to wonder if I was being fleeced? M

[YellowLily]

light hearted - kinda

Went to the opticians today, been putting it off for a while just because.. life, busy etc.

Had an eye test - of course eyes have changed slightly enough to warrant new prescription. I have a rather strong prescription and they always try to flog me the really thin lenses. This time though they said that because I haven't had thin lenses in the past my eyes are uncomfortable and could be contributing to my migraines (which I mentioned concern about). They also went on to say it's imperative I buy a pair of sunglasses as due to my migraines I must be light sensitive - and it's also important that they have polarised lenses.

All in all (BEFORE FRAMES) their recommendations came to £380. When she asked if I'd like to look at frames I made an excuse although have made an appointment to go back.

AIBU to wonder if all this is necessary or whether they saw me coming?

Yes they love to upsell, I always tell them I don't want thinning etc. Sunglasses are a good idea, but i went to Specsavers and got 1 pair of sunglasses and a pair of glasses in the regular 2 for 1 deal. You can easily ask for your prescription and take it elsewhere.

Ultimately you can decide what you need. They're just recommendations, but your eyes are pretty important and they may well help with your migraines. Not sure about the light sensitivity thing, if I were you i would do a bit of research on that side of things to maybe give you a bit of confidence in their suggestions - or ask for another opinion/ shop around for prices on the same things, loads of opticians around these days.

I wear glasses all the time.
It's expensive but I always get the best lenses possible.
And I also have sunglasses as that's really important.
But that's my choice.
Your choice is whatever you want.
If you don't want thin lenses then tell them you don't want them.

it does sound a bit OTT. Have you tried Ollie & Quinn? I just got some new glasses from them, including fancy lenses, for £98.

www.olliequinn.co.uk/

I swear I don't work for them but they had the best customer service I've experienced for a long time. They do have extra lens options if you do need something specific but I'd defo recommend them!

My glasses cost about that without having a pair of sunglasses. I wear them all day every day, so a new pair of glasses is not dissimilar in cost to a year's worth of daily disposable contact lenses.

If I were you I'd get a second opinion. Not because they were wrong but no ophthalmologist worth their salt will give you an opinion on a chat forum and therefore, the only opinions you'll get will be uneducated ones.

I used to get thin lenses to save the weight on my nose.

I find it much more comfortable to wear contacts and glasses when it's sunny and find it uncomfortable to wear clear lenses in the sun.

Thin lenses can be expensive but what else did they say to increase the price? Was it those (can't think of the right word) glasses that darken in the bright and lighten in the dark?

I get my glasses online from glasses direct. Super easy and super cheap compared to the high street and they do a home trial so you can get 4 frames sent to you at a time to try on before you order with your prescription

Can't get glasses from Glasses Direct due to my prescription...

They were talking about some anti dust waterproof coating for an extra £50 which I think sounded like ridiculous sales patter. I was more concerned / interested in the polarised lens for the sunnies - she was saying that would really help with the migraines and gave me sunnies with and without polarised to see the difference. When I said I couldn't see much of one she said its because its (admittedly) cloudy and I would definitely feel the benefit when its sunny.

The thin lenses they recommended were the absolute thinnest also which were nearly £200 alone.. hmm.. Its just a lot of money to pay all in one go! I was just shocked, I've never been given so many options to add on before - and I suppose it was because they weren't really given to me as options but absolutely imperative. I did say that I don't really need a dust proof coating and she said well of course that one is up to you - but the rest of it is what the optician has recommended. I suppose the point I was making is - I'd be willing to fork out if its really beneficial and likely to help - but if it was just selling for the sake of selling (I never usually go for ultra thin lenses) then I'd rather not spend half my month's rent on something unnecessary iyswim.

I always get the thinnest lenses available due to my massive bottle-bottom prescription but I didn't think I've paid that much for them ever - get a copy of your prescription and do some research?

Sunglasses are a great idea for protecting your eyes long term but I never bother with prescription ones, I put my contacts in and wear cheapo boots sunnies. I do love polarised for driving though, but I've never heard about them being better for migraines. I think they probably don't have bad suggestions but definitely worth researching to see if their claim about migranss is true.

Go to Specsavers. The prices are in the website, so a bit more upfront about the costs.

Get overglasses instead for sunglasses. DH is light sensitive and he gets his from Noir Medical. They are fantastic and Lori is always very helpful. DH has used them for a few years now and always 100% happy.

www.noir-medical.com/

I do think polarised lenses are nicer for general sunglasses when worn with contacts. I've never compared them when as prescription sunnies.

Did you ask about the difference between thin and super-thin lenses. They should be able to show you some unground lenses so that you can see the difference.

I stick by 'get a second professional opinion'.

I'd also say that whilst it is a huge amount of money, glasses are likely to be things that you use more than anything else. You'd maybe spend 10x that for a car you use a couple of hours a day whereas your specs are on your nose for 12+ hours. When I realised that I got frames I loved, thin lenses etc and had glasses I really didn't mind wearing.

