Sign up with GoogleWent to spec savers only yesterday for new glasses. Wished I had read this thread before going. I am afflicted with astigmatism and hyperopia, never realized the many variables with lens qualities etc. Just hoping spec savers prescribed me with decent lenses. Interesting thread.
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Time for new spectacles. Advice/Tips/Recommendations
- Thread starter Shake&Bake
- Start date
Astigmatism and hyperopia is not as bad as the words let them sound. It is quite normal imo. Specsavers would not order you inferior quality lenses as they still need to service them for the coming 1-2 years.
The easy way to check if they accounted for your astigmatism is to request a quick glance of your script. The final Rx should consist of ~3 legs ignoring any possible prism adjustments or 'ADDs':
spherical x cylinder x axis
+3.50 +1.25 x 45
-1.50 +1.50 x 175
Astigmatism and hyperopia is not as bad as the words let them sound. It is quite normal imo. Specsavers would not order you inferior quality lenses as they still need to service them for the coming 1-2 years.
The easy way to check if they accounted for your astigmatism is to request a quick glance of your script. The final Rx should consist of ~3 legs ignoring any possible prism adjustments or 'ADDs':
spherical x cylinder x axis
+3.50 +1.25 x 45
-1.50 +1.50 x 175
Yes! I remember 3.something and 1.something on the script, she did mention the astigmatism was borderline for driver's licence endorsement. They will be progressives - with Climate eyes and anti-glare. I'm currently wearing +2.00 clicks' R50 special until my scripted pair arrive - and not fun studying with the incorrect strength.
Do you know if these 'climate eyes' work well, never heard of them, I did say i wanted 'transitions', not sure what it will be tho.
Thanks for reply.
EDIT: what do you mean by 'service them'?
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Transitions is too $$$, All Climate is the 'generic' alternative. They work like a charm. Might not change as fast as the branded thing, but they will do for most people. Anti glare ... as in ARC (anti reflective coating detectable by the purple/green reflection visible on the lens)? How much does specsavers charge for this these days? Most of the time we only recommend this type of coating in specific cases: Where the px requests it, where the px struggles with glare or where the script is high and we are trying to hide the thickness of the lenses.
We find that ARC has more disadvantages than advantages if not used specifically for one of the above reasons:
It is usually quite expensive. ARC makes lenses smudgy/oily leading patients to clean them more often ... leading to more scratches etc etc.
Re: Service
Specsavers is obligated to cover the lenses and frame for any warranty repairs. Above and beyond the normal guarantee we also service our lenses/frames. After dispensing we see the patient again in 2 weeks to see if everything is still fine. If they lose a nosepad/screw/temple etc we replace it. If a px walks in with a skew frame we try our best to level the frame again. etc etc etc
Thank you. Yeah, the ARC, I did not ask for the cost breakdown, will request it when I collect them. The lenses (without frames) are R3800, consultation included.
Shake&Bake
Party Liaison
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2007
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- 22,255
OK. Been for eye test at Specsavers Somerset West. They don't have the frames I'm looking for. So have to scout for it or get it online.
ld13 check your pm please
ld13 check your pm please
OK. Been for eye test at Specsavers Somerset West. They don't have the frames I'm looking for. So have to scout for it or get it online.
ld13 check your pm please
Sorry, only saw your PM now - had a hectic day. What kind of frames are you looking for?
Shake&Bake
Party Liaison
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- Jan 19, 2007
- Messages
- 22,255
Those are quite nice and probably also comes with a very unique price tag...
shadow_man
Executive Member
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- May 27, 2005
- Messages
- 6,204
I got my brother to bring some over from China.
Sent him the prescription and he got 3 pairs made up for me. R70 a pair - frame and lenses. No idea why its so damn expensive this side. They're perfect and even tint when theres bright sunlight.
I wouldn't buy local ever again.
J
Sent him the prescription and he got 3 pairs made up for me. R70 a pair - frame and lenses. No idea why its so damn expensive this side. They're perfect and even tint when theres bright sunlight.
I wouldn't buy local ever again.
J
TL;DR Warning
Labour. You have absolutely no idea how many hands your final pair of specs went through (when obtained locally) before it was finally dispensed. Minimum wages can bankrupt you if you need that many hands to build up 1 complete pair.
That and a bit of this:
Lets say I buy those frames + glasses at R70 cost price. Also assume a zero-rated "eye-test" fee as that does not "cost us anything". Also include the case, the cloth, spray and some spares into that price. Realistically one can only see 1 person every 30 minutes, 2 per hour, 18 per 9 hour day, 450 per any 25 working day month.
