Spectacle prices

tRoN

tRoN

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Not sure if this has been discussed before but why are the spectacle prices here in SA so ridiculously expensive!!

It just seems like a big ripoff.

Frame and lenses can cost 2k-5k depending on the add ons like clear coat etc.

Just came back from china and I got a full set for R400 incl “designer” frame and lenses.
Even when I travelled to India and dubai the prices were so much lower.
 
backstreetboy said:
Not sure I'd trust the Chinese or even the Indians with my eyes :erm:
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Lol you cant be serious ?
They not doing a surgical operation.

Refraction testing is not difficult and your can “clearly” see if it’s incorrect (pun intended)
 
tRoN said:
Not sure if this has been discussed before but why are the spectacle prices here in SA so ridiculously expensive!!

It just seems like a big ripoff.

Frame and lenses can cost 2k-5k depending on the add ons like clear coat etc.

Just came back from china and I got a full set for R400 incl “designer” frame and lenses.
Even when I travelled to India and dubai the prices were so much lower.
Click to expand...

It’s not really a SA problem but rather a western problem as a whole.

In Europe, spectacles routinely cost 400/500€ (and I have a very very minor correction of 0.25).
 
No man tRoN, go and get yourself some new lenses. You can use your frame if you like it.

An optometrist friend told me it's common to over spec very slightly and it's bad for the wearers eyes.

This was a while back so don't know if they still do it.
 
Last edited:
I'm an optometrist. I want to tell you that our lab fees for lenses are very high.ever since the rand had its major crash and went to 16 to the dollar, all our cost prices went over double. Our prices continued going up even though the exchange rate went down a bit. As for designer frames being very cheap over seas. They are definitely fakes. Fake doesn't necessarily mean bad though. I think the price I pay for designer frames are definitely not worth it. By the time it gets to us there's such a huge markup that we pay. Another word about fakes though.. Not all off them are good in terms of quality. You could buy a fake that's made of a brittle material that will break If dropped even once. In other words there is usually not much attention paid to the quality of the product itself. Neither is there strict enough quality control when it comes to fakes.
 
Not sure why you guys are paying so much?

I got my dad new glasses earlier this year. I paid R1200 cash for a multifocal lense with a generic frame. No tint though.

My glasses costed about R2k (Soviet frame) on medical aid.

The optometrist I use is in a rather seedy part of town. Perhaps how she keeps costs down.
 
I guess it depends what you buy. I spent R2 000 total on my test, lenses and frame in September.
 
Ecko_1 said:
Not sure why you guys are paying so much?

I got my dad new glasses earlier this year. I paid R1200 cash for a multifocal lense with a generic frame. No tint though.

My glasses costed about R2k (Soviet frame) on medical aid.

The optometrist I use is in a rather seedy part of town. Perhaps how she keeps costs down.
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Where is this seedy place...maybe can score a cheap BJ on the way
 
Durbanboy said:
I'm an optometrist. I want to tell you that our lab fees for lenses are very high.ever since the rand had its major crash and went to 16 to the dollar, all our cost prices went over double. Our prices continued going up even though the exchange rate went down a bit. As for designer frames being very cheap over seas. They are definitely fakes. Fake doesn't necessarily mean bad though. I think the price I pay for designer frames are definitely not worth it. By the time it gets to us there's such a huge markup that we pay. Another word about fakes though.. Not all off them are good in terms of quality. You could buy a fake that's made of a brittle material that will break If dropped even once. In other words there is usually not much attention paid to the quality of the product itself. Neither is there strict enough quality control when it comes to fakes.
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I think there needs to be an enquiry done of the cost of spectacles in SA.
What’s your markup on a frame and lens? 500-600%?
I was quoted over 4K for the multi focal lens only.

Also those designers styles are replicas. No branding on them but the design is the same.
Quality seems fine. And at R200 per frame I can afford to have a few.
 
Lord Farquart said:
Just authorized my new multis. R1400 frame, total R8500.
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ditto

davidc75 said:
jirre! why are multifocals so expensive?
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Depends what you get. I have the ones where they meld into one another i.e. there is no clear line where they join the short-sighted lens with the long-sighted one. The anti-glare tint alone cost me R800 a lens (up from R400 from the last ones due to it being "latest technology"). While I'm waiting for them to be made, I'm using my old single focus glasses (my previous multifocal's have a bust frame that cannot be repaired).

Edit: can't wait for the new ones; using the old glasses is annoying. People wave at me from down the corridor at work and I can't make out who it is :o
 
Lord Farquart said:
Just authorized my new multis. R1400 frame, total R8500.
Click to expand...

tRoN said:
I think there needs to be an enquiry done of the cost of spectacles in SA.
What’s your markup on a frame and lens? 500-600%?
I was quoted over 4K for the multi focal lens only.

Also those designers styles are replicas. No branding on them but the design is the same.
Quality seems fine. And at R200 per frame I can afford to have a few.
Click to expand...

I'm not into frames myself. And agree about the cost of multi-focal lens. It is ridiculous.
 
tRoN said:
I think there needs to be an enquiry done of the cost of spectacles in SA.
What’s your markup on a frame and lens? 500-600%?
I was quoted over 4K for the multi focal lens only.

Also those designers styles are replicas. No branding on them but the design is the same.
Quality seems fine. And at R200 per frame I can afford to have a few.
Click to expand...

I don’t find it for SA, but the gross margin of the largest European lens manufacturer is 20%, which is insanely high for an industrial company.

https://www.essilor.com/essilor-content/uploads/2017/07/First-Half_2017_Results_Essilor.pdf

The average purchase price for lens + spectacles is 568€ (almost 10k).

If there is an enquiry, it needs to be global, spectacles were actually cheaper in SA than in Europe last time I bought some (probably because medical aids refund it better in Europe).
 
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