YANBU OP. You are being fleeced.

This HAS to be specsavers, boots, or vision express.

My DH who has tricky eyesight, and all sorts of micro issues, went to ASDA Opticians 10 months ago, and got 2 pairs for £99, including a pair of vari-focals. He has had no problems at all. Except one. The lense fell out after 3 months. They repaired it though, and it never broke again.

The main opticians are rip off merchants imo. When my DH went Specsavers 2 years ago, he paid £259 for ONE PAIR of glasses. Scandalous. That is why he tried Asda.

You are being quoted over £300 for a pair of glasses? They're taking the piss. Go for a test at Asda. You will not be disappointed.

another vote for asda and very impressed with the after sales bit, nothings too much hassle

They have definitely upsold to you, but you have to decide how much you want to spend based on how much you wear your glasses ... so yes there might be a large initial outlay but when you break it down you'd be paying just over £1 a day over the course of a year. and if you wear your glasses all day, every day then that's pretty cheap ... if you only need them for occasional use then that kind of outlay might be more than you're willing to spend.

I have a complex prescription - one severely short sighted eye, one severely long sighted, astigmatism - and I have a degenerative condition so that my eyes will continue to get worse. On average I have to get new lenses every 18 months, if I'm lucky I can stretch it out to 2 years but wearing them all day, they get a good battering and I tend to have to buy new frames every time. I could spend £400 on lenses with all the thinning, anti scratch, super deluxe coating and all the other bells and whistles and £200 on decent, hard wearing frames every time, but since I never know how long they're going to last before I have to change my prescription again I have to balance that fact against the fact they are something I will wear every day and so want to buy something that makes me feel good.

I recently just had to get a new prescription and new frames, I go to Vision Express and they were having a 2 for 1 offer on frames, so I got two new sets of frames for £130 and then my lenses came out to be £150 because I have them thinned enough to fit my preferred frames (my prescription lenses normal thickness don't fit a lot of frames so limits my choice if they aren't thinned at least a little bit) but I don't bother with any of the million and one coating options as I'm pretty good at not scratching the lenses and if I ever did, that's what the spare pair is for.

£280 for two pairs of glasses is definitely worth it for me, but I know some friends have spent waaaaay more on glasses because they have a pretty stable prescription so their £500 glasses will be good for the next 5 years and they can afford the initial outlay on decent lenses/frames that will last that long upfront .

right...

Pretty much all thinned lenses come with the coating on automatically from the manufacturers so they are (mostly) trying to trip you up by making their lenses look cheaper, and then adding on the coating

Polarising lenses are fabulous for sunnies, so that is well worth the spend

the normal lenses making your eyes tired is just hooey, one thing I will say is a coated lens can be more comfortable to look through, as you will get fewer reflections and therefore a tiny percentage more light through the specs

what's your prescription?

and if you do go elsewhere you won't need another exam...just take your rx with you and you are good!

The advice on migraines seems fishy to me, though it might not be because they are trying to upsell - theres a lot of misunderstanding about migraines. Based on my (sadly extensive experience) when you have a migraine you can be light sensitive but:
a) by that point you already have the migraine and no glasses in the world will make it disappear
b) sunglasses will not be enough to reduce your light sensitivity in my experience
c) where are you planning to go with a migraine where you'd wear sunglasses? Because my migraines are so bad I can barely move, let alone go out in the sun ...

If the migraines are triggered by vision issues, then your prescription is important and you might want some prescription sunglasses to help prevent the migraines in the first place (in which case light sensitivity never happens). If your trigger is NOT vision, sunglasses (or thick or thin lenses) will do bugger all.

I'm assuming here you have standard migraines - if you have silent migraines I don't know enough to understand if sunglasses will help.

Read up on the Migraine Trust website and arm yourself with good information before you go back. Go back knowing what you do and don't want and stick to your guns.

DH wears daily contact lenses. I think he spends around £250-300 ish a year on them on a subscription.

If you're expecting to wear this pair of glasses for a year or two then £280 plus frames is in the same ballpark as daily contact lenses. You wear them absolutely every day so they're as much a part of your appearance as your hair cut/colour etc which you would also accept spending money on.

Just for another perspective.

Doesn't mean you're not being fleeced; just that it's not an unreasonable amount to spend on glasses.

My opticians are like this, quoted £200 for one pair of lenses without frames. So I voted with my feet and went somewhere else.

I also have to pay for lense thinning as my prescription is -11 so they're like bottle bottoms otherwise.

I always go for the thinnest available but don't think it's ever cost more than £100 for the lenses. I'd definitely shop around.

Yanbu!!

It was 2 pairs for £99 last time i went to asda. Anti reflective and anti scratch coatings included.

Get your prescription, then order your specs off the internet for a fraction of the price!

Go to asda...seriously. Bargain and price includes thin lenses etc

opticians.asda.com/info/our-complete-price-on-glasses