To think only the rich can have 20:20 vision?

[UniversityQuestions]

I have just been quoted £550 for a pair of glasses. These were not fancy frames: about £150 for the frame itself. Cannot really go cheaper as I want to look decent as I wear these things all day. The rest of the cost was the lenses which are varifocal as I need long distance and reading correction. Because my long distance is bad I need to pay for thinned lenses to stop me having inch thick glass in front of each eye. So once I’ve paid for the varifocal and the thinning then lenses were £400!

how can normal people with poor vision afford to correct their vision? Am I missing something?

We use Asda
DH felt he needed a more thorough test last time. So went to Specsavers. Cost twice as much and no.better, in fact. The frames are pretty crap with a couple of sharp edges. Asda in future.

Go to Turkey with your prescription. It’ll be less than half that

I think posters who can get 2 psirs ofglasses for under £100 don't appreciate thst some of us cannot get cheap glasses because we have complicated prescriptions.

@RampantIvy I agree and varifocals really cannot be bought for that! Neither decent frames or quality lenses. I value what I look like more than that!

I have complex lenses (varifocal, prisms, astigmatism, short sighted enough to need high factor thinning) and Asda have done an incredible job on glasses for me- none of the things I needed cost extra and I could have had tinted lenses free if I wanted a second pair of glasses as sunglasses. Their cheapest glasses are £80 all in

Eye tests will be covered by your work if you work with screens.

I pay £7.50 for glasses from firmoo. No issues so far

I agree op. My vision is similar to yours and my varifocals cost me over £700 in 2024. This time I’m going to try Asda.

on the one hand, hugely expensive. On the other hand, seem v high quality, comfortable and I got used to them instantly, so I am grateful such effective glasses are available.

I have just re-read my earlier post. It looks like I wasn't even wearing any glasses 😂

Yes I bet they are only mildly short sighted with no astigmatism

I agree.

I have astigmatism. I get cheap glasses

I am not suggesting astigmatism alone makes the glasses expensive.

I have astigmastism, extreme short sightedness (requiring lens thinning), presbyopia (requiring varifocals) and a small head which reduces my choice of frames considerably. As a result I can't buy cheap glasses. It is important to me to buy the best quality lenses that I can afford because I have had cheap lenses and I can really tell the difference.

You must be short sighted? It is a much trickier op for people who are long sighted or I would do it in a shot

Many years ago an employer set up a scheme where I paid monthly but then got an allowance for dental and optical (as well as many other things). I left the employer so lost the cheaper option you get via that scheme but paid directly. I pay about £60 per month and always claim more than £60 a month. We max out the allowance on dental and optical. We also got a birth grant each time. When DD broke her elbows (different ones 3 years apart) she got a lump sum and when I broke my elbow I got a lump sum. We use it for chiropractor, osteopath and other therapies. There are complicated Ts and Cs but we make it worth our while. They also offer a perkbox account so we save money at Tesco, Asda, Costa and loads of other things.

they give all their profits to a grant making foundation who then make grants to individuals and health charities.

Maybe you could start a scheme where with them? Look up HSF. There are other similar schemes.

Agreed - I had laser surgery 20 years ago and my short sightedness (-8 IIRC) was permanently corrected.

I have since developed long sightedness, as well as the usual age-related blurriness close up.

I’ve worn varifocals for several years now and they are amazing.

My laser surgery was worth every penny but it didn’t permanently fix my vision, because our vision changes throughout our life.

Contact lenses are so much easier and cheaper. I pay £35 every 3 months. I don’t like wearing glasses anyway but the cost would certainly put me off!

I can recommend Specsavers. Frames at £150 would be their most expensive. Frames start at £15. I usually pay somewhere in between. Varifocals are expensive but they have a range of prices and an exchange policy if you try cheaper ones and can’t get on with them.

People on benefits will get a voucher to help with costs. The cheapest option is probably to get 2 pairs of single vision - 1 distance and 1 reading on buy one get one free and then switch to readers when you need them. Not sure how that works in practice.

I had mine lasered 13 years ago with The wavefront option. Purely due to my prescription constantly changing and the cost of glasses/contacts. I am also a keen swimmer and couldn’t see a thing whilst doing so. Glasses have definitely increased in price!! My partner went to specsavers and had his test which would be free at the time.They quoted him about £500!! They also wouldn’t let him pay a deposit then the rest on collection!! (That’s what I was able to do) He said he would wait so they then charged him for the test!! He went to Asda and they were about £120. It has defo got more expensive.
Side note, is the eye surgery even a thing anymore???

Which is great if you can afford to have regular eye checks; but, if you can’t afford to have them done as often as these companies tell you to go back, you simply have to wait until you can afford it. Same as going to the dentist, if you can even get registered at a local practice, the cost of check ups is prohibitive and so they get missed in favour of paying household bills!!

I got expensive varifocals because I could afford it and with significant changes in both vision and astigmatism, I figured that it wasn't worth scrimping on anything to do with my eyesight (same principle I use for dental treatment, shoes and bed/mattress - and yes, I do appreciate the fact I can do that now, but it has taken 30 years of working to get to that point).

I also have some cheap as chips single distance, mid range and close up glasses bought online - they're there for emergency breakages, but if I were still skint, they'd be fine for about £40 all in. I still use them if I'm feeling particularly tired as they are less demanding if you're working at one distance for an extended period.

I like the varifocals, but they aren't so revolutionary that I'd think it was a social justice matter. Being able to get standard single vision for a tenner these days is amazing and so much better than it was just a few years ago.

Another vote here for Asda .
I am extremely short sighted (-15) in both eyes and my last pair of specs which I got in March this year cost £107 .
They are thinned to as far as possible, varifocals and are transition lenses. The frames are Oasis.
I see a brilliant lady at Asda and I do get a voucher for £40 as my prescription is complex.
Even if I did not have the voucher they would be around £150 compared to hundreds of pounds elsewhere.