Outrageous

L

Lon

Well-known Member
Location
Central California
Just picked up my new prescription glasses. $600. The eye exam was only $45 but they sure stick it to you on frames and lenses and I bought the cheaper of the frames that they showed. So I went from the $15.00 2.5 cheaters from Walgreens to these $600 glasses and I really don't see the $550 difference. Somehow I feel I have been had.
 

I only need them for reading and get them from the 99¢ store. I know, I know, I shouldn't be doing this but they do the job
and haven't given me any problems. Years ago I had expensive scripts glasses, but not any more.
 

Wife got new glasses earlier this year and, with Vision Insurance, they cost her $324. Without insurance, they would have been $850 for us. The $324 included Light Transition, Frames and Coating. This came out of our tax refund. I will be needing new glasses, but financially that won't happen for awhile. Wife wears her glasses all the time, whereas I only wear mine for driving, reading, computer stuff.
 
Lon said:
Just picked up my new prescription glasses. $600. The eye exam was only $45 but they sure stick it to you on frames and lenses and I bought the cheaper of the frames that they showed. So I went from the $15.00 2.5 cheaters from Walgreens to these $600 glasses and I really don't see the $550 difference. Somehow I feel I have been had.
Click to expand...


Do you have a medicare plan Lon?
I had to recently get driving glasses to renew my drivers license, and with a Medicare Advantage plan, the exam was free... (one exam a year I think they said) .. then I went to WalMart and got the lens/frames for a total of $77 for everything. ... They have frames starting at $38 here locally.
And I thought that was expensive!
 
The only reason I can think of that reading glasses would cost that much is that it is also correcting another condition...such as astigmatism...or some other condition that required special lens... If there was no other 'special need' ... this price is utterly absurd. Private dr's, opthamologists, etc...their offices charges the ultra max... but they seldom are better than going to LensCrafters or some other chain store. Its really a racket what they charge for both lens AND especially the frames. For that price they should have come with 24K gold inlays! :)
 
Glasses here are just as expensive..I am long sighted and recently had my new prescription. and with the cost of the eye test, the anti glare coating and the thinning of the lenses, and with a middle range priced choice of frame they still came out at over £300 . ..but you can pay hundreds more if you're daft enough
 
I have my eye exam scheduled for this Saturday, which I pushed back from July due to issues with my Mom having lost her top denture and running her back and forth to the dentist. I am not looking forward to it as I have multiple problems with my eyes and use 3 pair of glasses, one for distance, one for reading and one for the computer. I've chosen to keep 3 because the eye doctor advised that it's best not to restrict the view of vision by using bifocals. I also am practically blind in one eye (since birth) and because of that I have to get a specific non-shattering lens for the other eye and that doesn't come cheap. The last 3 or so years, I've only had to replace 1 pair, but I think I will need to replace 2 this time. Well I'll definitely know in a few days.
 
And even when you go to the Big BOX vision centers... it's not cheap. I went to Vision Works for my last pair.. they were offering a "buy one get one free" promotion. SO.... even with plastic inexpensive frames... by the time I added light weight lenses, and my progressive no-line bifocals.. it was over $600... SO.. $300 a pair I guess. And I just had the basic exam.. no pictures.. no pressure measuring.. nothing but vision..
 
A young optometrist, who had followed in his father's footsteps, set up his new practice and asked his father for advice
on how to charge the patient for glasses. The father said, "Here's what you do; You look at the patient and say,
'That will be $100. If he doesn't flinch, you say, 'Of course that's just for the frames, the lenses are $150.
If he doesn't flinch, you say, 'Each'.
 
Last time I over paid for a pair of glasses was back in 1996, After that the most I've ever paid is $100, and that was with the extras. With just the scratch resistance and stigmatisim script included, I paid $under $20 with a coupon code I got off a tv show. A lot of what they throw in is for vanity and usually paying for the frames in some cases. At most, I can't imagine ever again having to pay more than $200 dollars unless I wanted some designer or high fashion frames, there's no reason for it if you shop around, at least in the US.

This is where I shopped for my last pair of frames and paid under $20, but, I had a coupon, so the frames start somewhere at $40 and yes you do have to pay for extras, but unless you get carried away with unnecessary extras, the price shouldn't reach an outrageous amt. Even at the discounted stores unless you let them talk you into unnecessary extras, one should still be able to keep the cost reasonable. But then I am a samurai bargain shopper, the sword comes out till I've slashed prices beyond recognition. :D I mean, some extras are nice, but, they aren't required for sight improvement, they are luxuries, really nice to have, if you don't mind spending the extra money, so I know for me, the added expense I try to see it as just that when purchasing the glasses. But then, I don't drive and don't need my glasses unless I'm trying to help someone else when their driving, so I'm one to talk. But I do follow that advice in other areas of purchases, except where cookies and cake are involved. :playful:

http://www.coastal.com/plastic-frames
 

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