Whenever I go to an optician for new lenses, they always strongly resist replacing the lenses in my existing frame. And I often want to keep my frame, not only to save money, but also once I find something I like, I don’t want to go hunting for something else—eyeglass frame fashions are very fickle—you almost can never find exactly the same thing you liked before.
But they always say, “See the white spots? That shows that it’s dried out and brittle. The frames will break if we try to replace the lenses.”
Is this a scam so that they can sell new frames to everyone? Is there any optician that doesn’t do this?
If you have plastic frames they can eventually become brittle. I’ve had metal good quality frames for years and have had no problems getting new lenses installed.
Yeah, it’s a scam. I once tried to get new lenses in old frames from Sam’s Club optical, and they said they couldn’t do it. Several years later, I went back and had lenses made for frames I bought online, and they said no problem. Apparently something changed.
Just to offer an experience to support the opticians: I had new lenses put into my favorite set of frames, against the advice of my optometrist, and one side of the frames cracked in two not a month later (he found me a new set of frames that was like the old ones and even gave me a discount, which was going above and beyond). He’d warned me that the old frames were getting brittle, but I dismissed that at the time.
plastic does deteriorate, especially when exposed to sunlight.
i think that there is lots of strain placed on the plastic in getting the lenses in. it may be true that it might not make it through the lens placement a second time.
i did get one set of plastic frames reused with the same warning. the frames held up and are working into their fourth year, though these weren’t outdoor glasses.
it is a problem that a frame goes out of production in five years and the parts not available. they really have become fashion.
My experience with the 1 hour (plus a few days) retailer of eye wear whose name might begin with L:
I bought horribly overpriced glasses from them. Metal frames. About a year later I had a cataract removed from my right eye and my vision in that eye was corrected. I went back to them and asked if they could replace the right lens with a blank. They claimed they could not do that. They would only replace both lenses. I asked how much that was. They quoted a price of about $400. I took my glasses, walked out and told them I was done with them forever, which I am.
The optical business is probably worse than the used car business for overpricing and rip-offs. Always be wary.
I’ve been reusing the same two (inexpensive) identical metal frames for about 8 years (alternating every couple of years) first at Costco and now Walmart. They’ve never given me any trouble about it whatsoever.
To be fair, the reason glasses are so expensive is because the eye exam costs $25. Do you really think an optometrists time is really only worth $25/hr (before even accounting for all that expensive equipment they buy?)
There’s a reason why online shops can sell glasses for $20. It’s because they’re not doing any of the capital intensive or education intensive parts. They’re just selling glasses.
Hi Acsenray, it is looking weird when we insist to replace the new lens in old frame the optician resist all the time and almost they refuse to adjust new lens in old one. in my view, it is hard to adjust new lens in old frame because it can’t be adjusted perfectly due to its dimensional shapes, width, etc.
I am pretty sure Eyebuydirect and Zenni have pretty extensive capital intensive investments in warehousing, inventory, manufacturing and infrastructure.
And that infrastructure cost is paid for by volume.
I don’t think capital costs are very high, as an online business can just drop-ship. They order from their supplier once YOUR order comes in. They keep no, or low inventory on hand.
That, or EyeBuyDirect and Zenni and the warehousing people directly for optometrists/opticians and their direct to buyer online business is just cutting out the middle man optometrist.
In anycase, the reason why glasses are so expensive is because the optometrist is WAY under charging you for the exam. It’s not a scam, just a loss-leader to bring customers in.
Once you understand that, you can understand why glasses online are so cheap. I fully recommend buying glasses online if you can figure out your sizing information accurately.
It was a revelation when I looked at Zenni and saw the prices! The sizing part may be an issue for some, though, I agree. I’m just enough of a geek that I’ve noticed the numbers on the side of my glasses, and asked about them years ago, so I went in to Zenni already “getting” the numbers and what to weed out. (the Zenni frames don’t have these numbers, as they’re not needed without a third party reseller) Also, my Rx didn’t have my pupillary distance noted on it and I had to email my doctor’s office a second time for that. It’s a good thing I did, too, because when I tried to do it myself or with the help of two other people, we all got different numbers and none of them were the same as what my doctor’s office measured with the doohickey.
So yeah, going into online purchasing helps with a little preparation.
I also highly recommend uploading a mugshot style picture of yourself to virtually try on the frames, it’s very helpful. I’ve told many people about my experience, plus with the glasses on my face all the time, it’s a ringing endorsement. (two regular pair and sunglasses too) I’ve gotten four other people on board with Zenni since October. I will mention that these metal frames I bought are a little thinner and “stamped” feeling than my older $250 metal frames, but for the price difference I bought two sets and still came out hundreds of dollars ahead (plus plastic sunglasses, the plastic ones feel the same as any others). I’m certain I will replace them just for fun much more often, even if that’s only once a year. Three pairs for $75. Just crazy.
On top of all that, I saw a 60 Minutes segment on the glasses racket by the worldwide manufacturer Luxottica. Since then, I’ve been incensed and smug at the same time, telling people how cheap mine are and how their $500 D&G’s are made by the same company that makes cheapie WalMart frames. Who’s fancy now? Ooh, there’s a hole in your pocket!
Thanks for the tip, SeaDragonTattoo!
I have to admit, when I first saw your post I thought it sounded a little ‘spammy’. Thankfully, your link completely dispelled that assumption.
I had no idea! :smack:
Since I’m about to have to purchase new ‘eyewear’, your post was a great find.
You can ‘up your count’ of people that you’ve ‘gotten onboard’, to five.
I’ve never had a problem with getting opticians to replace the lenses in my current frames and I’ve been wearing glasses for about 40 years.
Then again, my current frames are titanium, they’re quite rugged. It might be that for some sorts of frames there actually is a problem with breakage when lenses are replaced. Certainly, my sunglasses (which fit over my prescription ones) are made of a cheap plastic that tends to break within the year. Then again, they really are cheap, at least compared to the Rx pair.
You’re very welcome. I thought the post was a little long and read like an infomercial, too, but didn’t want to cut any of it for those who might need the info. I got the Zenni referral right here on the Dope, there are a couple other threads about finding cheap glasses floating around. The 60 Minutes segment has really stuck with me, it’s an incredible racket that company has going!
I am always suspicious about places that do both the exams and the sale of glasses and contacts. IMHO the surest method is to go to a real ophthalmologist and get a prescription that can be filled anywhere. As I learned through recent experience, it’s also a good idea to keep a copy of the prescription so that if you break your glasses while traveling you can get a replacement easily.
I can bring them a prescription from my ophthalmologist and they will still refuse to reuse the old frames. There goes the explanation in terms of the optometrist’s time for an exam. My prescription is too complicated for an online optometrist (they don’t deal with prisms–in fact my nearest optometrist that my wife uses never heard of prisms). But it seems to me that they are primarily in the business of selling horribly overpriced frames.
When I was 15 I got a pair of glasses with wire frames. I did get the lenses replaced a couple times (in the good old days that you could). Those frames lasted until my grandson stepped on them 17 years ago, when I was 59. So they lasted, and I used the same prescription for 44 years. The latest scam is to refuse to fill a prescription more than a year old.
