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I've a need for a new lens prescription. I've already got a less used pair in perfect condition.
Is anyone able to recommend one of the online companies who do replacement lenses?
I've used Rx Sport for replacement lenses. No issues.
We use Selectspecs, have done for a few years. Kevin's prescription has just changed and he has two pairs of Oakley's with them at the moment for varifocals re glazing . We always manage to find discount codes to reduce the price further. You can track each part of the process on line This time the cost was £91 a pair
he has two pairs of Oakley’s with them at the moment for varifocals re glazing
This is interesting, I was going to ask whether anyone's had varifocals done. I've had plain lenses done by Reglaze Glasses Direct (Ciliary Blue as was) and they've always been fine, I'm a bit more nervous about doing varifocals online though as I'm aware that they have to be 'right' in terms of where your pupil is in relation to the lens
@matt_outandabout - They send me discount codes all the time, the current one is March23 for a 10% discount
Thank you - I also need occupational lenses so keeping the cost down and quality up would be good..
No probs, but worth adding that this has reminded me to actually get my arse in gear to sort mine out, and reglazing doesn't seem to be any cheaper than buying new frames, I assume as on a reglaze they make no profit on the frames so they put the lens cost up.
I've been looking here, FWIW - https://www.spex4less.com/
Mixed results with Reglaze Glasses Direct here. Prescription lenses for Oakley flaks weren't well made (the retention tabs were too small) and fell out of the frame.
Do you have a local independent optician (not a chain)? Mine is usually competitive with the internet and much cheaper than chains for anything other than a bogoff pair of specs. May not be an option but smaller towns still often have independents of they haven't been muscled out.
They were cheaper (by a couple of quid in about £100) for prescription safety specs compared to specs4less. Also as I now need varifocals getting the lens placement is more critical so prefer that done IRL.
no probs, but worth adding that this has reminded me to actually get my arse in gear to sort mine out, and reglazing doesn’t seem to be any cheaper than buying new frames, I assume as on a reglaze they make no profit on the frames so they put the lens cost up.
As per Slowol above, the big chain convinced me you couldn't get glasses re-glazed for less than a new pair, until I found a local independent. They did all my glasses (main/backup/sunglasses) for so less than the price of a new pair, & have had my business ever since!
Unfortunately my local independent have kind of gone the other way - they know they can't compete with the BOGOF offers from the chains, so have gone for the expensive frame/lens options. Their service is excellent, and the eye tests and care I've had have been the best I've had from any optician by far, but they ain't cheap for actual glasses.
If you didn't know, getting your pupillary distance is key to online buying. The opticians who do tests know this and try not to give it to you, saying it isn't part of the test but a dispensing (i.e. sales) function.
These threads annoy me so much. We will all spend thousands of pounds on our bikes, tops, shorts but every week there is a thread about scrimping on your vision! And it's always into an Oakley, literally the definition of over priced rubbish!
Go and visit an actual optician before we're all out of business and all you have left is a clueless dweeb on a website guessing at your optical centres... You'll probably be surprised that the cost difference isn't so high and your specs will actually be accurate and they'll fit properly too!
Bonus points to @slowol for throwing out some support for us indies! Thank you!
Do you have a local independent optician (not a chain)?
As @IHN says, I was there for an eye test yesterday.
Their frame options started at £90, up to £499, and occupational lenses started at £225...It is the local market, but a bit rich for me.
Go and visit an actual optician before we’re all out of business and all you have left is a clueless dweeb on a website guessing at your optical centres… You’ll probably be surprised that the cost difference isn’t so high and your specs will actually be accurate and they’ll fit properly too!
See my post - I was looking at £350-400 for glasses locally.
Oh my god! No sooner have I finished one rant than this comes up! We're not trying to work some sort of fiddle! It's not a conspiracy! It's legally not defined as part of your prescription. It is legally part of the dispensing process.
Dispensing does not directly equate to sales, if it did I wouldn't have had to go to university for three years to qualify to hold a protected title. What we do as Dispensing Opticians is interpret the prescription, assess your needs and requirements and help to select the right frame to suit your face, accurately measure everything in order for the frame to correctly hold your lenses and give you aesthetically the best finished product that we can, optimising your vision and looking good on you.
The General Optical Council and NHS both recommend that you buy your glasses where you have your test. If more people did that it would negate all this talk and bad feeling about getting measurements done somewhere that doesn't financially benefit from doing work on your behalf.
Do you go and get your LBS to tell you what bike to buy and then go buy it online to save a few quid and then complain because your LBS won't service it?
See my post – I was looking at £350-400 for glasses locally.
Indeed, my everyday glasses from the local indie cost me £600. I don't mind paying that (although I did wince a bit) as I got good service from them and I wear them all the time. However, I'm not spending that sort of money on glasses to ride in, as they'll get used a couple of times a week tops and when they do get used they'll get dropped, mud splattered, handled with muddy/gritty gloves, etc etc.
I get the indies vs chains argument, I really do, but like most people I have to strike a balance.
I get the indies vs chains argument, I really do, but like most people I have to strike a balance.
^ That.
And I don't spend £000's on bikes and kit either. I have a budget - my bike is 6 years old and cost £900, and I maintain it all myself. Car second hand etc etc.
Oh my god! No sooner have I finished one rant than this comes up! We’re not trying to work some sort of fiddle! It’s not a conspiracy! It’s legally not defined as part of your prescription. It is legally part of the dispensing process.
Dispensing does not directly equate to sales, if it did I wouldn’t have had to go to university for three years to qualify to hold a protected title. What we do as Dispensing Opticians is interpret the prescription, assess your needs and requirements and help to select the right frame to suit your face, accurately measure everything in order for the frame to correctly hold your lenses and give you aesthetically the best finished product that we can, optimising your vision and looking good on you.
