Charged €480 for New Glasses

ohnonotgmail

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

I was in at the weekend for glasses to use with my laptop.
The optician told me I needed antiglare.
I can't understand why that would be necessary for a laptop LCD.

I'm wondering now if I can object when I pick them up that I want my money back and reject for mis selling

If you are using them for the computer all day then an anti-glare coating does cut down on eye strain.

Ray Palmer

I have a pair of smart glasses with inbuilt bone conductivity speakers, anti glare, transition lenses for €250.

What most people don't know is glass frame manufacture is practically a monopoly of Luxottica. All major brands are made by them and then sold by them through other companies they own.

railer201

For that price I would expect to be able to see around corners !

Spook_ie

Until you use a pair of anti-glare coated glasses you won't know what you're talking about, same as with using thinner lenses but yeah you really should shop around.

Though sometimes it gets difficult to compare prices when I last brought a pair the lenses were €180 the frame €80 the time before the lenses were €100 and the frames were €160, and yeah they were similar lenses as regards thinner

Emmersonn

topmanamillion wrote: »

Specsavers do 2 pairs of designer frames for €180. So yes, it is expensive.
Clearly a bit of a cowboy outfit that let you get to the till without discussing the price.

Typical .Always blame someone else. The op should have asked the price of the frames. Learn from the experience and move on.

meeeeh

That's fairly expensive. I don't like Specsavers and from my experience the rubbish you get is not much cheaper than local optician. However I would not pay that much for glasses. Especially because most of the frames sold anywhere are made in the same factory.

murpho999

mariaalice wrote: »

I don't know if I would be messing with eyesight, my husband has to get a different lens for each eye so glasses can be expensive but its the one thing he would be very wary of getting online.

Sorry but glasses is not messing with your eyesight.

I have different lenses for each eye too and you just order them as per your prescription. A different lens for each eye does not make it any more expensive.

Why would doing so n a shop be any better than doing the exact same thing online?

Getting items online does not mean inferior quality.

meeeeh

murpho999 wrote: »

Sorry but glasses is not messing with your eyesight.

I have different lenses for each eye too and you just order them as per your prescription. A different lens for each eye does not make it any more expensive.

Why would doing so n a shop be any better than doing the exact same thing online?

Getting items online does not mean inferior quality.

It might not but I wear glasses all the time. I want to make sure they suit me and so glasses are one of the few things I don't buy online.

Ray Palmer

Spook_ie wrote: »

Until you use a pair of anti-glare coated glasses you won't know what you're talking about, same as with using thinner lenses but yeah you really should shop around.

Though sometimes it gets difficult to compare prices when I last brought a pair the lenses were €180 the frame €80 the time before the lenses were €100 and the frames were €160, and yeah they were similar lenses as regards thinner

I have had anti-glare glasses and found they made very little difference if any. Unless you have a very thick lenses I wouldn't see the reason to go to the extra expense.

Transition lenses on the other hand is something I will pay the money for. Each to their own

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

€500+ for my glasses. Varifocal with transmission lens and comfortable durable frames.

The Tetrarch

My last two pairs were about E700 each.
The first pair lasted ten years and I still have them as backup.
At about E70 a year they are/were value.
They have titanium frames which makes them durable.

The main cause of short-sightedness is lack of sunlight during childhood and early teens. But if your child begins developing it and you bring them to the optician, there is not a single one in the country who will tell you this. "Here's a pair of glasses, see you next year for some stronger ones". Industry of scammers.

Johnny Sausage

Logo wrote: »

I went to a local Opticians today

Shouldve gone to specsavers

weldoninhio

andekwarhola wrote: »

Got my first pair of reading glasses there a year or two ago and just walked away with what I asked for. No forced extras.

Ah they do give the hard sell in fairness, but i've never caved either.

Yurt2

An excellent Guardian long read about the global glasses and optometry industry. And by long read, I mean really long. A good read if you want to understand why you're paying so much for a bunch of plastic screwed/glued together.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/may/10/the-invisible-power-of-big-glasses-eyewear-industry-essilor-luxottica

"The profit margins within the optical business are a closely guarded secret, but insiders explained to me that while opticians might sell frames for two, or two and a half times, their wholesale price, it is the lenses where they make the most money, charging markups of 700% or 800% to their customers. The largest margins of all are on complex progressive lenses and protective coatings – for scratch resistance, or to cut out blue light – features that cost Essilor a few cents to make, and which opticians sell for between £25 and £50 a pop. Even Luxottica executives are awed by this. “Ray-Ban did a good job of saying Ray-Ban would cost $150, £150, €150 and the equivalent across the world. A little bit like the Big Mac, right?” one former marketing manager told me. “But lenses? Nobody knows how much lenses cost. The consumers don’t know. Nobody knows.”

