Pricey Prescription Panic

March 28, 2005 5:27 AM

I have not paid for glasses in years, and was shocked to learn that my glass lenses (-8 nearsighted...) are going to cost me $400. I have only heard of one other person who ever paid that much, so maybe I'm just looking to whine and pity myself, but any other empty walleted blind-ish folk out there?

I would just opt for contact lenses again, but apparently I have developed "ridges" in the vessels surrounding the lenses, so I'm pretty much being railroaded into wearing glasses. Damn.

posted by mrs.pants to Health & Fitness (28 answers total)

I'd advise you to get a copy of your prescription from your doc and shop around. IIRC, my last pair of glasses (nearly as strong as yours but only for one eye) was $180 total (lenses and frames) from a lenscrafters type place. That was in the past year.
posted by anastasiav at 5:29 AM on March 28, 2005

I paid $850 last time for glasses and contacts; insurance covered about half. The upside was the optometrist was especially thorough, so it was worth paying that price for the multiple fittings.
posted by orthogonality at 5:31 AM on March 28, 2005

I get 2 pairs of glasses every time - graduated bifocals with high-index lenses and polished edges, and computer glasses with high-index lenses. I pay about $1000 each time, including frames. Vision Service Plan reimburses about $150.
posted by matildaben at 5:48 AM on March 28, 2005

My husband's prescription is about the same, we paid $500 for his last pair, and they were the ultra-thin lenses, with antiglare coating. However, that also included some nice (Guess, I think. They had a nifty sunglasses clip on that's since been lost) frames. We didn't have insurance at the time.
posted by Kellydamnit at 6:04 AM on March 28, 2005

matildaben writes "I get 2 pairs of glasses every time - graduated bifocals"

If I can intrude, how are the bifocals in use? I've always just been nearsighted.
posted by orthogonality at 6:06 AM on March 28, 2005

Mine (high index lenses, asymmetrical 'script (-5, +1) lots of astigmatic correction), run about $500 from an independent optometrist. ($200 of that was frame w/clip on sunglasses.) I could have taken the 'script to a lenscrafters-type place for somewhat less, but I've never had good luck with them (they seem to have a problem centering a high cylindrical correction). No insurance.

My dad's glasses (-8 with astigmatism) have always been in the multi-hundred-dollar range. I think his last pair was close to $700 with an old frame.
posted by jlkr at 6:20 AM on March 28, 2005

I could have taken the 'script to a lenscrafters-type place for somewhat less, but I've never had good luck with them (they seem to have a problem centering a high cylindrical correction).

I used to work there. It can be done by someone experienced (it's fairly easy to do, if you put a little effort into it) but they usually staff the labs with people who could care less. If you have a prescription like that, I would order your lenses from an independent lab who specializes in cutting lenses with your type of prescription. It's well worth the money.
posted by jasonspaceman at 6:27 AM on March 28, 2005

I paid about $400 for my last pair from Hakim, less whatever my insurance covered. Hakim threw in a free pair of prescription sunglasses. It might still seem like a lot, but I usually wear my glasses every day for five years. What other wearable item is going to give you that kind of mileage?
posted by orange swan at 6:46 AM on March 28, 2005

My prescription is a bit worse than yours (-10 nearsighted) and I usually pay around $150 for lenses from my local independent optometrist. But I think that is his no insurance/thanks for not going to Walmart-Costco rate.
posted by Tenuki at 7:00 AM on March 28, 2005

my vision is so bad that i really have to get the high-index lenses, or i would be looking through 1/2 inch thick portholes. that's where the cost is. the lenses alone run about 400 bucks.
posted by chr1sb0y at 7:06 AM on March 28, 2005

My eyesite is about as bad as yours and I paid about $300ish a few months ago. I paid a premium for getting the lens material that would result in the thinest possible glasses (I've had some bad experiences in the past that maks me look like I have Coke bottles on my face).
posted by mmascolino at 7:17 AM on March 28, 2005

My mom juxt paid $400 for her glasses and that was with "half price lenses" at Lenscrafters.
posted by duck at 7:38 AM on March 28, 2005

Make sure you look for promotions. Are you a AAA member? I think my last pair of glasses was in the $400-500 range, but I got a healthy 30 percent discount from Lenscrafters by being a member of AAA - not something everyone knows about. It might be worth checking out - it was worth more than any other promotional discount available at the time.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:48 AM on March 28, 2005

What are you guys buying? Designer frames?

I've never paid more than $250 for glasses. I even got the rimless ones from Costco for less than that.
posted by eas98 at 7:59 AM on March 28, 2005

We also got a hefty discount on exam + [not cheap] frames at lenscrafters with our AAA card and got out of there for under $200 IIRC.
posted by jessamyn at 8:02 AM on March 28, 2005

Response by poster: eas98 the $400 was for just the lenses my frames were a tad pricey but I haven't worn glasses in nearly a decade, so I took into consideration my tremendous vanity/insecurity and opted to buy frames I would like to wear daily.
posted by mrs.pants at 8:10 AM on March 28, 2005

Since you're in Chicago, you may want to check out New Days Optical on Broadway, just south of Belmont, on the east side of the street. It's totally not a fancy store, but the guy who runs it (John Hwang) has an excellent selection of frames (designer and non-designer) for reasonable prices. And the lenses aren't terribly expensive either.
I just got glasses there a month ago for $188. Fancy designer frames and a light prescription. My boyfriend has a heavy prescription and spent $250 for designer frames and lenses. It's expensive, but way cheaper than Lens Crafters and other places. And John spends a lot of time with you to make sure your glasses fit your face well. I can't recommend this guy enough.
posted by smich at 8:20 AM on March 28, 2005

