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I got my glasses at AR Trapp on Madison. I wanted really nice looking frames and paid up. I also have progressive lenses and they showed me how poorly my previous lenses were ground when I went to Lenscrafters or somewhere. There were a number of technical issues in the progressive lenses where they showed me they were poorly ground. I think they were $700 or so for the new lenses and frames.
I paid almost 1,000 dollars!!! They are slightly fancy-dancy frames, but it was the progressive lenses and also that I went to a guy who had the nice frames and makes you pay up for everything for fashion advice.
However, I got a tip from someone who I work with. She is totally blind as a bat and buys funky glasses from someone in the village and goes to a guy in Chinatown who fills the perspcriptions for 1/3 of everyone else. So that is what I am doing in the future. Getting the test from somebody, then glasses where I want and getting the glasses made by the guy in Chinatown. She saves a few hundred dollars.
— I buy fancy name brand frames
— I have very bad vision, astigmatism, and pay for super hyper-indexing [makes lenses much thinner]
— I also pay for scratch and glare coatings
It is possible to get much more reasonably priced frames, and if your prescription isn’t as bad/strong as mine, the lenses probably don’t need the hyper-indexing. And you can skip the coatings to save money. Try Lenscrafters, they always seem to have ads giving deals.
And your insurance might cover some of the exam, or the frames, and/or maybe some of the lens cost. Check your vision plan carefully.
“i was thinking about buying a pair just to have around in case i run out of contacts and stuff or to watch tv in couch. can you just buy a cheapie pair at thrift store and bring them to the eye glass place and have them put the script in?”
Yes, they’ll think it’s weird you’re not doing the whole rigmarole of buying brand new designer frames but selling you some lenses will do them just fine. Lenses are expensive too though.
Eyeglasses buying tip (I own three pairs I rotate among):
Go into an opticians and try on pairs, checking only for size. It doesn’t matter if you like a particular frame or not. Instead look for:
-Temple length – 140 or 145 mm
-Eye width – 46 to 54 mm more or less
-Bridge length – I forget the usual measurements, 14 to 20 mm I think.
-overall shape and color you like
All these sizes are printed on the temple or the tag. Then go online and pick out a frame in your size and desired shape and color for half the price.
I got my glasses at AR Trapp on Madison. I wanted really nice looking frames and paid up. I also have progressive lenses and they showed me how poorly my previous lenses were ground when I went to Lenscrafters or somewhere. There were a number of technical issues in the progressive lenses where they showed me they were poorly ground. I think they were $700 or so for the new lenses and frames.
Ummm, Cobble, your email must be broken, so I guess I’ll have to resort to texting you again.
I paid almost 1,000 dollars!!! They are slightly fancy-dancy frames, but it was the progressive lenses and also that I went to a guy who had the nice frames and makes you pay up for everything for fashion advice.
However, I got a tip from someone who I work with. She is totally blind as a bat and buys funky glasses from someone in the village and goes to a guy in Chinatown who fills the perspcriptions for 1/3 of everyone else. So that is what I am doing in the future. Getting the test from somebody, then glasses where I want and getting the glasses made by the guy in Chinatown. She saves a few hundred dollars.
I wear them every day, all the time, from when I get up to when I go to bed. Definitely worth splurging and getting it right – if not that, what else?
“Then go online and pick out a frame in your size and desired shape and color for half the price.”
Great advice, BH did that once, I forgot about that!
Rob, My glasses were absurdly expensive because:
— I buy fancy name brand frames
— I have very bad vision, astigmatism, and pay for super hyper-indexing [makes lenses much thinner]
— I also pay for scratch and glare coatings
It is possible to get much more reasonably priced frames, and if your prescription isn’t as bad/strong as mine, the lenses probably don’t need the hyper-indexing. And you can skip the coatings to save money. Try Lenscrafters, they always seem to have ads giving deals.
And your insurance might cover some of the exam, or the frames, and/or maybe some of the lens cost. Check your vision plan carefully.
“i was thinking about buying a pair just to have around in case i run out of contacts and stuff or to watch tv in couch. can you just buy a cheapie pair at thrift store and bring them to the eye glass place and have them put the script in?”
Yes, they’ll think it’s weird you’re not doing the whole rigmarole of buying brand new designer frames but selling you some lenses will do them just fine. Lenses are expensive too though.
Eyeglasses buying tip (I own three pairs I rotate among):
Go into an opticians and try on pairs, checking only for size. It doesn’t matter if you like a particular frame or not. Instead look for:
-Temple length – 140 or 145 mm
-Eye width – 46 to 54 mm more or less
-Bridge length – I forget the usual measurements, 14 to 20 mm I think.
-overall shape and color you like
All these sizes are printed on the temple or the tag. Then go online and pick out a frame in your size and desired shape and color for half the price.
Grand is where I got my reading glasses. They were fine, no problems.