Varifocal specs

blueflyingtonight

I am still in shock after visiting D&H opticians today. I have been quoted £200 for standard varifocal polycarbonate lenses. This goes up to £340 for Essilor Physio lenses. Add in the cost of some decent frames and we are looking at £500+ for a pair of specs. :eek: I prefer not to go the online route. Can anyone suggest where I can get a slightly more realistic quote?

Steve

ukwoody

Tesco opticians have got various offers (instore) on at the mo
woody

wallbash

My varifocal glasses cost the best part of £600 :mad:

I hope you find a cheaper pair.... which are as good.
I might compromise on a lot of things but not my sight.

oystercatcher

I just ordered new varifocals today from local independent optician. Just under £200.
Asked about reactolite lenses and cost is approximately the same so may get a second pair in a month or two.

Hope that helps

Oystercatcher

Garetha

Try: www.goggles4u.com
You'll need your prescription including pupil measurement.

e.g. CR39 Material No Line Progressive Bifocal/Varifocal Lenses with Photocromic Gray
i.e. Varifocal and Photochromic for £67 (or £93 with lens coating)

A bit cheaper than the High St!

Garetha

wallbash wrote: »

My varifocal glasses cost the best part of £600 :mad:

I hope you find a cheaper pair.... which are as good.
I might compromise on a lot of things but not my sight.

I don't believe you damage your eyes with 'inferior' specs - and anyway these are not inferior.

wallbash

My eyesight is ( to me) piceless!

and anyway these are not inferior.

They are if they are not Zeiss.

Garetha

wallbash wrote: »

My eyesight is ( to me) piceless!
They are if they are not Zeiss.

Of course eyesight is priceless - but Opticians depend on such scare myths so they can get away with £600 bills for a few £s worth of plastic :eek:

Myth #7: “Wearing poorly fit glasses damages your eyes.”

In fact what is required for good vision is the right eyeglass prescription. Poor fitting glasses do not damage your eyes.

from: http://www.bspcn.com/2007/05/20/15-useless-or-even-dangerous-eyesight-myths/

Most people who need reading specs can manage very well with Poundland or similar off the peg specs.
If you want bi-focals, varifocals, photochromic then have a look at some of the mail order suppliers and stop making the opticians rich!

If you want fashion items then that's another story ...
But this site is about money saving

By the way - my last eyesight test at a high street opticians checked my Googles4u specs and was able to generate the correct prescription from them - thus confirming the quality.

Martin has a very good article here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/health/cheap-glasses

mishkanorman

the polycarbonate material may be whats making them more expensive, its not used as much these days as it scratches sooo easily, specsavers wil be your cheapest by far on the high street,


garetha,

wallbash didnt actually say cheaper glasses damage your eyes, they stated 'i hope you find a cheaper pair which are as good' if you have ever worn a pair of zeiss varifocals and then changed to a cheaper brand you WILL notice the difference !!

mishka

Monkfish_2

I purchased a pair of distance glasses from SelectSpecs.com for £18 and a pair of varifocal glasses for both my parents for under £80 the pair (under £40 each). We're all more than happy.

lizb3112

I'm a bit doubious about buying varifocals online as I know they are difficult to get right (and many of the good recommended online suppliers don't supply varifocals for that reason) so I'm stuck with paying through the nose! A neighbour has suggested I try Costco as they supply zeiss super thin scratch resistant varifocal lenses for around £160. Has anyone tried them?