Doctors room ghost

You need for to always know and agree on a price beforehand op and know it’s within your budget and what you are willing to spend.

Yurt2

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

You need for to always know and agree on a price beforehand op and know it’s within your budget and what you are willing to spend.

Read the article. Opticians have historically been loathe to be transparent about price. My anecdote about the jamjar lenses holds true.

Even if you pin them down on price for lenses and frames beforehand, when you go to pay they produce mid-20th century jamjar lenses (I'm not joking, these things were ridiculous - and not industry standard for decades) and try to bs you that this was 'the standard' and that the 'ultra-thin optolex super-vision 3000 lenses(TM)' cost 120 euro or more on top. Those lenses cost cents to make. All part of the hustle.

acelt67

Logo wrote: »

I went to a local Opticians today and PRSI payments covered the eye test. I found frames (none of which had a price tag) that were suitable. Honestly not sure if €480 is excessive for a pair of specs, Maybe I should have inquired about the price of frames but I didn't. I'm not used to buying glasses but is this expensive?

You were done up like a kipper

antix80

Yurt! wrote: »

Even if you pin them down on price for lenses and frames beforehand, when you go to pay they produce mid-20th century jamjar lenses (I'm not joking, these things were ridiculous - and not industry standard for decades) and try to bs you that this was 'the standard' and that the 'ultra-thin optolex super-vision 3000 lenses(TM)' cost 120 euro or more on top. Those lenses cost cents to make. All part of the hustle.

They do the same for the anti-glare. They should you a jamjar that's all scratched and has an impossible glare, and another lens beside it that doesn't have any sheen. It would convince anyone to get the coating.

I’d pay a grand for a pair I didn’t have to wipe every 10 minutes.

arybvtcw0eolkf

andekwarhola wrote: »

Got my first pair of reading glasses there a year or two ago and just walked away with what I asked for. No forced extras.

I got a pair of reading glasses too, in Dealz for €1:50

Kivaro

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

I’d pay a grand for a pair I didn’t have to wipe every 10 minutes.

A pair with windscreen wipers on them?

Calhoun

Ray Palmer wrote: »

I have had anti-glare glasses and found they made very little difference if any. Unless you have a very thick lenses I wouldn't see the reason to go to the extra expense.

Transition lenses on the other hand is something I will pay the money for. Each to their own

Depends on where you go you can get allot of the extra's on the lenses on the cheap as well. I was noticing that when i got glasses and a spare set i rarely if ever used the spare. So rather than getting the two i just got the one with price taken off the lense work.

AndrewJRenko

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

I’d pay a grand for a pair I didn’t have to wipe every 10 minutes.

They're called 'contact lenses'.

AMKC

Logo wrote: »

I went to a local Opticians today and PRSI payments covered the eye test. I found frames (none of which had a price tag) that were suitable. Honestly not sure if €480 is excessive for a pair of specs, Maybe I should have inquired about the price of frames but I didn't. I'm not used to buying glasses but is this expensive?

Very expensive. I got two pairs around two years ago for that price and I felt like I got a bad deal so you got a terrible deal. Are they carbon fibre frame or titanium frame or sometime as they would want to be for that price.

Neames

Recently had an eye test myself. Beforehand I checked was there a cost, was told no it's covered under PRSI.

Was told that I needed reading glasses. Asked was there a cost, they told me I could have frames to the value of €89 at no cost, covered by PRSI.

Grand, I'll have a pair to the value of €89. Just a few questions and the cost at the end was zero.

AllForIt

I've bought my glasses (frames + lenses with coatings) online for years. No more than €50. The only reason I've had to replace them is cause I've either lost them or broke them. Perfectly happy with plastic frames. They usually last me approx 2 years by which time I like a change in style anyway.

meeeeh

Calhoun wrote: »

Depends on where you go you can get allot of the extra's on the lenses on the cheap as well. I was noticing that when i got glasses and a spare set i rarely if ever used the spare. So rather than getting the two i just got the one with price taken off the lense work.

I like to get sunglasses with prescription lenses as second pair. One good pair of glasses with clear lenses is enough. Well at least until dog eats them.

Calhoun

meeeeh wrote: »

I like to get sunglasses with prescription lenses as second pair. One good pair of glasses with clear lenses is enough. Well at least until dog eats them.

I used to do that, then leave them in the car and forget about them.

Jamie2k9

Wearing glasses all my life, usually get one frame for €50-€100 which typically and typical get a new pair every 2-3 years (more preference than need). Current frames were €39 and I have them 2.5 years. My prescriptions is about €160 but thats higher because I get them thinned out.

