Spectacles ' second pair free' rip off?

Spectacles ' second pair free' rip off?

Author
Discussion

pork911

7,087 posts

182 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
quotequote all
cheddar said:
pork911 said:
OP i'm not sure what's to be suspcious about - if you like the product at the price buy, if not, don't

some people like to tell others or themselves they are getting a deal (bogof, X% off)

i'd steer clear of large sofa stores if you are struggling with this business model
The perception of value created by disingenuous marketing that's insidious in the industry.
it's entirely transparent though

the fig leaf of discounting helps those who as i said like to tell others or themselves they are getting a deal

no one really believes it

soad

32,829 posts

175 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
quotequote all
surveyor said:
In my experience there are always upgrades to the lenses that are never ever included in the free 2nd pair.
Very true.

sparkyhx

4,143 posts

203 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
quotequote all
james_tigerwoods said:
£480 for glasses? Holy crap, I didn't realise they even cost that much (maybe it's me).
Wifeys lenses are £500, but she's blind as a bat

been a bit wary of online retailers - heard stories of messed up prescriptions - e.g. eye center wrong, varifocal transition wrong.

Anyone had any problems?



cheddar

4,637 posts

173 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
quotequote all
pork911 said:
cheddar said:
pork911 said:
OP i'm not sure what's to be suspcious about - if you like the product at the price buy, if not, don't

some people like to tell others or themselves they are getting a deal (bogof, X% off)

i'd steer clear of large sofa stores if you are struggling with this business model
The perception of value created by disingenuous marketing that's insidious in the industry.
it's entirely transparent though

the fig leaf of discounting helps those who as i said like to tell others or themselves they are getting a deal

no one really believes it
It's not - the 'Two for one' masquerades as the deal whereas even at 'half price' the mark-up is biblically high.

True transparency would be a fair price given material cost, labour, overhead and a reasonable margin.

Buying a similar quality product sans branding at a 50th of the price shows that.



Pit Pony

8,268 posts

120 months

Wednesday 17th December 2014
quotequote all
I just go to Costco.

pork911

7,087 posts

182 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
cheddar said:
pork911 said:
cheddar said:
pork911 said:
OP i'm not sure what's to be suspcious about - if you like the product at the price buy, if not, don't

some people like to tell others or themselves they are getting a deal (bogof, X% off)

i'd steer clear of large sofa stores if you are struggling with this business model
The perception of value created by disingenuous marketing that's insidious in the industry.
it's entirely transparent though

the fig leaf of discounting helps those who as i said like to tell others or themselves they are getting a deal

no one really believes it
It's not - the 'Two for one' masquerades as the deal whereas even at 'half price' the mark-up is biblically high.

True transparency would be a fair price given material cost, labour, overhead and a reasonable margin.

Buying a similar quality product sans branding at a 50th of the price shows that.
sorry, i should have said it's entirely transparent to anyone with half a brain

FiF

43,965 posts

250 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
sparkyhx said:
Wifeys lenses are £500, but she's blind as a bat

been a bit wary of online retailers - heard stories of messed up prescriptions - e.g. eye center wrong, varifocal transition wrong.

Anyone had any problems?
This is the bit I don't get. Getting the lens in the wrong place when fitting to the frames is something that high street can get wrong and has.

Some places do all the measurements right, some are a bit slap dash frankly.

I don't see how online places can get this right. Though the comment that one wanted an old pair to take further measurements was interesting.

Another question, how do the online places handle it if there's a problem? Though being cynical the usual high street response of "you'll get used to them" probably works in plenty of cases, despite a proveable cock up.

Ciaran

1,438 posts

201 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
Another vote for GlassesDirect, hight street chain quoted £320, exact same ones online for £156.

Parsnip

3,122 posts

187 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
I think I get to about £350 for Oakleys with the all singing all dancing thin, glare resistant and scratch proof lenses - mostly to account for how crap my left eye is - keratoconus, half blind - its generally useless...

Bit of a stter having to spend that much, but it helps me see and I only have to spend that every two years. I would rather fork out the cash for comfy, lightweight frames with decent lenses that look good rather than saving a few quid and going for NHS milkbottle specials.

Oh, paying for reactolight lenses? Would a sign saying "I am a murderer who shouldn't be near playgrounds" not be cheaper?

lukefreeman

1,492 posts

174 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
Magic919 said:
lukefreeman said:
Bet £2k you can spend.
That good, eh?
Yep. I'd reccoemend if to anyone. It's the freedom......no contacts/glases to carry around or lose, sports and swimming fine now.

sparkyhx

4,143 posts

203 months

Sunday 4th January 2015
quotequote all
lukefreeman said:
Magic919 said:
lukefreeman said:
Bet £2k you can spend.
That good, eh?
Yep. I'd reccoemend if to anyone. It's the freedom......no contacts/glases to carry around or lose, sports and swimming fine now.
Can't have laser, my eyes are too bad, same with wifeys. I nearly went the lens replacement route which has good results, but at 5k+ decided against it.

sparkyhx

4,143 posts

203 months

Monday 5th January 2015
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
LOL - I'm Long sighted and the range for laser is quite small for long sightedness I'm +6 Wifey is however blind at -10 although her sight has actually started improving.

entropy

5,403 posts

202 months

Monday 5th January 2015
quotequote all
SlidingSideways said:
The prices from GlassesDirect look good, but how do you cope with not being able to try them on before buying?
If it brand names you're after then browse in Vision Express, etc; then make mental note or tap frame model onto mobile.

