Reglazing specs - any experiences?

AFAIK, any optician can put put new lenses into any glasses as long as they they can unscrew them. Could you take them along to a local independent and have a test, and get them them to fit your new prescription into your existing specs?

Specsavers have been good for me. I often have issues with pd so going to an optician rather than an online place is vital

I got a price from a local optician for a reglaze and it was the wrong side of £300, when the glasses new, inc lenses were £190.

Specsavers (and Vision Express) won't touch glasses they didn't originally supply.

RXsport who supplied the glasses don't do reglazes - they said if they still stocked the same frames, they'd make me new lenses to fit myself, but they don't, so thats out.

I got charged just over £100 by vision express to drop bog standard lenses into an old frame a few years back. Seemed a ripoff at the time. I'd only go online now. Last pair I bought, titanium Oakleys, cost slightly more than that from an online vendor.

I’ve been ripped off by vision express for a reglaze previously so they’ve burned their bridges for me. Charged £160 for a reglaze of existing frames - single vision, not a super thin option, -1.75 ish prescription for driving.  Anti scratch and anti glare on the lenses.

Next pair I used reglaze glass direct who used to be ‘Ciliary blue’. I’ve used them for years for polycarbonate prescription cycling lenses and thought I’d give them a try. Exactly the same prescription and options and it was about £30.

https://www.reglaze-glasses-direct.com

One of the kids needed new lenses as scratched but loved his frames and couldn't find any similar. Boots took them to reglaze but broke the frame (had warned us this was a possibility) so didn't charge us.

Depends on the frame. some are easy to change and remove others aren't.

I got a price from a local optician for a reglaze and it was the wrong side of £300

They probably have a deal with whichever spectacle manufacture they use, If they're not going to get to sell you a pair of frames at the same time, it's going to be pricier than the original quote...Plus inflation plus everyone's costs have gone up.

Doesn't really save money to reglaze. I do it anyway as I hate throwing things away.

Talk to your opticians about it. Some might kick into a hard sell on new frames with attendant exorbitant reglazing prices. Don’t get those ones to reglaze your existing frames.

I’ve had good experience with https://www.reglaze-glasses-direct.com/ including reglazing Oakley sunglasses with corrective photochromic lenses. There’s a rolling 10% off if you subscribe to their mailing list.

My prescription is a simple one though - I think I’d be looking for a good local provider if I was getting varifocals or anything like that.

Is it a "hard sell", or is an off pattern lens more time consuming and expensive for both the shop and the manufacturer to handle?

I had a couple of pairs reglazed but iirc they wouldn't / couldn't apply any discounts to a reglaze. They also said the old frames might have been maniupulated to fit the old lense and couldn't guarantee a good fit with new lenses in old frames.

But also probably a rouse to get me to buy new lenses. Health insurance basically gets me $400 back every year so I usually get 2 pairs ordered in December, use my health fund for one pair, and pay for the rest as soon as the new year starts. My lenses cost a bit 'cos my eyes are... unique and special.

Is it a “hard sell”, or is an off pattern lens more time consuming and expensive for both the shop and the manufacturer to handle?

Nah. They were still selling the frame I wanted reglazed. As suggested by someone else above, I think they just have a business model based on conspicuous consumption.

I've had all mine done locally and it has been much cheaper than new frames. The shop usually warns that it might be tricky to get the old ones out and new ones back in. I'm pretty good at this and pop them out in front of them and volunteer to do that bit myself 🙂

We have used Selectspecs for quite a few years for reglazing, usually managed to find a discount code, never had a problem with them

https://www.selectspecs.com/lens-replacement/

I have used
https://www.reglaze-glasses-direct.comtoo.

Price and service were top notch.

Agree with Kelvin though, doesn't really make financial sense to reglaze though, you can always use the old ones for riding/spare/etc.

Opticians refused to reglaze some rimless glasses.

I bought fancy acetate frames from a local optician.

When they were scratched he reglazed them and the new lenses gave me massive headaches. He didn't want to know and refused to do anything about it.

Vision express reglazed them once with a great deal of teeth sucking, oooh might snap them.

I want back to vision express for a second reglaze and they refused saying the frames are warped.

I got some cheaper frames plastic, not acetate and they look the same as the "warped" previous frames.

Possibly, some plastic frames might have been adjusted with heat and could be more brittle / risk of breaking ?

Local independent optician should. I got mine reglazed a while back - they're Oakley so worth saving the frame, and the lenses were about what I'd expect.

Tbh the biggest problem they had was getting the old lenses out of the (one-piece) plastic frame

If you want to go through an optician you could try Karl at eyeye. Not sure if it’s something they’d do, but I wouldn’t go elsewhere now.

Bikes are welcome in the shop too.

Opticians refused to reglaze some rimless glasses.

If the new lenses are different in any way the trimmed threads on the fram are unlikely to be long enough to go through them and provide a secure fastening. My dispensing optician told me this for a pair of Beckham advertised titanium frameless specs.

There’s loads of reasons why opticians don’t like reglazes.
Warn px they might break- they do px kicks off.
Same thing but they break 6 months later- no warranty they kick off.
Takes much longer to glaze, screws seized, frame damaged.
No idea what type of plastic material it is, heat it up- it shrinks or melts.
Frame looks like it’s covered it crap.
We also had a fraud attempt by a guy wanting a Cartier reglaze, we refused. Looked him up- he’d just come out of prison after scammed old ladies.
That said, Specsavers reglaze stuff all the time.
£39 std lens single vision
£74 anti reflective
£89 1.6 mar
Etc
If you have an expensive frame you love and want to wear it for two more years, and have spare specs go for it.