Spectacle purchase question

Philly112 · 11-10-2009, 2:45 PM

I fancy a change of glasses shortly, but I am unsure where to get them from. Has anyone used an internet only service such as Glasses Direct? Or are any of the high street chains close in price?

Many thanks
Phil

emo72 · 11-10-2009, 3:15 PM

hi mate
i just bought a pair in specsavers, i had issues with them , it wasnt their fault
its just that i wasnt comfortable in one eye, they got me a new pair straight away.

i wouldnt fancy having to resolve any issues over the internet.

Threemonkeys · 11-10-2009, 4:21 PM

Just used Specsavers, they had an offer buy one get 1 free, so 2 pair designer frames £125 very Happy and a decent choice.

themilkman23 · 11-10-2009, 4:24 PM

Vote for Specsavers here too, you can't go wrong with the two pairs for £125.

Went into Vision Express and cheapest glasses were ones on sale which would be in excess of £100

Be careful as some places the price you see isn't the price you pay as it might not include frames. With Specsavers what you see is what you pay.

deckingman · 11-10-2009, 4:29 PM

Yes I use Glasses Direct all the time. Have done for about 3 years. Much cheaper than specsavers because they don't have the overheads. They even use the same labs as specsavers. Glasses made to your presciption starting from about £20

Brilliant service, never had a problem.

Philly112 · 12-10-2009, 6:44 AM

Many thanks for all your advice.

I've sent off for 4 free samples from Glasses Direct, and will get down to Specsavers at the weekend for a look.

Phil

Jenn · 12-10-2009, 11:06 AM

We used Glasses Direct for my husband but the frames we ordered weren't the quality we expected (not as good) as they didn't even sit straight on a table.
The lenses also weren't quite right, my husband could see a change in focus when looking to different angles. A sort of wobbly effect.

We sent them back without any problem so they're good on that but I'm afraid in our one experience we did get what we paid for.

Desmo · 12-10-2009, 11:22 AM

I just bought some from Specsavers too due to a prescription change. As I'm on one of their monthly contact lens schemes, I got them half price

orpheus · 12-10-2009, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jenn

We used Glasses Direct for my husband but the frames we ordered weren't the quality we expected (not as good) as they didn't even sit straight on a table.
The lenses also weren't quite right, my husband could see a change in focus when looking to different angles. A sort of wobbly effect.

We sent them back without any problem so they're good on that but I'm afraid in our one experience we did get what we paid for.

Did you take an accurate pupilary distance measurement? This is a critical measurement when fitting glasses, but no high street optician will tell you it.

scott spock · 12-10-2009, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emo72

hi mate
i just bought a pair in specsavers, i had issues with them , it wasnt their fault
its just that i wasnt comfortable in one eye, they got me a new pair straight away.

i wouldnt fancy having to resolve any issues over the internet.

Same here. Taken 3 attempts at lens replacement to get anywhere close to resolution. (I have varifocals BTW which seem to be hit and miss at getting a comfotable "fit".

nheather · 12-10-2009, 11:49 AM

My wife has just got her first pair of vari-focals. Hugely expensive so she looked on the internet.

Could have made a big saving but in the end she went to Vision Express because she felt it important to be able to try on loads of frames to see which one she liked the best.

Some of the online places will send out frames to try, but charge for each frame. Some don't offer that service at all.

If you are going for branded frames then it is possible that you could find some on the high-street and then try and match them up with the online ones but in most cases we didn't find that was possible - even within the brands the models seemed to be different at each retailer.

Cheers,

Nigel

Jenn · 12-10-2009, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orpheus

Did you take an accurate pupilary distance measurement? This is a critical measurement when fitting glasses, but no high street optician will tell you it.

That didn't seem to be the problem (and even if it was most people won't know and would risk having this issue), it was more like the lens had waves so say if your eyes panned from left to right you have a 'focused - not focused - focused - not focused - etc.' effect.

Philly112 · 12-10-2009, 1:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nheather

Some of the online places will send out frames to try, but charge for each frame. Some don't offer that service at all.

