Plan B Forum

I need new glasses: these are ~ 3 years old and my vision has not improved. The last pair cost me $440 which is the most I have ever spent on glasses.

I went to LensCrafters and they have long abandoned the 'quality eyeglasses in about an hour' motto: they no longer have the lab right there in the shop. For no line bifocals with scratch resistant coating it would be about $600 plus the cost of the frames which were about $250 and up. Fuck that.

I went to an independent single location place. Lenses would be $250 or so depending on bells and whistles and the frames were similarly priced to LensCrafters' frames. Still expensive but way better than the prior quote.

But wait: they had a deal. For a frame from a particular selection, presumably the cheaper frames, the whole caboodle would be $335. They had a frame which looked ok to me so I bought it. Looks OK to me and when I get it I will post a pic here and you can all tell me how it looks.

That's discouraging, Ex-. I will be getting a cataract operation in a month or two, and have decided on new frames as well as the new lenses that will likely be necessary. I was thinking in terms of a couple of hundred bucks. It sounds like I'll have to double or triple that.

Warby Parker glasses are quite nice for a low price and you can try the frames at home before you buy.

I get my frames from the poor people’s section at the eye doctor, not so many flash styles but the last few pairs were nice enough I got lucky with styles and colors that suited me well. It really is funny because they have like 30 pair to choose from for men women and children and it’s on this one little side wall, meanwhile the huge show floor with section after section of designer glasses in a rainbow of shades and some with sparkles and all shapes and sizes and materials - then the little poor folks section. Ah well, they were priced right at zero dollars.

Congress just recently voted down a bill that would have included vision and dental and hearing aids in Medicare. Sure it would have a big price tag but have you seen the obscene wealth of our multibillionaires? Maybe we should tax some of that.

Try Walmart.

My last specs cost me £110 for two pairs.

I could have had slim lenses and bifocals for £180. (2 pairs.)

https://www.specsavers.co.uk/

Buying specs online is risky if your prescription is more than 2years old.

I got my last glasses at Costco; they cost me around $350 for progressive lenses (they run from 0 for distance to my reading prescription, I got tired of carrying reading glasses) with photosensitive darkening, but these were for one of the higher priced frames, there were a lot for less. Unless your lenses are really complex (my wife cannot get her glasses at Costco because of her astigmatism, only some labs can handle it) I'd suggest shopping around. There's really no rhyme or reason to the cost of the glasses.

The costs are going out of sight?

Eye agree.

But don't be blind to the savings.

Just got glasses at Walmart...$86.

Walmart 8$ for three pair, readers. Considering how old I am, I don't think I will ever need anything other than readers.

Spousal Unit's employer provides vision coverage as part of the company health plan. I just got new glasses specifically for reading music. $0.

Vision care is one area where Canadian health care falls down badly. Corrective lenses are not covered by public health insurance except in some extremely limited cases, and private supplemental coverage almost always places ridiculously low limits on coverage. For example, my public sector employer's employee and retiree plans limit vision care coverage to $340 every 24 months. Complete joke.