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Decent websites for new glasses??

  • 28-01-2011 9:00am
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 6


    Hey guys

    Looking for any recommendations have to get a new pair of glasses and money is a tad tight but still don't want to compromise on value

    anyone able to point me in the direction of a few good websites out there??

    bit lost :confused:

    cheers for any help


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 991 ✭✭✭endplate


    You could try the one in my signature

    (It's my site and it's very cheap;))


  • Registered Users Posts: 375 ✭✭kdowling


    I brought two pairs of glasses on line. First pair were to wide and they looked ridiculous because they jutted out past my face. Second pair were too small and I could see the side of the frame anytime I looked to the right or left.
    Its cheaper for sure but not worth it. Best of going to the opticians and getting a pair fitted properly. they are not that expensive anymore anyways.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6 nerdage


    I know but there are some fantastic deals online.....just would like to know which one to go for ???

    some offer home trial? etc


    any actual site recommendations please.....starting to go blind :P

    thanks


  • Registered Users Posts: 19 John L1


    I got a pair from zennioptical.com and Im very happy with them. I got single vision high index lenses (1.67) for 53 euro. I ordered them on a saturday and they arrived on the following friday!

    I was so happy that I've just ordered varifocal lenses for 71 euro and the order is on its way to me. Along with your prescription details you do need your pupilliary distance (pd - distance between your pupils).

    In relation to frame sizes I used my existing frames as a template and this worked fine. I also uploaded a photo of my face to try different style frames. That worked well too.

    Check them out:)

    John


  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,952 Mod ✭✭✭✭Moonbeam


    very happy with vision2you.co.uk but would rather give my business locally where possible and places like endplates offer high index lenses very reasonable.
    So when ever I can plan to make a trip down to their shop.
    Last time found the glasses in vision express and then bought the exact ones online having no such luck this time I am hating nearly every pair I see!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 991 ✭✭✭endplate


    kdowling wrote: »
    I brought two pairs of glasses on line. First pair were to wide and they looked ridiculous because they jutted out past my face. Second pair were too small and I could see the side of the frame anytime I looked to the right or left.
    Its cheaper for sure but not worth it. Best of going to the opticians and getting a pair fitted properly. they are not that expensive anymore anyways.

    Hi kdowling sorry to hear about your bad experience about the frame sizes. If you wanted and it would be cheeky you can walk into any shop and try on different frames and take a note of the frame size that suits you the frame size is always written somewhere on the inside of the frame you have to look carefully on some and it's usually written in the format of 49 x 16. I am not deliberaly trying to push my site but if you follow this link and scroll down to the bottom of the page I have included a detailed description of how to understand frame sizes. Good luck next time if you try buying glasses online again


  • Registered Users Posts: 26 optician


    Endplate, you clearly ARE deliberately trying to push your site!
    I've no problem with that but what I do have a problem with is some of your previous posts where you are very deliberately and IMO shamefully misleading the public in order to encourage people to buy glasses online. You say that "pd's are not crucial" and that they can "vary by 1mm to 5mm". This is an outrageous statement for an optician to come out with. Are you saying that a child with a pd of 55mm can be measured up as a 60mm pd and that you don't think that this would be a problem?

    I also find you comment "Some Opticians use that old chestnut as an excuse to sell another pair of glasses. Do not accept a PD change as a reason to change your glasses" offensive and to accuse your fellow professionals of such and denigrate your fellow professionals in such a way is also shameful.
    you don't need to stoop to such levels in order to get your on-line sales.

    I'm sure from your previous posts that it wouldn't be too difficult to track down who you are and I am very tempted to report you to the opticians board for misleading the public and for your unethical comments.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,296 ✭✭✭RandolphEsq


    If you have an odd size head or else are picky about frame size then it is your responsibility to make sure the frame suits. I have bought 3 different pairs online, all perfect. Exactly the same as the cheap ones in Specsavers. And that is if you are buying cheap glasses, there are designer pairs for far cheaper online too.

    Buying glasses online is the ONLY way to buy glasses.