All my estimated costs would then have to fall on these 450 people I expect to see every month.
R00600 Professional licensing fees
R15000 Rent
R03000 Rates/Taxes/Water/Electricity
R02000 Banking related fees etc
R09500 Salaries
R09500 Optometrist Salary
R03000 Accounting fees
R02000 Security/Insurance/Maintenance
R02000 Loan repayment
(Ignoring so many other costs it is not even funny: bulbs, optical equipment, screws, cases, tools, advertising, coffee, petrol, telephones, sms's, internet, creditor control, debtor control, collecting of accounts in arrears, legal fees, alcohol pads, eye drops, medical aid update files, software, PCs, backups, etc etc... I could go on)
R46600 / 450 = R103.56
And lets not forget about the ~R27 it is going to cost me per pair to transport them from HK down to me. People do not want to wait 6 weeks for their specs, have to shell out for some non-economy courier services here. Of course I am ignoring any tax implications, breakages, insurance, sendbacks etc etc etc etc.
R70 cost + 27 + 103 = ~R200 per pair to just break even. That is a R130 markup on a R70 product!
Realistically, I have only ever seen 450 people visit a single practice in a month in England... this is not the case in South Africa. On a good day one can eg. expect 4 people = 100 in a month. That still works out to R493 per person markup!
Then one needs to look at what each person wants/needs. I cannot merely markup all my lenses with R493 as one would expect us to spend more of our time/expenses towards patients requiring more specialized lenses like multifocals than basic readers. But multifocals also cost more, so that complicates things even more. Just to give everyone an idea: You will be hard pressed to find a complete sungray/allclimate multifocal pair of specs in this country, at cost, going for R70 + R493!
People walking into an optometrist wants choice. This translates into us not being able to restrict ourselves to what eg. the HK provider might carry, lens and frame wise:
The frame model in South Africa almost works like the PC parts industry. You have companies that exclusively import range X adding costs and then sells it to us via one of their reps that work on commission basis. The more different models and brands that we want to make available to the patient, the less we are able to buy in one go... also increasing the cost price of frames even more.
Same goes for lenses. If everyone just wanted reading lenses and had good eyes, we could order the lenses by the thousands and score on the wholesale rates. Unfortunately this is not the case. There are a wide array of branded and non-branded lenses available and each one is made on-order to suit your specific needs. All of this increases costs in the end and there is not much one can do about it.
The sad reality is that we are a business. We try to make a profit. It does not always happen at the end of the month once you've cashed up, but such us life. Sure we could import everything ourselves and sell you a pair for R70 + R493 + R100 profit ... but we would have to restrict you to a set of strict lens choices and qualities to eg. obtain a better discount at the supplier and maybe getting a bit more than just that R100 profit out of you.
That is one of the things I have not addressed above ... quality. One cannot expect a R70 pair of specs to function 100% the same and be of the same quality as a pair of R4000 Zeiss lenses. We have tried out quite a lot of different labs and lenses and have settled for a few that gives us the best price/quality/manufacturing time/etc ratio. There is no use in giving someone a pair of el cheapo lenses/frames if I do not even believe in them myself - in the end we are responsible for any breakages etc. As a matter of fact, I would be weary of lenses that are too cheap ...
I hope it it somewhat understandable - it is a wee bit late/early. Will ninjaedit a bit later.
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Not really, selling between R500 - R1000
SauRoNZA
Honorary Master
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- Jul 6, 2010
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- 47,910
I always go to Muller's Optometrists which have a few branches in various locations these days.
Don't trust Spec Savers with a bar of soap.
But you could go to a proper optometrist and pay a fortune and then still have to get your glasses somewhere else...which just seems like unnecessary drama to me and I'm not sure you get any real benefit.
Don't trust Spec Savers with a bar of soap.
But you could go to a proper optometrist and pay a fortune and then still have to get your glasses somewhere else...which just seems like unnecessary drama to me and I'm not sure you get any real benefit.
Tried looking at Zenni Optical as it seems very popular. They have so really nice frames but they don't send to South Africa. Asked them why as they send to other African countries including Botswana which is right next door and they said it was due to fraudulent transactions.
So any other ideas for cheaper and nice frames that anyone has used before?
So any other ideas for cheaper and nice frames that anyone has used before?