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I cannot afford them even with my vision insurance and wish I had never taken it now and I'm going to cancel too because the insurance at this point is only paying for an eye exam and to me I can pay that out of pocket once a year and not every paycheck ...I cannot get the plastic lenses with my prescription . So for me I have to pay out of pocket for my glasses and that is 350.00 I have to save up which means no movies , no new clothes etc until I have that money saved up I don't do crap .
did you try zenni on line? Zennioptical.com. i got a single vision for 23.00 and classy progressive with titanium for $65 with slip on sun glasses/
I cannot afford them even with my vision insurance and wish I had never taken it now and I'm going to cancel too because the insurance at this point is only paying for an eye exam and to me I can pay that out of pocket once a year and not every paycheck ...I cannot get the plastic lenses with my prescription . So for me I have to pay out of pocket for my glasses and that is 350.00 I have to save up which means no movies , no new clothes etc until I have that money saved up I don't do crap .
You may wish to look into Zenni (or other online retailers, but I can only personally speak for Zenni from experience). I require the higher index lens materials as well, and my glasses, through conventional retailers, cost even more than yours when I bought them that way. Mine are single vision, but they also fill bifocal and progressives orders.
For those of you who have used Zenni do they have the high quality progressives? Do they have the very thin, lightweight lenses also? I have terrible eyesight and in the old days my glasses looked very much like the bottom of a soda bottle. I wear my contacts 90% of the time but sometimes I need to wear the glasses and mine are probably 10 years old and definitely need replacing.
I went on their site and it seems pretty interesting but I didn't see answers to my questions on the FAQ's. You upload a picture of your face and then you can virtually try on the glasses which is a great idea. How many of you were very happy with the way the glasses actually looked on you when you got them?
Optician here. Like all businesses, we need to make a profit or we would cease to exist. Our prices are set primarily according to what the lab charges us for the lenses and coatings, and they charge us a great deal of money. Frames aren't cheap either. Brick and mortar opticals are just like every brick and mortar business: there are higher costs involved with running a brick and mortar business than there is with an online business. We have rent, employee salaries, maintenance and renovations, supplies, utilities, optical devices and equipment (we just purchased a $150,000 retinal scanner,) software and hardware, the optometrist's salary, so frames and lenses are hardly our only expense.
For those who purchase glasses at Zenni and other online opticals, if that works for you, great. However, if you have a problem with the glasses, if the lenses become damaged or the frame breaks, it would be difficult or impossible for you to do a return or repair. And what about adjustments? Glasses should be adjusted frequently to insure the best vision and comfort. A brick and mortar optical can easily adjust them for you. Eyewear is a matter of you get what you pay for.
If you want to purchase them in a brick and mortar store, there are ways you can save money if you don't have vision insurance or even if you do. You can get standard plastic lenses if you don't have a high prescription. You can forego the anti reflective coatings and Transitions coatings. You can choose a full frame rather than a grooved rimless frame or drill mount, which requires special manufacturing and lens materials. Or if you want coatings, choose the economy brand rather than the high end brand.
If you wear a progressive, I don't recommend getting the cheapest progressive lens though. A mid grade or premium lens offers much more patient satisfaction. The cheaper the progressive lens, the narrower the visual corridor, and the narrower the visual corridor, the more likely it is you will be unhappy with it because you have to turn your head too much to see clearly. And don't forget to ask about economy frames, special deals the optical is offering have, and military discounts if that applies. Medicare will also pay for one pair of glasses after cataract surgery if you have had that done. I hope that helped.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimdc58
This advertisement presented by Dr. Scooby.
Actually, the big problem is with Luxottica, the company that has a monopoly on eyewear in the United States. Outside of the bottom end places (Wal-Mart, America's Best), they pretty much control everything.
Now I don't know the business well enough to know if the profit is all going to Luxottica or whether independents like Dr. Scooby and his cohorts are taking a good sized chunk as well. But I do know that a couple of pieces of plastic shouldn't cost over $500. And since Luxottica sells them cheaper through their own stores, it's seems pretty obvious independents are indeed taking a good size cut.
Also, and again, I don't know about Dr. Scooby, but the majority of supposed upscale optical offices I have dealt with (I never go to Pearl, LensCrafters and the like) hire the most incompetent people to fit your glasses. Spending over $500 for glasses, and then having to go back repeatedly (or having them sell you frames that don't even fit your face to begin with) is inexcusable.....but pretty much the norm. (I have on several occasions had to demand my money back and go to another office.....only to struggle at getting fitted at the next office, as well.) Once I finally get a pair fitting right, I keep them as long as possible, because I find dealing with these people is even more stressful than buying a new car.
Wow. that was rude. And uncalled for. I'm a woman, BTW. And not a doctor. I've worked in optometry, ophthalmology, and opticianry for almost 15 years however, doing all ends of the business; assistance with patient workups, surgical tech, front desk, optical, LASIK eval, whatever. Assuming you aren't in the optical/optometry biz, and it sounds like you aren't, you don't know who controls what. I assure you it isn't Luxxottica. When I posted my response, I offered suggestions on how to save money, IF you want to buy in a physical optical.
I'm sorry if you have had difficulty buying glasses at other places, but not every optical is like that. In face, probably most aren't. I have no knowledge or control of the functioning of other opticals, only the ones I have worked for. Perhaps your attitude towards opticals in general doesn't help matters. BTW, our office accepts Medicaid and does charity work. We are one of only two opticals in our entire city who accepts Medicaid, and no other optical in our city does charity exams.
I have seven pair of readers - LR, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, purse, car, by the phone in the upstairs hallway. I have a prescription pair of bifocals which I tried to convince the doctor I would never wear and he insisted once I got used to them I'd never change.
I was right again! (Sometimes it's a curse)
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