  • Registered Users Posts: 26 optician


    i have no problem with people buying glasses online. I am a retired optician so if the business is going that way so be it. If you get your pd measeured and but glasses online, more power to you. It's Endplate's misleading the public that I have a problem with.


  • Registered Users Posts: 991 ✭✭✭endplate


    Why is it whan a patient asks for a prescription from an Optician is a PD not included?

    Is it because it's not a legal requirement?

    Show me the line in the Opticians act that says I am misleading the public? And why would somebody set up an account just to try and shoot me down? Yes I have a site thet sells glasses online much cheaper, than in stores, is that what you are really scared of?

    If you read the about us section on my site, you can see a picture of me, my name, a picture of the front of my bricks and mortar store and an address. I am not trying to hide who I am.

    As regards the denegration accusation, I have never set out to tar all Opticians with the same brush so to speak, but as in any profession not all are going to practice ethically (unfortunately) but thankfully the majority do act responsibly and in accordance with the standards.

    I witnessed the owner of a certain well known multiple recounting a story of how one of their Optician liked to encourage glasses onto parents on the basis of a PD change i.e 1-2 mm. This tactic is purely revenue generating and such behavour is abhorrent. Funnily enough another owner from the same chain was sitting at the same table, and they were horrified.

    BTW I never ever said in any of my posts I was an Optician (I am not my wife is) so feel free to have a chat with the Opticians Board. Peter is the guy in the AOI you want to talk to and he has already said that there is no law stopping me from running my site.

    I run an ethical site I always work within optical tolerences for PD's and prescriptions plus I do not sell glasses to under 18's. I am fully aware of the law and have consulted a legal team before commenment of my site.

    Anything I post on boards.ie is confirmed by a currently registered (not retired) Optician as accurate before posting.

    I do understand that in very high prescriptions that PD's can become more crucial and if not supplied I will contact the client to get more information and will give instruction on how to measure their PD.

    Internet glasses sites are new to Ireland and there is always going to be a bit of resistance to changes in the market This is where I feel you are coming from.

    If you want to discuss this further feel free to PM me.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 26 optician


    Firstly i have not set out to shoot you down. I actually wish you the best of luck with your business but I think you can be sucessful without misleading the public.

    Secondly I am glad to hear that you are not an optician. This makes sense because I don't think an optician would dismiss the importance of pd measurements or talk about a fellow professional in the manner you did.

    Last year we had a patient who brought glasses on line but was complaining of asthenopia (this is when the eyes are tired/strained/fatigued) but the vision is clear. We checked his prescription power which was accurate but when we checked his pd and the frame pd we realised his measurements were 4mm off which was inducing a base in prism and causing his symptoms. When we reglazed his prescription with the correct pd the problem was solved.

    Now I'm not saying that everyone would have this problem but he had a very average prescription. It depends how much of a fusional reserve a person has as to whether the will experience symptoms or not from an incorrect pd measurement.

    As I said previously I am now retired after over 40 years experience as an optician. I have seen the introduction of contact lenses and laser eye surgery neither of which have troubled the profession so I don't think even if I was still in the profession, selling glasses on-line would be anything for me to be "scared of" like you said.
    I would just like the public to be informed and not mislead.


  • Registered Users Posts: 991 ✭✭✭endplate


    I haven't mislead the public. PD's are not referred to in the Optician's rules.

    They can in rare cases effect a patient like in your case but in the vast majority of people they will have little or no effect.

    Why did you create a account and hijack this thread over comments I made in another thread, and with the accusation I was deliberatly pushing my site? I wanted to give a revelent example to the post I was answering. Why would I show an example from a rival site?

    You could have easily PM me with your grevience instead of going public. If I was in the wrong, I would have publicly apologised.

    Please feel free to contact me by PM in future, if you have further grievences about my comments.

    Now please hand this thread back to nerdage.


  • Registered Users Posts: 26 optician


    endplate wrote: »
    They can in rare cases effect a patient like in your case but in the vast majority of people they will have little or no effect.