The General Optical Council and NHS both recommend that you buy your glasses where you have your test. If more people did that it would negate all this talk and bad feeling about getting measurements done somewhere that doesn’t financially benefit from doing work on your behalf.
Do you go and get your LBS to tell you what bike to buy and then go buy it online to save a few quid and then complain because your LBS won’t service it?
Appreciate that specsavers aren't a local indie, but ideally, I'd liked to have bought from an actual shop. However, I can't afford £250-£300 for a pair of every day varifocals, and then another £250-£300 for riding varifocals. So, i needed a pair to do everything in. As specsavers don't do a frame suitable for riding in, I went online via Rad8. I did ask specsavers for my PD measurement, but they were going to charge me £25. Appreciate your point that it's all part and parcel of final fitting etc, but given you can do your own PD measurement with a ruler, mirror (and in my case, a helpful partner), I thought that was a bit steep.
The glasses that have come back from Rad8 are good, comfy, work well on and off the bike. Still getting used to them riding, especially at night, but overall, am very happy with them.
I agree the trouble with ordering online us that if there's a problem, with fitting, or the prescription, who do you go back to?
Edit:
^ That.
And I don’t spend £000’s on bikes and kit either. I have a budget
+1. My best bike was put together at a net cost of around twice the cost of a set of goes, so I'm not exactly rolling around in money.
But, next time I need to renew my prescription, I will check out whether we have a local indie.
Out of interest what are people been quoted from independents. Kevin's quote a couple of weeks ago was £90 per pair to re glaze and varifocal lenses starting at £195 a pair. Of the few pairs of Oakley frames they could offer they started at £210.
I wont go into the Bike Shop analogy as we actually use local bike shops to do work we are capable of doing ourselves just to ensure they don't disappear.
Seems I've hit a nerve by mentioning pupillary distance!
Do you go and get your LBS to tell you what bike to buy and then go buy it online to save a few quid
No I don't, like a lot of people I buy bike bits all over the place and build my own. But that's an approach I take in lots of areas, learning a bit and fixing stuff.
I need an optician to do the science bit. I don't have complex needs and am not particularly vain, so buying online works just fine.
''The opticians who do tests know this and try not to give it to you, saying it isn’t part of the test but a dispensing (i.e. sales) function.''
No, you hit a nerve by suggesting there was something untoward about a professional wanting to get paid for offering a service.
£25 to hold a ruler to someone's (who has just paid for your professional expertise) nose sounds a bit much to me.
Sounds like your beef should be with whoever sets the charge for the actual test?
Out of interest what are people been quoted from independents. Kevin’s quote a couple of weeks ago was £90 per pair to re glaze and varifocal lenses starting at £195 a pair.
My local opticians said replacing was not possible.
Hence why I am looking online. Currently at £130 to re-lens a perfectly good pair of frames.
My local independent cost about £130 for new safety specs, varifocal with Bolle frame, about 3 years ago. I need a new pair as I got a new prescription a couple of months back. New 'fancy' specs for everyday cost about double that but the lens quality is much better than the polycarbonate in the safety specs and the frame price is much higher although still less than £100 for a decent frame.
If anyone is in Guisborough or Saltburn the Riley's are generally very good and fair on price but it will depend a bit on where a shop pitches it's market.
PS I also understand why a shop might not want to reglaze a third party frame and deal with potential warranty issues.
PS I also understand why a shop might not want to reglaze a third party frame and deal with potential warranty issues.
You mean the shop which sold me the Converse branded frames 6 years ago, which I then replaced within a year due to my eyes getting worse and they could / would not replace the lens in?
I just get my prescriptions from my optometrists now. I didn't appreciate the messing about with personal data from people I was paying hundreds of pounds to.
This is interesting, I was going to ask whether anyone’s had varifocals done. I’ve had plain lenses done by Reglaze Glasses Direct (Ciliary Blue as was) and they’ve always been fine, I’m a bit more nervous about doing varifocals online though as I’m aware that they have to be ‘right’ in terms of where your pupil is in relation to the lens
I'm wearing a pair of Oakley frames with varifocal lenses* in that I got from RX sports and they're great. Got a new prescription now so need to have them reglazed, but will probably just get this done a specsavers. If I had a sare air I'd send them of to RX no problem.
*Oakley don't make my prescription so they're an Esillor lense or something like that.
In terms of Oakley being
literally the definition of over priced rubbish!
they fit well, and look good, which is what everyone wants from frames. As above I can't get Oakley lenses but the frames are great. I do also have about 6 pairs of Oakley sunnies though!!
Indépendant Opticians vary wildly, some will be cost effective- and not be so far from a Specsavers, some won't be close. Pop in to yours and have a chat, see what they can offer.
The sight test is usually a massive cost to the business- especially if you are paying £25, so some independents will charge closer to £100, which is what it should cost if it isn't subsidised by the retail, dispensing side. If the internet takes over the dispensing side, no optician will afford to do an NHS sight test for £22, and they will only do private tests for £100 or so. Half the population will stop having sight tests and the number of avoidable eye problems and blindness will rise massively. Without a strong high street retail optical sector that everyone can afford, if you have a high or difficult prescription, or challenging needs, or difficult face, you won't be able to access decent specs, or a dispensing Optician unless you are loaded, because the internet retailers won't want to know.
The sight test is usually a massive cost to the business- especially if you are paying £25
Do you know what they are paid north of the border? Obviously it's free to us (along with prescriptions).
Seriously, eye tests are free in Scotland?
Yep free to all in Scotland
I’ve been very happy with my lenses from RxSport (transitions, varifocal). I’ve also used spex4less for reglazing the inserts for some BBB glasses and they did a pretty good job.