I Need Reading Glasses.

[beezaneez]

i need good quality reading glasses, my eyes are getting increasingly worse over past year. i fear i will not only need readers but will need to wear them all the time. i seen bench designer glasses today in vision express , really nice £ 99 and with an anti glare lens they are £130 with eyes tested etc.

today on ebay i see same bench frames for £15 with free postage in uk.

so my question is , is it a cheaper , better option for me to buy frames off ebay and get lens fitted in say vision express or spec savers or maybe somewhere else.

your thoughts please.

[Clanad]

Actually, the cheap over-the-counter reading glasses one finds in a drug store (here in the U.S.) are just as good as the ones would spend several more dollars for at the optometrist are just as "safe" (whatever that means).

Look, reading glasses, whatever the source are only magnifying glasses… they enlarge the print and do nothing for correcting other visual deficiencies that are built into regular sight correcting glasses.

I spend about $10 (US) for a pair with plastic lenses and durable but plaice frames with the magnifying correction I require for comfort.

The only caveat would be if one requires a drastically differing correction for each eye. I don't and mine are perfectly comfortable, especially since I walk off and leave them forgetfully (that's another story though).

On source explains it this way: "Inexpensive reading glasses typically have the same magnification power in each lens. This is beneficial to people who have the same, or almost the same, prescription in each eye. For example, if one of your eyes requires +1.00 glasses and the other varies slightly needing +1.25 glasses, you can probably get by with a pair of cheap reading glasses from the pharmacy. However, if your eyes require markedly different prescriptions, the best reading glasses for you are custom prescription lenses from your eye doctor. "

If it's any comfort, almost everyone requires reading glasses as age increases. It has only to do with the eye's inability to focus quickly as it did when one was younger… most start in our 20's or so...

[jomifl]

Clanad, reading glasses do not 'magnify the print'. They enable close objects to be focussed on the retina beyond the ability of the eye optics. When you use a magnifying glass you don't hold it close to your eye, you hold it close to the subject.

[EcclesCake]

From what you've said it doesn't sound like you've had a sight test yet. Before choosing frames I'd have my eyes tested and then consider what frames will suit the lenses required at an affordable price.

[mccfluff]

i agree you should get your eye sight checked by a proper optician but i'll aqlso confused as to why opticians at specsavers etc are not considered proper by jeffa???

i had mine done at asda, very good service, eye test was comprehensive & included glaucoma tests etc. cost £159 in total which was for varifocals, thinned & transition lenses

[EcclesCake]

I may well be wrong but I thought Specsavers was a franchise that qualified opticians bought into. I see no reason to question their skill set either.

[shaneystar2]

Go to an optician in the first instance if you are having difficulty with reading .
Your eyesight is the most important thing .
Worry about the cost and what you can get cheaply after you've had your eyes tested.
You say good quality and then browse about on Ebay :)
If you need specs it's worth getting it right .
I use an independent optician as I don't like the hard sell from chains/franchises and any on line people won't accept my complicated prescription .

[mccfluff]

i sense a whiff of snobbery.....

[boxtops]

I don't know, fluff - I've had duff uncaring impersonal service from a chain, and first rate service from my independent opticians. I know which I'd rather choose.

[shaneystar2]

Snobbery has nothing to do with it .
I prefer my local optician,these days..He's no more expensive than a chain and far more thorough.
He picked up a mole at the back of my eye that none of the chains did and I used to use Specsavers !
I was always happy with them until we moved and I found the one where live now totally useless.

[Maydup]

As i too only need glasses for reading, I have my eyes tested and then shop around for the frames I like. As it happens, i ended up doing both test and purchase in Specsavers as they do a 2 for 1 deal. That means I can leave one pair at work and keep one pair at home. I top up with a pair of cheap ready readers (supermarket) kept in the handbag in case i ever forget my glasses and another pair for falling asleep in!

[mccfluff]

i've used both, local and chain, got good service from them all, price varied considerably though

[Clanad]

You could be right jomfil… but then this and a myriad of other seemingly knowledgeable sources would be wrong…

http://www.visionaware.org/section.aspx?FolderID=6&SectionID=116&TopicID=489&DocumentID=5984

[bhg481]

In order to be able to see something clearly it has to be focussed onto the retina. As the object gets closer to the lens the focal lenth of the lens has to be shortened in order to retain focus. In a camera this is done by moving the lens. In the eye it is done by muscles changing the shape of the lens. As you get older the lens cannot be adjusted enough to bring objects into focus which are close to it, hence an auxiliiary lens (pair of specs) needs to be used. It so happens that the lenses required are convex, magnifying lenses. They do not, as such, magnify the image but they do act along with the lens in the eye to bring near objects into focus.

[jomifl]

Thank for that bhg, I suspect that clanad doesn't understand what is meant by the term 'reading glasses' in the UK.

[pusskin]

To me, spec savers gave me a more thorough eye test.
Wouldnt go back to my local optician again. They also spotted my cataract that is there, so no compliants from me.

[beezaneez]

as i say, my eye sight is deteriorating. it has slowly been going now for 1 year and i think in long run ( soon maybe ) i will need them all time.

[bhg481]

Beexaneez - if your eyesight is deteriorating you really need to get to an optician.
I usually go round looking for frames I like at a price I can afford and then get my eye test done there.
For a first pair of specs I'd most certainly go to a High Street optician and forget 2 for 1 offers, just ask for a discount instead. Once you've got used to specs you'll know what to expect from them in terms of comfort and performance (how much they'll improve your vision).
All the opticians I've used over the years have checked the fit, adjusted them if necessary and made further adjustments (free) if any are needed when you've been wearing them for a while. I've had everything over the years from perfect fit with no adjustment to having to have the lenses remade or even a fresh eye test, all difficult if you have a test in one place, buy the frames in another and have them fitted by a third company. Bite the bullet first time around, get everything done by the same optician and then think about making savings next time round.

[jomifl]

Good advice bhg.

[ChillDoubt]

beezaneez,
If you ask around, most of the main opticians have free eye testing from time to time in the hope of drumming up business.
I had mine free at Tesco, then bought my frames on eBay and did as I described earlier, but as others have said it is a MUST that you have them tested and are given a prescription.
After that, you're free to do as you please.

[CokeTulip]

Opticians can refuse to fit lenses to new frames bought elsewhere or even your own old frames. Check first - it has something to do with guarantees they have to give now.
(I dont think it used to be like this)

Then if part of a frame breaks - arm or lens need replacing they will do this sort of thing so I dont understand it.

Ideally they want to sell you the package as business is competitive.

You may be able to get the lenses on line and someone will have a link but I have never done this.