    There you go again, this is simply not true. There is little point in sending you a pm if you are so arrogant as to believe that you know more about eye exams than an optician with 40 years experience.

    incorrect pd's certainly do not have little or no effect in the vast majority of cases. I'll give you another example. a few years ago i got my dispensing optician to make me up a new pair of glasses. I wrote down my prescription for her but she misread by pd and they were made up with a pd that was out by 3mm. I do not have a big prescription. Within a day or two of wearing the glasses I knew something was not right because althought my vision was clear my eyes were strained and on checking the pd I discovered the problem.

    Over my career I have preformed over 100,000 eye exams, how many have you preformed?
    I could give you many many more examples but I would hope you would have the humility to accept that I might know more about this than you do!


  • Registered Users Posts: 375 ✭✭kdowling


    I don't understand the relavence of the pd thing but I just guessed mine when I got them online and I was getting a fair bit of eye strain. stopped wearing them after 2 weeks.


  • Registered Users Posts: 60 ✭✭jwabh


    kdowling wrote: »
    I don't understand the relavence of the pd thing but I just guessed mine when I got them online and I was getting a fair bit of eye strain. stopped wearing them after 2 weeks.

    That's the relevance really, can cause eyestrain, double images. Is worst on patients with poor fusional reserves, however most people will feel the difference when a prism (a function of the power of the lens and the pd) is altered. Some patients will accept more unwanted prism than others. But as with anything in the body, do you want to be putting extra strain on your eyes.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,296 ✭✭✭RandolphEsq


    I bought a pair from buynewspecs.ie on Sat, they arrived today. Perfect! €9.99 but you wouldn't think it. I use mine for driving, seeing the tv, golf and lectures, so not all the time. Delighted with them!


  • Registered Users Posts: 375 ✭✭kdowling


    I think glasses from a website are a bit like the over-the-counter reading glasses. they are okay to get you by in a sticky situation but if you aer wearing them regularly they are not recommended.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,296 ✭✭✭RandolphEsq


    kdowling wrote: »
    I think glasses from a website are a bit like the over-the-counter reading glasses. they are okay to get you by in a sticky situation but if you aer wearing them regularly they are not recommended.

    I'd completely disagree. Once the prescription is correct, and the frames fit comfortably, then it is the exact same except cheaper


  • Registered Users Posts: 375 ✭✭kdowling


    I'd completely disagree. Once the prescription is correct, and the frames fit comfortably, then it is the exact same except cheaper

    but you don't wear them all the time!
    trust me if you are to wear glasses all the time you want them to be spot on.


  • Registered Users Posts: 991 ✭✭✭endplate


    kdowling wrote: »
    I think glasses from a website are a bit like the over-the-counter reading glasses. they are okay to get you by in a sticky situation but if you aer wearing them regularly they are not recommended.

    That couldn't be further from the truth. As RandolphEsq stated the customer provides the prescription the lenses are picked to match the prescription and the machinery is used to set the lenses correctly according the prescription. The over the counter reading glasses do not allow for any element of astigmatism the wearer might have. They have the exact same strength in both eyes. The glasses purchased online are made for the customer as they are in any Optician store using the same machinery.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 19 John L1


    I got my varifocal glasses (1.67 progressive lenses with anti-reflection coating) from zennioptical two weeks ago - cost 71 euro including postage. Absolutely no problem and I've been wearing them all the time since .

    In fact I'd say they are better than my previous specsaver glasses as the lens height is 30mm instead of the 25mm that I bought from specsavers.

    Two years ago two pairs of varifocal glasses from specsavers cost me 640 euro - two pairs from zennioptical would have cost me approx 132 euro (postage at 10 euro). I would love to buy local but I feel we're being ripped off. I don't mind paying a premium but there is a limit.

