Any opticians around? Quick question re etiquette

[Pocketfullofdogtreats]

Hi, I need new glasses but my current (expensive!) ones are only around 9 months old. My optician doesn't reglaze old frames - at least, they said previously that it's much cheaper for me to get new ones. Is it really bad form to have an eye test (NHS - free for me) and then take the prescription somewhere else?
TIA

No absolutely fine.

Absolutely not bad form, I used to work in a very well known store (starting and ending in S) and we'd have customers taking their prescription elsewhere all the time. If you're worried, tell them you'll be coming back in the next few weeks with a family member to help choose frames.
The optician isn't losing out on money for the test as they claim the test cost from the NHS

I'm not an optician, but I have done this - got my eye test in an expensive local opticians, the frames were just so expensive, so I took it to be filled it in a cheaper chain.

The optician who does the testing is getting paid for it, so I wouldn't worry.

I'm not the OP but I've been wondering this myself. I'm having my first adult eye test next week as I think I need reading glasses now but we've just had a large unexpected vet bill so I was worried it would seem awful of me if I said I couldn't afford to buy anything after the test.

Do they write the prescription down for you or do you need to ask for it? I'm 43 years old and honestly never had to deal with this before so I don't know what to expect. 🙈

You can of course take it elsewhere though nowhere on the high street apart from maybe Asda are cheaper than specsavers. But if you know where you're going to buy your glasses from, then just go there for the eye test in the first place. I assume most places take an NHS voucher?

The NHS currently pay the optician £23.53 for a sight test which does not cover the staff costs and other overheads. So whereas you are entitled to take your prescription elsewhere the optician doing the test will make a loss if you get your glasses elsewhere

You can take it where you like.

There must be opticians who have a big mark up on frames though.

i used to go to an optician who had the most up to date diagnostic machines. An extra test cost £35. The same test at Specsavers was £10. The independent opticians frames started at about £400 and went up to £1000. That’s really not affordable for most people.

I prefer an independent optician, but that’s out of my price range.

If you just need reading glasses then you can buy them cheaply online once you have your prescription

@Bluevelvetsofa I agree frame price is an absolute con. Generic pieces of plastic and metal with a designer label stuck on for a monumental mark up. It's not like they're engineered differently.

"My optician doesn't reglaze old frames - at least, they said previously that it's much cheaper for me to get new ones"

All opticians I've been to have said this but I ignore them, and unless I fancy new frames I ask them to reglaze my old ones. They say there is a risk the old frames may break, but they never have. So just tell the optician you want your old frames reglazed - assuming you have other glasses you can wear while you wait for them of course. They are unlikely to refuse.

It depends. I've had some cheap frames and some more expensive ones from an independent designer brand and there is a huge difference in the materials and general feel of the frames. I would compare it to the difference between cheap supermarket shoes and designer shoes.

How waistful to not reuse the frames
I always get my prescription and have my old frames refilled online

Just be aware that if you have nhs sight tests, they are only available "free" a set intervals, typically 2 years for adults without specific degenerative sight issues.

But if you do have degenerative sight issues and should have an annual sight test, it’s not really realistic for most people to replace glasses at upwards of £500 a time on an annual basis. Which is the price when you have a high prescription and need thinner lenses or whatever.

I used to go to an independent optician and always bought my glasses there but the prices jumped up massively each time.

On my last visit, I asked to have my one year old glasses reglazed.
“No, we don’t do that”.
I asked to see frames in a cheaper range than the £500 they were insisting on.
”No, these are the only ones that will fit you”

I said I would have to take my prescription elsewhere and the sales assistant went nuts, accused me of wasting her time and stormed off to the cash desk, leaving me to trail after her to pay the £50 for the eye test. Her parting shot - “If you want to buy these glasses you’ll have to make an appointment - we’re very busy!” There hadn’t been any other customers in the shop in the time I’d been there!

I don’t go there any more.

This is what I was planning on doing - they will be a couple of hundred pounds cheaper, especially as I want my spare pair done too.

Absolutely fine to take your prescription away and use it elsewhere.

Most opticians are perfectly capable of reglazing existing frames, but you'll find that all the juicy promotions - free lens coating, two-for-one deals - aren't available. So the cost is often higher than if you buy new frames. Which is wrong on so many levels, but there you go.

If you have standard lenses (i.e. not varifocals or anything fancy) there are online companies who do reglazing at a very reasonable price.

I think they're free if you've had a change? I've had cataracts removed and my prescription has changed drastically. But I need new glasses and am happy to pay if I need to.

If you have standard lenses (i.e. not varifocals or anything fancy) there are online companies who do reglazing at a very reasonable price.

The also dont give a monkeys about pupiliary distance or have any stringent quality control checks in place. It's such a shit industry I wish they'd make it more strictly controlled.

Tell me about it. My prescription has been around -10.5 for years and I have the thin lenses because the others are so heavy. But thankfully I have usually been able to hang onto each pair for three or four years.

On an industrial estate near me there's a family company which does the glazing for several opticians. They also sell direct to the public. They have a limited range of frames but they're happy to reglaze old frames and if they're not suitable for some reason, they'll explain why. They can provide ultra thin glass, special coatings etc at much lower prices than any of the local opticians. It would be well worth investigating whether you have anything like this near you.

This is my problem. I get about 9 months before my prescription changes and I need to replace. I also have a fresnel prism on one lens but can’t afford a ground in prism if I’m changing my lenses so often.

OK, thanks all for your info. So the upshot is that a) you're free to take your prescription elsewhere and eyelids won't be batted, but b) the optician's costs aren't covered by the £23 reimbursement, and c) if there's a subsequent problem with the new glasses then sorting it may be a hassle.
So it seems easier and more honourable to go for the eye test with whoever you'll be ordering the glasses from.
I think I'll go to my normal opticians and ask them to reglaze my old frame. If they won't then I'll go online. Might do that as well anyway for the second pair.
Thanks xx

@Pushkinia are you suitable for contact lenses? If so, your prescription might not change so quickly (as sitting directly on the eye) so I was told.