Need tips for buying glasses

In My Humble Opinion
1

I haven’t bought a new pair of glasses in years and I’m not sure what to look for, so I have a few questions:

No optical insurance, so I want to ideally keep the costs down under $300. I can pay more if it’s worthwhile, but the markup on these things seems ridiculous - how can a piece of twisted wire metal and some machine-cut lenses cost more than $300? I don’t care about designer frames as long as I can get a pair in the style I like, which is fairly common.

Am I better off going to a national chain place like Lenscrafters or Pearle Vision, a local optician, or something cheap like Sears or a Walmart vision center?

Should I get the eye exam by whoever works at the place I’m going, or see an independent opthamalogist?

Are there multiple lens types to choose from in terms of material? What are the pros and cons?

Those transitions light-sensitive glasses looked useful. How much does it cost to get lenses treated that way, and does it at all degrade the clarity/quality of the lenses in normal indoor conditions? Also, what kind of response time do those things have?

Should I pay for extra coatings? Scratch resistance, anti-reflective, whatever. Can you give me an idea of what these extras will cost so I don’t end up getting ripped off?

Is there any sort of frame material I should look for? I remember ads years ago for frames that could bend and retain their shape that seemed pretty cool.

Something I was wondering - sometimes frames sit higher or lower on your face so that your eyes might be dead center behind the lens on one frame, near the top on another, etc. Does the lens-grinding process take that into account? I mean… will you have slightly distorted vision from having a frame where your eyes aren’t dead-center behind the middle of the lenses?

What sort of delivery time can I expect? Some places make them for you the same day - since mine are broken, that would be convenient - but do you pay a high premium for that? For places that send away for them, how long does it typically take? Does it vary a lot from place to place? Is buying glasses online practical?

Any general tips would be appreciated too. Thanks.

2

Personally, I’d go for clip-on lenses myself–they’re fairly common so you should have a decent range of styles to pick from. I have a bit of aversion to transition lenses because I’ve seen them change in foggy or overcast weather, not just sunny days. Also, they’ll eventually wear out and won’t change as much (if at all). With clip-ons you can choose when to put them on (although I’ve often forgotten to take mine off) and I don’t think they wear out.

3

They position the lenses so your typical frame, eye, and head position put your most frequent line of sight through the center of the original lens shape. That is, they offset the lens as needed to accomodate where the frames sit and similar issues.

By the way, in optics in general, “grinding” a lens means shaping its optical surfaces, but when you buy glasses the “grinding” they are referring to is cutting a shape out of a large round lens to fit the frames, and smoothing the edge they cut. Also, as I understand it, if you are buying plastic lenses, they are actually molded, using dies that are very highly polished metal so the molded surfaces are of optical quality.

Here’s a tip worth knowing - if you have presbyopia and need different near and far prescriptions in the same set of glasses, you can opt for “bifocals” (now sometimes called “lined bifocals”) or for “progressives”. They charge a premium for progressives and often push them very vigorously, including by suggesting that the visible line on ordinary bifocals make you look old. I think they make a higher profit on them. But progressives cannot be made to work correctly except in a narrow zone down the middle of the lens, so your useable lens is something like a semicircle on the top half plus a narrow rectangle down the middle, with the lower side areas blurred. It’s because the mathematical requirements for the lens surfaces are contradictory in these regions. Lined bifocals can be optically correct everywhere.

4

Transitions coatings should cost less than $50 IIRC. It does not degrade the clarity or quality of the lenses under indoor conditions (the early generations did not fade completely, but the current lines have clear transmission indistinguishable to the naked eye). The response time is on the order of a minute or two for both complete darkening and fade back. I give vague numbers because this is temperature dependant. They will darken more and fade slower in cold conditions, and will fade faster and darken slightly less in hot environments. Most people don’t even notice them fading and darkening, as they adjust almost as fast as your own eyes do on going indoors on a sunny day.

The latest generation (Gen6) of Transitions has just hit the market. It is less temperature sensitive than the previous generation. It should be available at WalMart and other retailers now or very soon (months? The lens coaters are building inventory) Yes, they will darken on cloudy days for the same reason you can get a sun burn when it’s overcast out. They’re UV activated. This is the same reason they won’t activate in the car. You can expect your Transitions lenses to give you good performance over the life of your glasses - on the order of three to four years - with normal expected darkening. As the dyes in the coating degrade, the lenses can yellow slightly (only noticable when faded - indoors), but again, this should not happen for four years or so. Clip-ons will not wear out, but I find them significantly less attractive/comfortable/convenient. I love the frames that come with magenetic clip-ons that match the frame, but it limited my choice of frames too much.

