the USA for USD10 (total) six years ago. Boots might be a good start. Keep the expensive prescription ones to use at home when more likely to be used for an extended period and take the cheaper ones with you when you are out and about and only using as required, less of an issue if they are lost or broken. 

SimonFF

RogerRizla said:

Poor old pensioner here so need all the help I can get.

Thanks.

Do you not qualify for optical vouchers?

RogerRizla

I'm not talking about the reading glasses you can buy for a couple of quid with two identical lenses. My new ones are currently made to my eye spec. I'd just like to duplicate a few extra pairs without the huge expense.

Thanks.

Robin9

Give the online ones a try -  paid under £20 for my prescription.

RogerRizla

I've already used the prescription to buy a pair from a high street retailer.

Can the same prescription be re-used online or is it like a doctor's prescription ?

Robin9

It's reusable

RogerRizla

aha, thanks very much.

Spoonie_Turtle

Plenty of cheap online glasses places, you can just Google.  They're not always made up to fit your eyes perfectly though. 

I probably have a higher prescription (-4/-5.5 with astigmatism) than for your reading glasses so you might not notice if the lenses don't have the centre in the perfect place, but every pair of glasses I've bought online have been Not Quite Right.  Even with using the same PD as the pair of glasses I bought in-person that fit like a buttery moulded glove (figuratively speaking, there was no brain adjustment needed for the change in prescription) right from the first moment I put them on.  The same measurement used for online glasses resulted in a pair that are okay but do tax my brain - not to the point of headaches, but takes a few moments to get used to every single time I put them on - because they're slightly off.

Though … it may depend on what your prescription actually is and whether off-the-shelf ones don't work properly for you, as to whether it's worth the effort to get prescription pairs made up.

£150+ for a pair from the high street sounds unnecessarily expensive though, where did you go?  Specsavers have several price ranges below that for a start, and Asda is often recommended here too.  (I have had sunglasses and a cheap £10 spare normal specs from Tesco opticians, but I don't know if they're even still going now or not.)

elsien

A poor old pensioner who can afford to go on holiday, but can’t afford glasses?
I never pay anywhere near £150 for my glasses - Is that because you have a complex prescription, or because you want nice frames?
you need to bear in mind if you buy from abroad, you weren’t really having much in the way of consumer rights if they send you something that’s just not right.

theoretica

Start here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/cheap-glasses-discounts/  The ones I got online I couldn't find frames I liked all that well, but great for cheap spare pairs.