If you wear prescription glasses then you might be surprised to learn that there is a growing trend for having lenses replaced into your own frame. This is largely due to the fact that many people simply do not have the kind of money that, some high street opticians demand for prescription lenses. In these times of austerity, many consumers are tightening their purse strings and opting for a more convenient and cost-effective way of updating their prescription glasses. But this is nothing new. For many years, high street opticians have offered a spectacle frame ‘reglaze’ service. This service is where the customer chooses to have new prescription lenses fitted into their own frame, thus saving money on having to buy a whole new pair of glasses.
The only problem with shopping at the high street opticians, is that they tend to charge a premium for their prescription lenses. This is where an online retailer can take advantage as they tend not have expensive premises to pay for, or even the kind of staff wage bills that the high street opticians have to pay for. This allows the online retailers to sell their spectacle lenses at a much reduced price. In the past, when your optician informed you that your spectacle lenses needed to be updated, you would all too often end up with a hefty bill to pay.
These days, by doing all this online you can actually save up to around half of what you would usually pay in a high street opticians. If you already posses a frame that is not too old and is in reasonable condition, then why pay out for another frame when you can simply use your existing one? There are now many internet retailers who offer this type of ‘reglaze’ service and it is becoming increasingly popular, especially for those whose sight test prescription changes every year. Also, if you need varifocal spectacles then this is really where you can start to save money. Varifocal lenses are probably the most expensive spectacle lenses on the market, so having your own frame re-glazed with these lenses can end up saving you quite a lot of money. The great thing about getting your varifocal glasses re-glazed with an online retailer, is that you don’t need to worry about taking any extra lens measurements yourself. Once you send your frame to the company to be re-glazed, they can take all the required measurements from your existing lenses, so there are no risks involved.
Just think, all those years you have probably been paying vast sums of money for a new pair of spectacle lenses, could finally come to an end just by re-glazing your own frame online. All you need to do to make sure that things go smoothly is to find a reputable and established online glasses retailer that can offer this kind of service. My advice is to try to go with a retailer that is based in the same country as you are, just in case there are any unexpected problems with your order. Also, try to make sure that the retailer’s website has a customer service telephone number, that isn’t going to cost a fortune to call. If you follow this small piece of advice then you’ll soon be on your way to purchasing your first pair of spectacle lenses online, and hopefully save time and money in the process.
Jim Romand currently works as an optical lens technician for an online lens retailer, specialising in the production of spectacle lenses