Nigel

Glasses Direct are doing 4 trial frames for free (including free postage both ways at the moment).
So I will see how these are and make a decision based on that and what happens at Specsavers.
Many thanks to all for the input.

Phil

nheather · 12-10-2009, 2:21 PM

Quote:

Glasses Direct are doing 4 trial frames for free (including free postage both ways at the moment).

That's good, didn't spot that one - or my wife had already decided she wanted to get them from the high street so didn't show me that one.

Cheers,

Nigel

deckingman · 12-10-2009, 5:17 PM

Although Glasses direct prices start at about £20, you can pay more and have designer frames. Just compare the prices from Specsaver and Glasses Direct for the same frames - there is still a significant saving. By the way, I'm in no way connected to Glasses Direct - just a happy customer.

I'm not very good with glasses - tend to drop them, sit on them, lose them etc. So I tend to buy the cheap ones - at £20 a throw, I have several pairs scattered around (including sun glasses).

A little tip you may not know is that if there is a history of Glaucoma (may not have spelt that right) in the family (i.e father) and you are over 40 years old, you get free eye tests. So I tend to go to Vision Express (just because it's convenient) once a year and get a test/prescription.

johnny-17 · 12-10-2009, 6:38 PM

I would consider an online source for maybe a spare pair but I wouldn't trust anyone other than a face to face supplier when it came to my primary pair.
How do online stores ensure a good fit and what if you break them, as I do from time to time ?(My Optician fixes things for me the same day.)

Don't get me wrong, I think glasses are expensive for what you get, when you can buy a plasma tv for the same price

. But at the same time I don't usually use the words cheaper and eyesight in the same sentence very often

Philly112 · 26-10-2009, 12:47 PM

Just a quick upate.

I have spent the last couple of weeks looking at the options.

Well, I have ordered a pair of glasses from Glasses Direct and will let you know how they are when they arrive.

I got a pack of 4 to look at from them; there really is no difference whatsoever in quality with GD and the high street in terms of frames. But of course I am aware that the lenses might be rubbish!

But I'll post again when they arrive (hopefully within a week or so, depending on the postal strike).

By the way, with my prescription etc, I reckon to have saved around £150-200 compared to an equivalent 'rimless' frame on the high street.
Or wasted £100 if the GD ones are rubbish!

Phil

orpheus · 26-10-2009, 1:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philly112

Just a quick upate.

I have spent the last couple of weeks looking at the options.

Well, I have ordered a pair of glasses from Glasses Direct and will let you know how they are when they arrive.

I got a pack of 4 to look at from them; there really is no difference whatsoever in quality with GD and the high street in terms of frames. But of course I am aware that the lenses might be rubbish!

But I'll post again when they arrive (hopefully within a week or so, depending on the postal strike).

By the way, with my prescription etc, I reckon to have saved around £150-200 compared to an equivalent 'rimless' frame on the high street.
Or wasted £100 if the GD ones are rubbish!

Phil

Why would you think the lenses would be rubbish? They use the same labs to make them as the high st opticians, so provided your prescription is correct, and you have given the correct PD measurement, the lenses should be spot on.
If anything, the frames would be where GD economise, but then high street opticians make a huge mark up on the frames because of their business model.

Philly112 · 26-10-2009, 1:42 PM

Lets see...

The GD frames were certainly A1; but of course I can't comment on the lenses until I have a pair.

Phil

Inked · 26-10-2009, 2:34 PM

Myself and the Wife have both got pairs from GD and have been very happy with them.

Philly112 · 26-10-2009, 4:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inked

Myself and the Wife have both got pairs from GD and have been very happy with them.

Glad to hear that your wife has a nice pair

What are her glasses like?

Hopefully I'll get mine in a few days and will report back.

Phil

Philly112 · 02-11-2009, 10:30 AM

Just to update.
Mine arrived today from GD.

And first impressions are great. Build quality is good. I maybe need to do a small adjustment to the bridge, but I'll leave it a couple of days. As these are rimless, they are so much lighter than I am used to, so I need to get used to their weight before I start bending things!
I think I have saved £200 or so based on similar designs available on the high street.

Phil