Don't buy them from your eye doctor. Buy them at a place like Lenscrafters or Pearle. Lenscrafters will give you a 20% discount if you show your AAA card. Many insurance plans also have vision coverage that will pay for your exam and a portion of your new glasses.
posted by suchatreat at 8:26 AM on March 28, 2005

Fly to Hungary and get glasses there. Really, I broke glasses on vacation there and got new ones. Multi-focals. It was amazingly cheap! Prices for glasses vary wildly. Can't recall what my last ones were, but oddly cheaper in the UK than they were in Germany. I never wore multi-focals while still in the US, but my last glasses there were from J.C.Penny's optical department: affordable, 9 years ago.
posted by Goofyy at 8:34 AM on March 28, 2005

I went to a large venerable department store and paid about $250 for my hi-index lenses, frames, the anti-glare coating, and some cheapo clip-ons ($10) from Target which were nearly the exact shape of my small lenses which was half the cost of the poorly-fitting clip-ons the original department store was offering. In addition, the anti-glare coating was easily smudged and required a tenfold increase in cleaning (with the special solution) and was wearing away in large visible spots on the lenses. I took them back, ate a small charge for new lenses, had them put the anti-filter glare on because it was a "new formulation" and damned if the same thing didn't happen. Went back, got a third pair, refused to pay for them, it went up the chain, down the chain, was approved, and got the pair without the anti-glare coating, no problems.
posted by user92371 at 8:36 AM on March 28, 2005

I just paid $280 for lens and frames (among the 'cheapest' frames they had), and this was after a 15% insurance provider negotiated deduction. Way too much in my opinion, but it's been 4 years since I bought glasses. And it cost $120 for the exam.
posted by LadyBonita at 8:40 AM on March 28, 2005

orthogonality, the graduated bifocals are my everyday wear when I'm not looking at the computer. I have always been nearsighted and then as I got older I started to need glasses for near vision as well (reading), hence the bifocals and the computer glasses. I got the bad side of the genetic lottery from both of my parents. My younger brother has never needed glasses of any kind.

FWIW, I do buy the glasses from my optometrist because, since my vision needs are so complex, I do not trust a discount shop. I could save a hundred or two by buying non-designer frames but a gal's got to have her fashion.
posted by matildaben at 8:47 AM on March 28, 2005

Other people have chimed in on the price, so I'll comment on what's worth it:

High index plastic is *well* worth it. Not only do they look better on you, I've found that the visual / spatial distortions caused by the glasses were markedly reduced with high index plastic. My eyes are, I think, around -5 or -6, some astigmatism, and my last pair ran me $300-500 with frames.

I really liked having the antireflective coating, especially for driving at night.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:10 AM on March 28, 2005

Add-on question: would it be cheaper to get lenses for existing frames, or will most places make you get the frame/lenses set?
posted by casarkos at 10:11 AM on March 28, 2005

I'm usually fairly particular about my specs. I now wear no-line bifocals, and my old pair were purchased from an independent optician. As they were my first pair of bifocals I wanted to make sure they worked out for me, and they did. If I remember correctly, I paid about $400 including frames, primo lenses with scratch resistance, uv coating, and non-glare. They worked very well right from the start.

I recently went shopping for a new spare pair of glasses to have on vacation. Sears was running a promotion for $97 including frames, so I figured it was worth a try. Though they aren't quite as good as my higher end glasses they'll do for a backup. In addition, Sears backs up the glasses to the point that if they don't work for you they'll re-do them at no charge. I also read out that Sears uses the Lenscrafters labs for their lenses.

Add-on question: would it be cheaper to get lenses for existing frames, or will most places make you get the frame/lenses set?

The answer is: It depends. Older plastic frames can get brittle. Older wire frames could suffer from metal fatigue and break more easily. Also, if the frame is a weird shape they might have difficulty finding the right blanks. On the other hand, if you have heavy duty wire frames that you like and are in decent shape, you should be able to save the cost of new.
posted by SteveInMaine at 10:37 AM on March 28, 2005

$400 just for lenses seems high. My Ray-Ban frames with high index progressive bifocal lenses in a similar prescription were about $350 total.
posted by fixedgear at 12:42 PM on March 28, 2005

casarkos, I love my pair of (designer) frames so much I had new lenses added to them instead of buying a whole new lens/frame set from the local shop. It's more expensive because these types of places typically offer sales and discounts on buying a "complete pair", and replacing the lenses on a pair of frames is unusual enough not to get any special promotions, so you end up paying full price.
posted by lychee at 12:55 PM on March 28, 2005

Have you considered contact lenses?

With both -6 diopter nearsightedness and -3 diopter spherical correction, my high-index, multifocal lenses were running about $500 (just lenses), and I needed a new prescription every 12-18 months.

Two-week disposable toric contact lenses provided an adequate correction for about $200/year, with a $10 pair of over-the-counter reading glasses for close-up work. The ability to wear inexpensive sunglasses is another plus. Yes, there's a higher fee for the exam, but many insurance companies provide some coverage.

Single-vision contact lenses are much cheaper, and you can always keep your old eyeglasses as a backup.
posted by patience_limited at 8:34 PM on March 28, 2005