    John


  • Registered Users Posts: 375 ✭✭kdowling


    I brought two pairs online neither of which I could get on with. worse still I recommended it to my mother (based on price alone!) because I hadn't got mine by that stage and she brought a pair of varifocals for €100. she's been wearing varifocals all her life and was having awful problems with them and had to stop wearing them too.
    The problem is when she spoke to the opticians where she got the test done they blamed the glasses (not the prescription) and when she spoke to the website they blamed the opticians test. so there is no continuity of care and you are left in limbo because you do not know where the fault lies. At least if all is done in the opticians you can get a retest and the lenses checked to find out where the problem lies and get it sorted.
    €100 in these times is a lot of money to be left out of pocket


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,296 ✭✭✭RandolphEsq


    kdowling wrote: »
    I brought two pairs online neither of which I could get on with. worse still I recommended it to my mother (based on price alone!) because I hadn't got mine by that stage and she brought a pair of varifocals for €100. she's been wearing varifocals all her life and was having awful problems with them and had to stop wearing them too.
    The problem is when she spoke to the opticians where she got the test done they blamed the glasses (not the prescription) and when she spoke to the website they blamed the opticians test. so there is no continuity of care and you are left in limbo because you do not know where the fault lies. At least if all is done in the opticians you can get a retest and the lenses checked to find out where the problem lies and get it sorted.
    €100 in these times is a lot of money to be left out of pocket

    But did you not say that the reason for the problem was that you misjudged the importance of PD?


  • Registered Users Posts: 375 ✭✭kdowling


    But did you not say that the reason for the problem was that you misjudged the importance of PD?

    I assume that for my glasses the problem was that i guessed my pd but for the varifocals because there are other measurements required i think your taking a bigger risk. I see john l1 got on fine with his but there is a good chance of having problems and if you do you don't know whether its the fault of the optician who did the test or the website that made up the glasses.


  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,952 Mod ✭✭✭✭Moonbeam


    kdowling wrote: »
    but you don't wear them all the time!
    trust me if you are to wear glasses all the time you want them to be spot on.

    I have a high prescription and prisms in my glasses. I bought them online and they are perfect.
    I asked my optician for my pd.


  • Registered Users Posts: 89 ✭✭Kalinda


    I have had very good experiences buying from selelctspecs.co.uk, even an optician who saw the glasses commented on the lenses being so good (thinned).


  • Registered Users, Moderators, Education Moderators, Sports Moderators, Regional South Moderators Posts: 15,247 Mod ✭✭✭✭rebel girl 15


    John L1 wrote: »
    I got a pair from zennioptical.com and Im very happy with them. I got single vision high index lenses (1.67) for 53 euro. I ordered them on a saturday and they arrived on the following friday!

    I was so happy that I've just ordered varifocal lenses for 71 euro and the order is on its way to me. Along with your prescription details you do need your pupilliary distance (pd - distance between your pupils).

    In relation to frame sizes I used my existing frames as a template and this worked fine. I also uploaded a photo of my face to try different style frames. That worked well too.

    Check them out:)

    John


    I got mine from Zenni as well - had lost my previous pair, so ended up measuring myself, and making out the size, pair ended up being about €15, delivered to the door. Great range there


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11 bluebirds


    I have the prescription from my optometrist. It says my PD is 32/31.5, so I rounded them up to 64 .Ordered 2 pairs of eyeglasses from Zenni Optical. I was impressed with the quality of the frames and the lenses. I could see out of the glasses clearly! Nary a scratch or a mark on the lenses and the frames were sturdy, lightweight, and sparkled with a gold finish.


  • Registered Users Posts: 143 ✭✭smugchik


    I have never worn glasses before but realise that I need them now as I have to hold everything away from me to focus and can't read in bed anymore. I have been wearing off the shelf ones from Boots but only wear them when I am alone. I don't suit glasses, but if I have to wear them I would like designer frames such as Chanel or Dior. My problem is that any opticians near me do not stock them and if I get them from the internet, the opticians are charging another €100 just to insert the glass into the frames. Is this normal or are they trying to rip me off?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 991 ✭✭✭endplate


    Why do you not get the site (unless you already have the glasses) to put in your prescription into your frames? When you do an eyetest you can ask for your prescription as it's your property once you have paid for it. €100 is about right if you are getting a lens with a premium antiglare coating. For standard lenses €45 to €55 is the norm. Some places still charge a fee for getting lenses into your own frame. Other places don't so shop around and bring your prescription with you.


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