Hello, my name is Duane and have been making eyeglasses lenses for over 25 years.
Any optical that you take you glasses to should be able to replace your lenses or lens. if the are not happy with the condition of your frame they should have you sign a waver stating they are not responsible for your frame.
The secret to extending the life of your frame is to keep them clean and free of any oils or dirt that may get on the frames from your skin or just placing them down some where. Best way is to take them in the shower and clean them when you clean your self. Keeping the frame clean will help the plastic frames from drying out and cracking and the metal frames from breaking. you should keep them in the case when not using them and never keep them in a hot car.
Some times they do have to make both lenses, when its a bifocal or progressive lens both lenses should be made so they can match the prescription in the same spot in your lens or to match the same type of progressive.
The main reason the lenses cost so much is because these doctor and optical have very large over head. The equipment to do the pretest and the eye exam is very expensive. Also rent, staff, eletric the list goes on. I worked for one Dr. that spent over 10,000 a month in just aversiteing. One person said it rite when you look at the low price they charge for that eye exam that is just to get you in the door. Eye exams should be $89
some of these online places are also just Doctor or optical branching out and selling online cheaper that they do in the office.
I dont understand the prism thing any optical online or retail should be able to make glasses with prism. I do all the time.
I dont know if this help. But its what I know. If you have any question about the condition of your frame or a lens question feel free to ask. and send a pic of the frame.
My local places will give you new lenses, but they will charge almost as much as they do for a complete pair of glasses.
What I’d like to know is why won’t the online places such as Zenni put new lenses in old frames? I’d rather send in some frames I know I like rather than spend hours shopping online and then having to try on and send back a bunch of them.
Plastic dried out its plasticizers, and absorbs the reactive oils from skin lotions, skin, food.
Both metal and plastic fatigue with strain,and changes in strain, which is twisting, stretching and squashing , caused by use and by changes in temperature.
Both metal and plastics can crack more easily if there is a small scratch to the surface.
The thread used to tighten the frame , to hold the lenses in, is basically single use for this reason. When the screw is removed, the thread may well break away. This is not the same as replacing a lost screw, if the screw is lost then probably that event was due to the screw not being tightened properly to start with, so anecdotes of replacing screws are not disproof of the “single use” property… if the screws are stuck in really firm, they have “used” the thread and that thread is one use…
So yep, those frames are cats with one life. They are only designed to last two years… planned obsolesces was invented quite a while ago.
I thought, up until very recently, that optometrists were running a scam of some sort. They would usually, but not always, refuse to re-use frames which I liked but also I’d never get an eye examination without them telling me my vision had deteriorated and I would need a new prescription.
Until last week. Glaucoma test - good. Examination for MD - good. Vision - no change. Walked out of OPSM very happy indeed.
I joined Costco, partly because I thought the glasses might be cheaper. My optometrist had retired, so I used the one with an office just outside Costco. (She’s totally independent.) The Costco glasses weren’t that great & I let my membership lapse because I don’t need to buy Mass Quantities of everything. But I’ve kept the optometrist because she is very thorough–and covered by my insurance.
My glasses aren’t covered but I have a fairly simple prescription. So I usea local optician–all they do is make glasses. They have vintage frames, last season’s “pricey” frames & some cool, cheap lines. Very quick service–and I like trying on all the options. Also, last time I sat on my glasses, they were able to unbend them very nicely. I’m sure they’d re-use frames, but I enjoy getting a new pair occasionally so I’ll have options. (My prescription is pretty stable.)
I did this once with some metal frames I liked, and the result was excellent. The frames looked better than they did when I sent them in; I think they must have given them an ultrasonic cleaning.
I also got some new glasses from a company whose name started with “L” (mentioned above), and my experience was totally different. I had just had a cataract operation, and the right eye was now completely different from what the original lens was made for. Before I got totally new glasses, I had to wait several months for the eye to stabilize, so I asked L. if they could replace the old right-hand lens with a plain one that had no correction. They were glad to do this, and charged a small amount, I think around 40 bucks. I had two other sets, one for reading and one for use at the computer terminal. For these I had L. just pop out the old lens and leave the opening vacant. They did this at no charge.
BTW - if any of you are thinking of having cataract surgery, go for it! The results were spectacular, with no discomfort at any time. I would a lot rather have a cataract removed than have a root canal.
I had both eyes done a few years ago and the result was instant and dramatic. The operation was a bit cringy? as you have to lay back, wide awake, while the surgeon does things to your eyeball. It does not hurt though.
After the op, I find that my distance vision is perfect, but I do need 1.5x reading glasses. I buy these from Amazon and they come from Hong Kong. At 3.50GBP each, I treat them as disposable and they usually last about six months. They have a hard life - in and out of my pocket.
In the UK, opticians are obliged to hand over the prescription after a test, which means that we can then take that anywhere we like to buy frames and lenses.
How hard is it to buff scratches out? The “L” chain mentioned above said they can’t do that, that I had to buy a whole new pair (which I’ve taken care of like they’re the crown jewels).
The smaller chain I deal with would always say that the frames I picked out were “the last ones” of that model. I suspect they got showroom frames in and only bought frames when a particular model was very popular.
Some time ago I got wise to that and ordered a dozen of those exact “discontinued” frames from a wholesaler online (they’re still available - so much for “discontinued”). Since then, I just have either the new lenses put into my existing frames, or if the frames are in poor shape, I’ll bring them a new set and keep the old frames for spare parts.
This was apparently so unusual for them that they still give me the “second pair free” on the lenses, even though I haven’t bought frames from them in years. Either that or they have really good profit margins on the lenses.
Really, $75 per hour (still underpaid), but I’ve never had an optometrist eye exam take more than 15 minutes or so, and that’s including talking with him about his weekend flying experiences.
My local chain is dirt cheap… the insurance glasses are crap, and the non-insurance glasses are reasonably-priced. Okay, not internet pricing, but a real bargain compared to the big L company. Last time I was home I overslept my appointment (jet lag). I went in, apologized, offered to pay for the missed appointment, and they wouldn’t hear of it. Fit me in right then and there.
They know I live overseas, and had no problem nor got defensive when I asked for my prescription including PD. They know I’ll be back.