How much for varifocals??

[Spaghettio]

Just been to the optician and been told I need varifocals.

Picked out the frames £270! Bloody hell.

Then the varifocals. The guy went through the different options and I went for Varilux Physio varifocals - which are on the higher end of the prices, but not the most expensive.

Total cost £500!!!

That seems insanely expensive, but I know varifocals can be much more expensive than normal lenses.

This was a Boots Optician, so will get quotes from Specsavers and other high street opticians, but is that the sort of price I should be looking at?

(On the upside, that's a lot of Boots points..... )

About average. Specsavers were 2 for£500 but I wouldn't recommend them at all.

You only get 1 point per £1 in boots opticians so only 500 points.

Do you need contact lenses? I have their plan and you get half price glasses on it

DH is just waiting for varifocals - he was originally quoted even more than you but found significantly cheaper options at Specsavers, which he's picking up next week.

I paid about £460 for mine from specsavers. It’s my first year needing varifocals, and I tend to need new glasses yearly so this is going to get real expensive very quickly!

Hundreds! I paid nearly £300 on boots with the cheapest possible frames. I did shop around. I could get them about £50 cheaper online, but no personal fitting and back up for quick repairs, so I went with boots

I've just spent about £350 on 2 pairs at specs avers. Boots are expensive and I overheard them going really heavy on the up-sell the last time I went in (even without that, I left empty handed because they only seem to sell women's frames in size dainty, which my head isn't.)

I haven't got the right prescription to warrant contacts so it's glasses for the foreseeable for me.

I knew they were expensive, but that's really stunned me! My eyes are getting worse so I'm assuming I'll need to pay for new glasses every year or so.

I'm sure I could get them cheaper online but I also like the fitting and service at our local Boots optician.

@PickAChew

I've just spent about £350 on 2 pairs at specs avers. Boots are expensive and I overheard them going really heavy on the up-sell the last time I went in (even without that, I left empty handed because they only seem to sell women's frames in size dainty, which my head isn't.)

I like Boots because they have dainty sizes - Specsavers glasses all seem massive on my head!

Go to Asda - two pairs of varifocals for £150 :-)

Please do not buy varifocals online. Getting the fit right is crucial and, IMO, can only be done by someone who has been properly trained to do so.

Don’t confuse the frame with the prescription, is my advice.

Any good optician will fit your script to whichever frame you choose (as long as the frame accommodates necessary size for your script).

However, there’s no getting around carifocal prices; shop around and good luck.

I got mine from glasses direct online for £200 which includes light reactive lenses as didn't want to keep swapping with sunglasses . I was a bit sceptical at first but you can return them if you don't like them. Not the same as trying them on in a store, to be honest, but significantly cheaper. I'd use them again.

Asda!!!! I had two pairs for less than £150 and one have reaction lenses. All of my family go to ASDA .........can't fault them.

You get what you pay for with varifocal lenses. The more expensive, the wider the field of view. However, I don't see the need to start with a top of the range lens unless you're doing huge amounts of screen time/reading with them. How high is your prescription? Physio lenses are fantastic but you're unlikely to be able to tolerate a poorer quality lens in future if you start with those. Boots and specsavers both do ranges of varifocals. There are cheaper ones available. It just depends how long you're willing to try and adjust to them for. The better (more expensive) the lens to begin with the easier they are to get used too. I wouldn't buy varifocals online first time round.

Another vote for Asda, I found after many years with Boots the prices were getting silly and the hard sell was getting on my nerves (I have worn glasses/lenses for a very long time) I would not buy them online though.

Oh and may add the last quote I had from a local optician, for high index varifocals with a non designer fame hit almost £1,000.....

Er no thanks....off to Asda

Have you had varifocals before? I have just today returned my pair to Specsavers after 3 weeks of trying and gone back to 2 separate pairs of distance and reading glasses.

Cost was going to be £329 with the 2 for 1 offer (as I also wanted tinted sunglasses version for outside) with frames £129 each. It's now costing a bit less £294 as normal glasses are cheaper.

These were the most expensive option with the widest reading viewing field possible. I just could not get on with them (for 2nd time, tried unsuccessfully many years ago but was persuaded they'd improved the technology). Everything was blurry at the edges when reading or looking at the laptop, so I had to keep turning my head from side to side like a tennis match. I think this is called peripheral distortion. Also had to tip my head back slightly to look down through the reading part.

Long distance only worked if I kept my head at one particular angle straight ahead and didn't move too much. OK for watching TV, anything else was useless. They also gave me a massive migraine after wearing them too long.

I have NO IDEA how other people manage with varifocals

I found varifocals a game changer @Gerwurtztraminer. I wouldn't be able to do my job efficiently if I had to keep changing my glasses over all the time.

Yep, Asda Opticians. Paid £40 for my last pair, and £80 for varifocal sunglasses.

Came on to also recommend Glasses Direct. Much cheaper and very quick service.

I got cheap frames and spent the money on lenses but do wear them all the time, spend a lot of time in front of screen and reading.
In fact I have my second set but had to downgrade the lens quality a bit at my optician no longer does the top spec. There is a noticeable difference.
I can't stand my frames and hope that next time I need new specs the lenses will have to changed so that I can justify new frames.

Asda, asda, asda... Very bad prescription, varifocals, thinned and tints.... 2 pairs and prescription goggles for less than £200

Another vote for Asda here - two pairs of varifocals, one of which is tented, with maximum thinning because I'm blind as a bat (not literally!) - around £150. Never ever had a problem with Asda specs.

I've had varifocals from Tesco and Glasses Direct. Both were fine.

I have just ordered two pairs of varifocals and two pairs of distance glasses for driving and sport from Specsavers, with all the applicable coatings, polarised sunglass lenses, and suchlike. Plus an eye test with the additional 3D scan test. £520