I mention WalMart because they’re probably your least expensive option in my experience. Unfortunately I’ve also learned by experience that in terms of service a) you get what you pay for and b) WalMart optical departments vary hugely in service quality.

Most places either have their own opthamalogist or one right next door for your convenience.

Lens materials will be more or less important to you based on the strength of your prescription. Higher quality lens materials can add significant cost to the price of your lenses, but if your vision is as poor as mine you may appreciate having thinner, lighter lenses. Your opthamologist should be able to recommend a good material for your particular prescription.

Other coatings are a matter of personal preference. I love my anti-reflective coating, but it’s another $45 on top of my already expensive high-index lenses. Scratch resistance is cheaper.

Frames vary hugely in price depending on designer. Most stores have “basic” inexpensive frames (in the $50 range) that are (IMHO) really ugly. Decently attractive frames will be a little more (usually $100 -$200). You can go to some chi-chi-la-la optical shops around here and get big designer name frames for $500. I’ve had the titanium frames that you mention and really liked them. They were very light and almost impossible to accidentally bend out of shape.

Your optician should measure when ordering the glasses to make sure they’re properly sized and situated for where they sit on your face, and they should be adjusted when you get them so that the optics line up properly.

I’ve never used a one-hour place. My glasses almost always take about a week to come back.

If you’ve got a basic prescription (not progressive bifocals or the like) and can find frames you like in the $100 range, you should be able to get them for under $300 with no bells and whistles easily.

5

I’ve been wearing titanium frames for more than a year and they appear to be impervious to the usual rot I put up with with the cheaper metal frames, plus they’re light and durable. They’re like new.

http://www.iris-spectacles.co.uk/index.cfm?do=viewFrame&frameID=3729

6

I’ve worn glasses since I was a tot, and luckily had some type of vision insurance for the entire time. My only cost considerations are usually what extras I’m willing to pay for above what the insurance covers, and those extras can sure add up in a hurry!

I’ve tried transitions twice, when they first came out and then again maybe 5 or 6 years ago. I didn’t like the pause to clear when entering a building, but it sounds like that’s lessened considerably. The windshield preventing them from darkening aspect sucked, a major reason why I got them was so I wouldn’t need a separate pair of sunglasses for driving. I’ve had the metallic clip on sunglasses, in a cute as hell pair that were surprisingly reasonably priced too, and really liked them. If I forgot and wore them into the house I’d simply stick them to my metal front door by the magnetic pieces and grab them as I left in the morning. You still have the problem of having to carry them around to have them available, can’t beat transitioning ones for that. Ultimately not worth it for me, though.

I’ve had my first ever anti-reflective coating on my recent pair, about 6 months. I don’t wear them constantly, since I work in a factory and wear special safety glasses most of the day. (Coating not workable on the work glasses, chemical reactions and the like.) The clerk assured me that I’d notice quite the difference in the two pair, daily switching them and all, but I haven’t. I’d imagine there’s more benefit for someone staring at a computer screen all day, but heck, I pretty much do that for a few hours each evening and have yet to perceive any difference even doing that. So, I’ll be skipping that $50 option next time.

One extra I’ll never ever skip is thinning the lenses, I think they’re called ‘feather-weights’ or some such. I have very bad eyes, not quite coke-bottle thick that makes with the fisheye but just shy of that. Thin lenses aren’t so much of a vanity choice with me as a practical one, if they’re not thinned it limits my frame choice considerably since the frames have to be substantial enough to carry thick heavy lenses. That and looking down is hazardous with thick ones, the weight of the heavy lenses tends to make my glasses slide right off my face if I’m not careful.

I find plastic frames more durable, but more likely to give me weird little pimples across the bridge of my nose. Wire frames are usually lighter and more attractive, imo, but the moment I lean my head on my hand I bend them out of shape. Currently I have my safety glasses in plastic and my real ones in wire frames, which means fifty percent fewer pimples and fifty percent more runs to the optician to get unbent.

7

I suppose the most important question of those I asked was this one:

I’m going to try to order the new pair this weekend, so I’d appreciate tips on where to go.

When you go somewhere cheap like Sears, do you get noticibly inferior service, or is it just a more cheap/less stylish choice of frames and such?

8

Note that “new” “so square they are hip” thick rectangle glasses have about reached their turn around time. They will be passe soon. Get something classic.

