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Post by andy on Jan 28, 2023 18:25:27 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2023 18:49:23 GMT
Well I went to Costco optician and came out a bit lighter. They only do premium varifocals on Zeiss glass (my current ones are premium on Nikon) so they should be no real difference in quality and view through these. They are the drivesafe and have the anti glare coating as well as being anti scratch and with a thinner lens. The lenses were £250 so a fair bit cheaper than I have paid at my optician. Hopefully they will be good. My varifocals are due for renewal. I have tried Costco in the past, they were fine but I moved to Specsavers. Some of the prices charged by opticians are very difficult to justify and diminishing returns plays a part. |
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Post by JohnY on Jan 28, 2023 20:26:04 GMT
The law of diminishing returns is very much alive.
On the topic of Zeiss or Nikon spec lenses. Look at this way. You use your Nikon camera lenses(if you use Nikon cameras) , on average say a few thousand times a month for around a two hundredth of a second. Lets over estimate and say 5 seconds per month. For how many hours do you use your spectacles?
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Post by dorsetmike on Jan 28, 2023 20:32:16 GMT
I went to Vision Express in a local Tesco, prices started at about £30 for single focus up to about £90 for bifocals, from what I could figure out most of the cost in the more expensive places is for the frames and probably a mark up for being in posher premises.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2023 20:43:09 GMT
The law of diminishing returns is very much alive. On the topic of Zeiss or Nikon spec lenses. Look at this way. You use your Nikon camera lenses(if you use Nikon cameras) , on average say a few thousand times a month for around a two hundredth of a second. Let’s over estimate and say 5 seconds per month. For how many hours do you use your spectacles? True but is a very small improvement in the quality of specs costing £100+ justified? Not for me. As I age tiredness plays more of a part of my vision than my glasses. |
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Post by lesleysm2 on Jan 28, 2023 21:52:29 GMT
Yesterday I had to chase my umbrella company for the 2 days I did last week but when they paid they gave me a rather large tax rebate. I queried it but they say that's what HMRC said when they inputted my P45. Still think its wrong and will come and bite my bum later but having just gone through some short weeks and ending up a little bit in rent arrears as a result plus I have a few other bills to pay I am just going to enjoy it right now I no longer owe any rent for a start
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Post by dreampolice on Jan 28, 2023 21:56:31 GMT
It is not just the manufacturer of the lens that increases the cost. Yes you can get cheaper lenses but as far as I understand it, there is also a difference in the design of the lenses, basic through premium, affecting field of view etc and the areas available for reading differs between the basic end and the upper end.
My current pair of specs have lasted 4 years, and other than for obvious reasons I always have them on. They are a bit knackered now, one of the arms is always loose despite being tightened up several times and has at one point fallen off.
My prescription has changed slightly and I didn't need to change, other than for some new frames. It obviously made sense to replace the lenses on the new specs with the new prescription. These new glasses, if they also last 4 years, will cost me £80 odd a year. I am happy with that for top of the range glass and a nice frame.
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Post by lesleysm2 on Jan 29, 2023 2:22:42 GMT
Most of the cost in the more expensive places is for the frames
I use a local opticians and a few years back they did a special offer on varifocals with Zeiss lenses for £150 I didn't need a change of prescription but the frame of the pair I was using was starting to wear out so I got them
A week or so later when I went to clean the lens one of them was a bit loose and when I looked the frame had a crack in it so I went back to the optician and they agreed they needed to replace the frame and could if I found a frame I liked just remount the lenses onto it there and then but none of the frames they had fitted the lenses
Then he pulled out a frame he'd just had delivered that would fit perfectly and said he would have to charge me the cost price he paid showed me the invoice and it was for £45 so I paid that
They had the same frames in Specsavers for £495 probably just because their D&G frames
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Post by mick on Jan 29, 2023 9:57:55 GMT
Well I went to Costco optician and came out a bit lighter. They only do premium varifocals on Zeiss glass (my current ones are premium on Nikon) so they should be no real difference in quality and view through these. They are the drivesafe and have the anti glare coating as well as being anti scratch and with a thinner lens. The lenses were £250 so a fair bit cheaper than I have paid at my optician. Hopefully they will be good. My varifocals are due for renewal. I have tried Costco in the past, they were fine but I moved to Specsavers. Some of the prices charged by opticians are very difficult to justify and diminishing returns plays a part. On the advice of a consultant ophthalmologist (hope that's the right word) my wife and I changed from Specsavers to a pretty expensive local optician. We both wear varifocals and both paid quite a lot more for the lenses at the local place than we had ever paid at specsavers. In both cases (i.e. specsavers and local) we ordered "top of the range" lenses. Now I have no hard evidence to support what I'm about to say. We both think that we have a wider corridor of vision with the more expensive lenses. I am, without any doubt, much happier driving than I was. There's a particular local junction where peripheral vision is important and I'm now pretty confident negotiating that junction whereas, with the cheaper lenses, I was always a bit nervous that I'd missed something.
