Glasses - soooo expensive!

I spent £89 on varifocal lenses (also astigmatic) which went into a pair of designer frames that cost me £120 5 years ago. (Went for a reglaze as couldn’t find any frames I liked.)

Asda’s lenses are fixed price and include thinning and coatings.

Yes you can, but they will probably charge you a reglaze fee.

Does anyone know if you can get your frames made up for you if you give them the prescription AND frames bought from elsewhere?

It's not no-one. I have moderate to severe astigmatism but the numbers for that are such that it doesn't call for a highly curved lens and the extra thickness is only at two points on the edge and not all round, as for myopia or in the middle - Ds2's lenses are like pebbles without thinning.

The higher index lenses aren't thinner overall, they just curve less. This does get conveniently glossed over by some opticians, admittedly. I had Boots upsell them to me about 25 years ago but then I went to Specsavers and was told in no uncertain terms that I didn't need them. I have been into and walked out of a different Boots more recently after overhearing them trying to do the same upsell to someone with a low prescription.

Size will have an effect on the thickness too, in a different way. The higher index is what costs more. The bigger the frame the thicker the lens will be. Size and index will both make a difference, but they are not interchangeable terms.

Either way, there is a place for standard index lenses. It’s not a con.

size/index, (the opticians themselves call it size when you’re there, and we both know I’m talking about the thickness of the lenses!)

No they aren’t. It’s not size, it index. If you just need basic readers then the base lens is fine. If your prescription is below -2 or so it’s fine. It’s not fake or obsolete.

lol I understand the mechanics of the different sizes, but the point is they create a false middle point and ‘starting from’ price. These lenses are obsolete as no-one wants or buys them. It’s a pricing strategy.

It's not the frames that cost.

They don’t ’pretend’ anything.

Lenses come in different indexes. The lower the index the thicker the lens will be. Higher index is more expensive. Standard lenses 1.35 will be thicker, there is no ‘pretending’ about it.

Standard lenses are made from a different material that will be thicker. It’s like making a dress. If you made it from basic calico it would be different if you made it from silk. Same dress, same pattern different material but more expensive.

They’re extortionate. It really irritates me as well how they pretend bottle lenses are the standard, with normal size lenses an expensive optional extra. Yeah right, I’m sure everyone’s going round looking like this. Disingenuous crap.

I think you maybe able to get it done for long-sightedness when the time comes!

If you have them for two years that's less than £1.00 a day to be able to see.

I always go for the titanium frames. I don't get on with plastic ones (narrow, bony nose) and I've become allergic to steel ones when the coating has been damaged, plus every gram of reduced weight makes them more comfortable. I wear them 17 hours a day and the price of the frames is a fraction of the total cost for me.

I get that! It wasn't a judgement! Just shock 😲

@MJOkayy it's a case of YMMV. I have a MN comfortable income and I wear my glasses every day. I'd rather have decent glasses than spend lots of money on getting gel nails or having a new car or flying long haul for a holiday or having a takeaway for Friday dinner every week. Once you have enough money to live on you make choices about what you spend your discretionary money on and different people prioritise different things.

I can't believe everyone pays so much!! I couldn't bring myself to spend more than £150 on a pair of glasses unless I absolutely had no choice!! I'd much prefer to spend under £100.

Anyone know if Asda do a basics style of glasses? Do they have any cheap £20 to £30 frames? Anyone found cheaper than Asda?

Thanks

@noworklifebalance It was short sightedness, I'd only been wearing glasses for 6 years and my eyesight had deteriorated, with a new prescription every two years. The surgeon did say I may need reading glasses as I get older but so far my eyesight has been fine.

I don’t think laser eye surgery prevents you from developing presbyopia, which is the condition that required varifocals and hence very expensive.
Or did you have it done specifically for long-sightedness?

I will make you feel better . Glasses here are cheap!
I’m from Italy . My mum just spent 800 euro on 1 pair of varifocal. She is only a -2 .
I absolutely love glasses , the more colourful the better. I’d love to have 1 of each colour to match with what I’m wearing 🤣🤣 obviously I don’t own that many , but for my 30th I asked my parents if they would gift me a pair of glasses from Italy . Sorry , but they do have some gorgeous frames over there . Anyway it was 450 euro for 1 pair . The normal lenses were 110 euro each .
here I just got eye test - oct scan- 2 pair ( 1 normal 1 with a boost at the bottom of the lens ) for 250£ .
to me they are a bargain! If yours are varifocal then let me tell you 500£ for two is basically nothing . My mum would have spent close to 1.5k if you include the eye test too.

Yes, my glasses are the most expensive thing I own. More expensive than any laptop I've ever bought and I don't have a flat or cat.

It’s hard to do.
Varifocal lenses have tiny markings engraved on them. From that you can take measurements to find the point that should be in front of your pupil.

@ChompandaGrazia so you have any tips on what to look for when checking the measurements are correct?

You can. DH got some varifocal on line just this week. You have to take a picture of you with the frames on and a ruler over the top of the frame, on your forehead. They can then work out all the measurements from that.
Both myself and DH worked in opticians in various roles. When his varifocals came back we knew what we were looking for to check them and are satisfied that they are correct.

You can’t do that with varifocals as they have to measure the eyes to see where the different lenses need to be.