9

I’ve had good luck and bad luck with WalMart glasses. As Solfy says, the service varies in quality. The WalMart where I live now is in the “go somewhere else” category, but where I used to live was pretty good.

I tried no line bifocals when they first came out…didn’t like 'em…they’ve likely improved, but I don’t have issues with the lines.

I don’t like transitional lenses. I usually only wear sunglasses while driving or when I will be outdoors for a long period. What I do doesn’t sound like an option for you this time around, as you’ve broken your current pair, but I get my last pair of glasses ( my scrip doesn’t change much) tinted. It usually only costs about $20.

During my last trip to the optical store, I paid up front and turned it in to my insurance and I got two pair of glasses, my exam and an old pair tinted for just over $300. I didn’t go high end on the frames, but I did get the thin lenses.

One other thing…if you don’t go for the titanium frames, do get frames with spring hinges. They will last much longer.

10

Lenscrafters has done a good job for me the last three times I’ve gone and I wear bifocals. They also give AAA members a discount, and that discount has been known to make them cheaper than if I used my employer’s vision insurance. Mind you, they may not tell you about the discount.

11

Oh, another question - I’ve heard that anti-reflective coating makes night driving (and general night viewing, I suppose) better, but that it makes the glasses a pain to clean. Now some websites are saying that it reduces eyestrain while viewing computer monitors. Since I spend a lot of time staring at monitors, is that worthwhile?

Can you get multiple coatings - both scratch resistant and antireflective? And if you do end up scratching them, does breaking the coating make the scratch more obvious/visually irritating?

12

I bought the anti-glare/reflective coating on my last pair and it was a complete waste. It wasn’t a noticeable difference to me (I do computer work) and they developed scratches if you looked at them funny. It might have been the place I went to, tho - it was staffed by surly, uninformative rip-off artists.

13

I absolutely love antiglare coatings, but I’ve always had them in conjunction with antiscratch as well. I’ve been springing for Nikon lenses recently. I’m probably being overcharged for them, but I don’t care. I bought a pair of glasses with those lenses (or their precursors, anyways) in 1996 and wore them daily till 2004. Those glasses have no serious scratches, and I was never particularly careful with them. I bought a cheaper pair next, and they were scratched up after 3 years, so I’ve gone back to the Nikons for my latest pair.

I have a pair of scrip safety glasses without antiglare, and I really do find it a significant difference. I think this is something people need to try for themselves to see if it makes a difference for them.

14

If you have a large head, be sure the ear pieces are long enough. I always have to fuss about that. You will be selecting a frame from one in stock, but they can order the longer side pieces if you insist.

15

If you wear bifocals, you should know this: The dividing line should be higher if your frame sits directly on your nose, like cheap sunglasses, rather than on those pads that lift the glasses away from your nose.

16

No bifocals, thanks. I only need basic single vision lenses somewhere around 4 diopeters IIRC, so it should be a very basic lenses.

I still have no idea where to go. Looking through last Sunday’s paper, I came across these adswhich look like great deals, but what’s the catch? Some “pissed off customer forums” type sites list bad service with them, but any big enough chain will have lots of pissed off customers. Why is there no big retailer review database on the internet, I wonder? Or is there?

In my searches, I read that Costco was a good value. Any experiences?

I guess I’ll end up going around and comparison shopping… I’ve been spoiled by years of information from the internet though and I keep expecting to stumble across a good breakdown of various national optical chains.

I’m paranoid that I’ll be ripped off one way or another - either by high markup or a bad product.

17

My boyfriend bought his glasses - his last two pairs - from Costco (he too has no insurance). I’m sorry I can’t tell you what he paid for them, but he was happy with their service and has no problem with the glasses themselves. Very good quality.

18

Check out Daniel Pinkwater’s experience buying really cheap eyeglasses on-line. I paid more than $400 for my last pair – no-line bifocals, transitions lenses, and I might just do what he did next time.

19

I’ve come across mention of the high value of Costco in a few places now - consumerreports.org specifically lists them as low price and high quality service.

I don’t have a membership, though, so it’s going to effectively add $50 to the purchase price. But Costco sounds like a cool store anyway - I may get the value out of the membership anyway if I do that.

20

Hope it is not too late, but one tip I learned the hard way - take along a trusted friend when choosing frames.

Many people get frames that make them look 10 years older than they are, or they get frames that make them look like, for lack of a better word, a “dork”, or they get frames that might look good on some celebrity, but make you look ridiculous.

As you have noticed, glasses are not cheap and what you choose is most likely going to have to last you a few years - so choose wisely.