Opticians – who's good value at the moment please?

Any recommendations? Eye test needed too.

As always, thanks. 🙂

after 9 years i decided to get an eye test and ended up at boots. can’t complain at all about the service, friendly staff, advice etc.

i now have glasses and as a result have increased my sexy factor by 12.

I really do recommend these guys, swift, professional, good trial service and once you add in your email you get sent 50% off offers etc

http://www.glassesdirect.co.uk

Specsavers. Their prices beat everyone for my needs – but I had a £5 eye test at Boots.

Specsaves not as cheap as you would think, only cheap if you are bog standard, aftersales service leaves alot to be desired.

Online sellers………really? you only have one set of eyes.

I would say find an optician that has consistent staff (not high turnover) whether it be a multiple or an independant, where they look after you, cheapest isnt always best and ergo Apollo and say specialized, but neither is the most expensive.

And if you live anywhere near the Telford area come and see us we’ll look after you 😉

Oh and we’re not good we are the best!! (my own totally unsubstaciated opinion ofcourse)

only cheap if you are bog standard

Nope – did me thin and light anti-reflective lenses for free. It does depend on the offer they have.

Online sellers………really? you only have one set of eyes.

Who go from the same prescription that the lens technician at your local specsavers would.

The biggest driver for me going online is the ludicrous amounts charged for thinner lenses – it’s a really high margin item for them. I’m quite short-sighted so without them the edges of my glasses end up ludicrously thick. 1.74 index lenses are £200+ on the high street, glassesdirect are doing them for £75 on their current offer.

Aren’t margins MASSIVE in the prescription glasses market?

I don’t go to my optician for “value”.

I go for two attractive women choosing very cool specs for me to buy. At vast cost.

The ‘massive margin’ pays for the sight test, you pay anywhere between 5 and 30 pounds for a sight test, the actual cost when you factor in the equiptment etc is 70-80 pounds, but the ‘online’ guys dont have to consider that cost now do they?

but neither is the most expensive

Neither is Andy Wolf, but they are hand made….

If you haven’t been before it can be a bit of a minefield. Have tried a few opticians over the years. Most important part, for me, is the eye test. Tried another local optician a couple of years ago and wasn’t that impressed with the findings at the end of it. Apparently my eyesight had improved slightly. It didn’t feel that way and I wasn’t convinced that the prescription I got was totally accurate for my eyes. Went back to Specsavers for my next test and surprise surprise my eyes were a little worse. New prescription that suited me much better. Like most chain stores a lot depends on the local personnel. Our local Specsavers are pretty efficient and polite and the testing seems pretty accurate. I would agree they are not necessarily the cheapest for frames and lenses but they are by no means the most expensive either. Having gone to monthly contacts the prices are not too bad – certainly waaaaay better than dailies. The other advantage of a local optician is it is very easy to pop in if there is a problem with the glasses etc. The one thing that does wind me up a bit though is where I have found cheaper supplies of contacts online they still have to have proof from the optician that tested you of your prescription. The optician I tried before Specsavers was spectacularly bad at that bit. Their after sales service was also pretty shoddy so all round it was a bit of a rubbish experience and one that will prevent me from ever going back to them.

Ooooh lots of replies, thanks!

What I’m peeved about is last time I went to Boots and offer was buy one frame, get one free. However the final bill seemed expensive and, no, I didn’t go for designer frames.

I definitely need to replace my night-time driving glasses although my reading ones do seem fairly OK.

It all seems a licence to print money. 🙄

the hustler – not anywhere near Shropshire though!

Boots bought out some DandA branches recently and they were franchises so the quality varies naturally. If you are in the Surrey Hills the boots in Godalming is good. If you wear contacts too they do you a good deal on glasses if you buy lenses too.

You should really find an Optometrist with a good reputation for proving good and thorough eyecare, be that national chain or independent. You will as a general rule pay more for glasses at an independent as they will have higher overheads and the retail aspect of the practice will subsidise the examination and equipment to provide a good examination.

At our practice we always try and provide the best care, not the hard sell, I don’t believe in selling people things they don’t need, just comes back to bite you later if they feel conned.

I’ll echo the hustler, you only have the one pair of eyes, make sure they get the best care!

What I’m peeved about is last time I went to Boots and offer was buy one frame, get one free. However the final bill seemed expensive and, no, I didn’t go for designer frames.

Quite often the frames are the cheap bit. Its the exta fancy stuff you get on the lenses that starts to genberate the big price tags. For instance, if you are a bit like a mole in bright sunlight normal lenses will be like bottle bottoms and is not a sexy look. So you go for thinner lenses. And depending how thin determines how much you pay for them. That sort of thing adds up very quickly!

Have always been with D&A, although boots own them now most of the staff are the same and the 4 local to me have just had a rebranding everything else is the same. Im funny with glasses i hate wearing them so have to have a nice pair that look right, don’t mind paying extra for a designer pair and all the extra”s on the lenses, anti scratch, transistion lenses etc.. worth paying for. I need a new pair soon, and luckily they have sent me a free eye test voucher.

Optical express had a BOGOF deal. I went in and the cheap deal came out at close to 400. I said no but because I’d filled in a form before I was hounded with calls and texts.

I’ve been with Boots for about 20 years now, mainly as I’ve moved to various places around the country it’s meant it’s been easy to transfer my records. As mentioned above, if you’re on their Contact lens plan there are some good deals – free eye tests and aftercare and 50% off the complete price of glasses. Fortunate for me as my last appointment a couple of weeks ago saw me needing a change to varifocals at an eye-watering price!
I’m in Wiltshire and the Chippenham Boots branch seems ok. Small enough to be still be personal…