Where do you get your prescription glasses?

[thetapeworm]

A slight deviation but do any of you have experience with getting a pair of existing frames reglazed?

I have a fairly new frame that I still like but need to change the lenses due to scratches and a slight change in prescription, Vision Express (where the glasses are from originally) are quoting me £200+ just for the lenses with their "Anti-Reflection Plus Blue" coating which seems high.

I was thinking of sending them off to be done but as I have no experience with this I was a bit reluctant, any recommendations would be appreciated and if any resident PH optical folks can help I'd much rather put business their way.

[turbomoggie]

There is a large margin on the cost of glasses without a doubt.
The problem is that opticians conduct most sight tests at a loss even when you're paying £20- £25. The modern equipment ie fundus cameras and OCTs that opticians have is expensive and the cost of optometrists and other staff and training them all is high. Along with medical insurance and the usual costs of running a business ie renting large premises in prime locations such as shopping centres.
The system is a bit broken as those who are buying glasses privately are subsidising everyone else including NHS patients as the NHS doesn't pay enough to cover the true cost of a sight test.
Competition is stiffer than ever now that there are online glasses retailers who have none of these overheads which is frustrating as optometrists are doing the eye test which involves the hard work ie refraction and diagnosing and managing diseases and then losing the sale.
A lot of health care related stuff is done for free anyway and we're expected to just absorb this in to our costs and hope it creates good customer relations.
With regards to the PD (pupillary distance) it's usually not a relevant measurement for us to take unless you're actually buying glasses. An accurate PD is however important especially for high prescriptions and prescriptions with prism. I feel that a lot of these websites make the PD measurement seem like a trivial matter but to prove a point AFAIK these websites are not allowed to supply specs to under 16s and those who are partially sighted or blind. If we were to measure a PD incorrectly and it happened to cause a problem such as double vision in a high prescription and then someone was to crash a car/lorry etc we would get blamed and sued.

Sorry to go off on one but things aren't as black and white as they may seem from an outsiders perspective.

[Matt..]

I tried out John Lewis Opticians. So far the experience is a good one, and much better than Vision Express ever was. Prices seem good too.

It's Luxottica really though.

They have Lindberg frames too, which are highly appealing, but a little beyond my price range

[chonok]

Would recommend Speckyfoureyes.com

[battered]

Benni said:

Optician, not local but close by, because he could order some Randolph frames (recommended on PH and rightly so).

Glasses from the top drawer, Rodenstock, best varifocals, self darkening, triple antireflex, real glass.

I won't wear real glass any more having had bits of a broken glass lens dug out of my eye aged 11. Real glass in a child's glasses is idiotic, and not especially clever for an adult who ventures outside the home and does either DIY or sport. Standard polymer (polycarb?) is virtually unbreakable and much safer.

[DKL]

No one dispenses glass to kids, that's just daft. But for optical properties you can't beat it hence serengeti still offer it as a single vision prescription option. Interestingly the brand new rayban prescription range isn't in available glass, yet maybe. This is all tempered glass so you have to hit it pretty hard to break it, ther main issue is that it doesn't bend or twist very well!
Polycarb is very impact resistant but ist also very soft so scratches easily. Its also the most hideous optical material out there and used rarely. Oakley/Bolle use it and make a good job of the lenses but the material adds to any tolerance problems. Trivex/pnx type materials offer a much better compromise between optical properties and impact resistance.

[Bomberharris]

I'm 44 worn glasses since 7, I found a lot of the high street places the eye test was way too short and too younger staff who didn't inspire confidence.

Same as banks, everyone is a salesperson now days.

I went to Morefield and my local hospital as was considering having the eye operation and went tending they mentioned I lived close to a very good opticians with top end equipment.

Google Eyedesign in Ruislip they have been more confidence inspiring. Plus Costco were good but Eyedesign test took longer and they had more equipment / tests.