Sleepy

Honestly, I think anyone not buying their glasses from the likes of goggles4u.co.uk is just throwing away their money at this stage. I got two pairs with my mad prescription (I have astigmatism in my left eye so that lens is far stronger than the one I take on the right eye) and all the coatings for under €40 a few weeks ago. I think I paid all of about €30 for my prescription sunglasses from them and I've had them for 3/4 years at this stage.

They're so cheap on-line that Mrs Sleepy must have a dozen pairs from them at this stage, she literally has different glasses to match different outfits.

Sleepy

Sleepy wrote: »

Honestly, I think anyone not buying their glasses from the likes of goggles4u.co.uk is just throwing away their money at this stage. I got two pairs with my mad prescription (I have astigmatism in my left eye so that lens is far stronger than the one I take on the right eye) and all the coatings for under €40 a few weeks ago. I think I paid all of about €30 for my prescription sunglasses from them and I've had them for 3/4 years at this stage.

They're so cheap on-line that Mrs Sleepy must have a dozen pairs from them at this stage, she literally has different glasses to match different outfits.

How do you get the prescription first place do you just ask for it after the eye exam and then say that grand I am not buying the glasses from you.

ohnonotgmail

mariaalice wrote: »

How do you get the prescription first do you just ask for it and then say that grand I am not buying the glasses from you.

Thats it. You are entitled to a copy of your prescription. They get paid for doing the eye test, whether from you directly or via your PRSI. Just make sure you ask them for your pupiliary distance as well. you need that to buy glasses online.

Diceicle

Saved myself around 100-120 by going to Glasses Direct rather than any of the outfits here. Same pair or frame too (Polo)

wakka12

You were robbed. Thats an obscene amount of money to spend on glasses

Oasis1974

A Monocol costs more over €700 I have one.

meeeeh

Sleepy wrote: »

Honestly, I think anyone not buying their glasses from the likes of goggles4u.co.uk is just throwing away their money at this stage. I got two pairs with my mad prescription (I have astigmatism in my left eye so that lens is far stronger than the one I take on the right eye) and all the coatings for under €40 a few weeks ago. I think I paid all of about €30 for my prescription sunglasses from them and I've had them for 3/4 years at this stage.

They're so cheap on-line that Mrs Sleepy must have a dozen pairs from them at this stage, she literally has different glasses to match different outfits.

I prefer one pair that suits me well than dozen that are ok. For me buying 12 pairs is throwing away money and excessive consumption.

Well apparently there is someplace when arty design-conscious Architects and the like buy their glasses they are hand made and cost thousands.

Sleepy

mariaalice wrote: »

How do you get the prescription first place do you just ask for it after the eye exam and then say that grand I am not buying the glasses from you.

Exactly.You can usually get the eye-test covered under your PRSI contributions too.

TBH, I usually make some excuse not to choose frames then and there, usually something like "ah, I'll get the Mrs to come in with me to make sure she likes them!"

Sleepy

meeeeh wrote: »

I prefer one pair that suits me well than dozen that are ok. For me buying 12 pairs is throwing away money and excessive consumption.

I wouldn't buy 12 myself, I'm not that fashion conscious! The two pairs I got recently were identical as I wanted a backup pair in case I break the ones I have.

mariaalice wrote: »

Well apparently there is someplace when arty disigne conscious Architects and the like buy their glasses they are hand made and cost thousands.

If you've ever watched "how's it made" there's a great episode on glasses where you can see frames getting split at the end of the lime to be stamped with different branding for the various high end brands (Gucci, Ralph Lauren etc.) despite having just come from the same production line!

I'm sure if you've more money than sense (or are excessively vain) you can buy true works of sculpture. Another cooler (IMO) option I've heard of is an optician in town that carries vintage frames which they put your prescription into. Quite pricey though!

Jellybaby1

Neames wrote: »

Recently had an eye test myself. Beforehand I checked was there a cost, was told no it's covered under PRSI.

Was told that I needed reading glasses. Asked was there a cost, they told me I could have frames to the value of €89 at no cost, covered by PRSI.

Grand, I'll have a pair to the value of €89. Just a few questions and the cost at the end was zero.

I'm retired, and I was told that I could have an eye test free of charge on my PRSI contributions, which was great, but I paid for the frames. I wonder is there a difference between a working PRSI and a retired PRSI, does anyone here know? Should I have been offered the frames free as well?

Quantum Erasure

probably misses his old glasses...

ardinn

depends on you prescription - mine usually come in around the €600 mark unfortunately