Of course all this might be me trying to justify the extra expense to myself!
Mick
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2023 12:11:39 GMT
My varifocals are due for renewal. I have tried Costco in the past, they were fine but I moved to Specsavers. Some of the prices charged by opticians are very difficult to justify and diminishing returns plays a part. On the advice of a consultant ophthalmologist (hope that's the right word) my wife and I changed from Specsavers to a pretty expensive local optician. We both wear varifocals and both paid quite a lot more for the lenses at the local place than we had ever paid at specsavers. In both cases (i.e. specsavers and local) we ordered "top of the range" lenses. Now I have no hard evidence to support what I'm about to say. We both think that we have a wider corridor of vision with the more expensive lenses. I am, without any doubt, much happier driving than I was. There's a particular local junction where peripheral vision is important and I'm now pretty confident negotiating that junction whereas, with the cheaper lenses, I was always a bit nervous that I'd missed something.
Of course all this might be me trying to justify the extra expense to myself!
Mick
I’m sure you are right Mick, however having tried the expensive versions, I find that the Specsavers top of the range lenses suit my eyes. My vision is not far from normal which I think helps. Lenses customised to your eyes also makes a difference. I expect that if I went with the very best lenses, I would get an improvement but this is where diminishing returns comes into play. Perhaps laser surgery is cheaper in the long term! |
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Post by dreampolice on Jan 29, 2023 18:26:25 GMT
On the advice of a consultant ophthalmologist (hope that's the right word) my wife and I changed from Specsavers to a pretty expensive local optician. We both wear varifocals and both paid quite a lot more for the lenses at the local place than we had ever paid at specsavers. In both cases (i.e. specsavers and local) we ordered "top of the range" lenses. Now I have no hard evidence to support what I'm about to say. We both think that we have a wider corridor of vision with the more expensive lenses. I am, without any doubt, much happier driving than I was. There's a particular local junction where peripheral vision is important and I'm now pretty confident negotiating that junction whereas, with the cheaper lenses, I was always a bit nervous that I'd missed something.
Of course all this might be me trying to justify the extra expense to myself!
Mick
I’m sure you are right Mick, however having tried the expensive versions, I find that the Specsavers top of the range lenses suit my eyes. My vision is not far from normal which I think helps. Lenses customised to your eyes also makes a difference. I expect that if I went with the very best lenses, I would get an improvement but this is where diminishing returns comes into play. Perhaps laser surgery is cheaper in the long term! I know of several people who have had eye surgery (lens replacement I think it was as opposed to laser). They are now having to wear specs again. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2023 19:19:36 GMT
Perhaps laser surgery is cheaper in the long term! I know of several people who have had eye surgery (lens replacement I think it was as opposed to laser). They are now having to wear specs again. That is one of my concerns along with the fact that I am not keen on anything that could damage my eyes. |
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Post by JohnY on Jan 29, 2023 19:27:27 GMT
If one has surgery for a cloudy lens then specs are inevitable. Better to wear specs than be blind. What gets me is the high cost in UK. Various charities tell us that the surgery can be done for a few quid in so called developing nations. If we, in Britain want such surgery it either costs a bomb privately or a ten year wait on the NHS.
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Post by dreampolice on Jan 29, 2023 19:34:34 GMT
If one has surgery for a cloudy lens then specs are inevitable. Better to wear specs than be blind. What gets me is the high cost in UK. Various charities tell us that the surgery can be done for a few quid in so called developing nations. If we, in Britain want such surgery it either costs a bomb privately or a ten year wait on the NHS. My mum has had both of her eyes done for cataracts. All with in a matter of weeks after referral from her optician to one of the private eye clinics in Manchester. It was done on the NHS though over 2 separate visits. Initially it was a referral from her GP but was told it could be a year but a friend recommended the route direct through her optician which makes things a lot quicker. She now only has to wear specs for reading. When I was in my opticians the other day he was just finishing with a customer, and he was doing the same thing and referring her to the same clinic in Manchester. |
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Post by MJB on Jan 29, 2023 21:30:16 GMT
I had laser treatment on the NHS for maculopaphy. From referral by my optician to being seen and then treated at Bath RUH was about 6 weeks. Not 10 years as suggested by John.
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