Keep forgetting to use Vision Express vouchers. I might try out Glasses Direct as I've always wanted a pair of Oakleys (even though I currently wearing Polo via sale and promo vouchers).

They give out the frame measurements so a similar frame design shouldn't be too much trouble.

Tafia

Original Poster:

2,658 posts

247 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
Wife has ended up paying £489 for the first pair of non-designer glasses with the super dooper top of the range varifocal lens priced at £300 plus £60 for tints.

The second pair were "free" and she sees no difference in the lens, visionwise.

She is taking them back as the "sweet spots" as I call them ( the part of the lens in focus for reading) seem to be smaller than with her last pair of Specsavers lens. She has always had problems with glasses slipping down her nose but with the Specsavers lens she could still read clearly when they slipped.

With the new lens, supposedly with a larger area of focus, she can't. Many have tried to solve the slipping issue with silicone nose pads, various adjustments etc but none seem to work. If the frames are bent tighter behind the ears, she ends up with sore ears.

T

entropy

5,403 posts

202 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
Tafia said:
With the new lens, supposedly with a larger area of focus, she can't. Many have tried to solve the slipping issue with silicone nose pads, various adjustments etc but none seem to work. If the frames are bent tighter behind the ears, she ends up with sore ears.

T
The best frames for this sort of problem are light metal ones with the arms that more or less wrap like fancy shades.

richcorsavxr

966 posts

171 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
Daft question....
So as of yesterday I've starting wearing glasses (first eye test in 10 years). It's like going from standard definition to high definition, brilliant! Anyway.....
How do you clean your lenses? The cloth that came in the case dosent do a fat lot leaving smear marks over the lenses. Are there any techniques to cleaning them or products available to clean them? Any help appreciated

egor110

16,818 posts

202 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
richcorsavxr said:
Daft question....
So as of yesterday I've starting wearing glasses (first eye test in 10 years). It's like going from standard definition to high definition, brilliant! Anyway.....
How do you clean your lenses? The cloth that came in the case dosent do a fat lot leaving smear marks over the lenses. Are there any techniques to cleaning them or products available to clean them? Any help appreciated
you can get spray bottles of cleaner from places like specsavers or some people take them in the shower and use the condensation to steam clean them.

clonmult

10,529 posts

208 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
richcorsavxr said:
Daft question....
So as of yesterday I've starting wearing glasses (first eye test in 10 years). It's like going from standard definition to high definition, brilliant! Anyway.....
How do you clean your lenses? The cloth that came in the case dosent do a fat lot leaving smear marks over the lenses. Are there any techniques to cleaning them or products available to clean them? Any help appreciated
I had my first eye test in 20 years over the christmas break, now need reading glasses (also for work, gazing at a screen). Amazing the difference its made on books. Interestingly I went to the local Tesco, got some fairly reasonable frames, free eye test, £20 for the glasses. Perfect.

I was thinking of cleaning with the various products I have for cleaning the cameras lenses. I tend to keep the cameras immaculate.

Sheepshanks

32,539 posts

118 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
richcorsavxr said:
Daft question....
So as of yesterday I've starting wearing glasses (first eye test in 10 years). It's like going from standard definition to high definition, brilliant! Anyway.....
How do you clean your lenses? The cloth that came in the case dosent do a fat lot leaving smear marks over the lenses. Are there any techniques to cleaning them or products available to clean them? Any help appreciated
Liquid soap - I use a drop of Johnsons baby stuff, but we have a baby - rinse off with cold water and dry off with hanky. In a perfect world a hanky that had been washed with fabric conditioner would be best.

Be careful of hot water (indeed anything hot) as it can damage any lens coating. Don't use tissue as they scratch plastic lenses.


ETA: Meant that to be without fabric conditioner so it's not smeary.


Edited by Sheepshanks on Friday 9th January 18:15

whoami

13,151 posts

239 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
richcorsavxr said:
Daft question....
So as of yesterday I've starting wearing glasses (first eye test in 10 years). It's like going from standard definition to high definition, brilliant! Anyway.....
How do you clean your lenses? The cloth that came in the case dosent do a fat lot leaving smear marks over the lenses. Are there any techniques to cleaning them or products available to clean them? Any help appreciated
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Solution-30-400ml-XL-Size/...