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[MrAngryFace]

In addition to that when did Walk Ins Welcome = We can get you in 3 days from now?! (COSTCO!!!!!!!!!!!!)

In any case the frames + lenses + eye appointment = PAIN for uninsured like me.

 

[SKluck]

Yeah, I've had the same pair for like 8 years now, all scratched to hell. I don't want to lay down $200-300 or whatever on a pair. They don't actually cost that much.

There are some pretty decent websites out there that apparently have some pretty nice deals.

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?start=0&catid=18&threadid=321786

Big thread about it on Fatwallet. You can get a pair for like $40-50 and everyone says they work fine.

 

[belgurdo]

Go to Wal-Mart. Frames for around thirty to forty bucks. Hope you like having to use super glue to keep them together though

 

[MrAngryFace]

Well I paid more for nicer frames just to avoid the breakage issues. Im gonna have these for the next 5-6 years probably. And if im committing to glasses I dont wanna look stupid or cheap on such an investment.

*BACKPEDDLE*

NOT THAT BEING THRIFTY IS STUPID. Just saying. Between my need for instant gratification, and a somewhat reputible brand, I had to buy what I did haha.

 

[p_xavier]

Well, I paid $250 for my frames, I thought I had to get really good looking glasses for the next few years. But I wasn't expecting the cost of the lens: $450. Direct from Nikon Japan, but still, it's outrageous, it's 2 square inches of glass!

 

[MrAngryFace]

Yeah I went 1.67 with the stupid coating so I dont get weird ass light refracting blindness-death on the road at night. I already have a tiny bit of trouble seeing in the dark sometimes.

 

[Meier]

Yeah my current pair were just under $500 total. Crazy shit.

 

[MrAngryFace]

No offense, but im glad its not just me.

 

[Aruarian Reflection]

LASIK is your friend!

 

[chinch]

stores advertise $99 but those are for coke-bottle lenses.

by the time you get thin/light lenses you're always over $300. add more for the new "auto darkening" lenses which work great. The actual eye exam by the dr. is the cheap part. no way around it.

 

[MrAngryFace]

Ya im not getting laser beams shot into my eye. Call me old fashioned but being raised on Sci Fi movies has taught me to avoid lasers.

But yeah, the dr exam is unavoidable if its been a while, and GOOD lenses DO cost. If you have a high prescription like me the lightweights are a fucking MUST.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

stores advertise $99 but those are for coke-bottle lenses.

Actually, most of the time it's for cheap frames. 1.66 high index doesn't cost that much more. Also, brand name doesn't really affect the quality of the frames. Best to go with a metal frame with spring hinges for best bang for the buck. in terms of durability. It also helps if you like them too.

by the time you get thin/light lenses you're always over $300.

As I said above, they're not much more to be honest. In addition one sees more clearly.

add more for the new "auto darkening" lenses which work great.

Not new. Transitions have been around since the early 80s. The "newer" ones merely change faster, and come in 1.56 high index, which is thicker than 1.66.

The actual eye exam by the dr. is the cheap part. no way around it.

This part I can't really comment on. Not familiar with how it works in there.

Also: LASIK is GENERALLY A BAD IDEA. Don't go for that. Better to get contacts than to possibly have worse vision after surgery. Most doctors require you to sign a release that says you can't sue them if they fuck up. Something I wouldn't sign.

 

[Wellington]

Lemme guess, dragona works at an optical?

Thanks for the link Skluck! I was in the market for a new set. I recently went with the insurance from my job and I just didn't give a fuck, so the girl picked the fruitiest lenses ever. Then of course my old frames get all bent up, ugh.

 

[MrAngryFace]

I dunno, the frames look pretty good in your avatar.












































Haw haw :/

As for the cost of lenses. My eyes are pretty ARGH, so I want as light as I can afford, and my budget allowed that, but it doesnt change the fact of cost. But honestly once im somewhere to do something I want it done, and im willing to sacrifice a few bucks to deal with it. I also went for some neat looking plastic frames instead of that lightweight metal stuff since it was cheaper and had fewer moving parts.

However, I dont trust online things that involve that much of an actual investment. I'd never go contacts at this point either cause im so used to glasses.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

Lemme guess, dragona works at an optical?

BZZZT! WRONG GUESS!


Sorry CK.

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

man i had my perry ellis glasses for like 6 years now, the lenses have fallen out many times, the frames got bent alot and i kept fixing them myself. Screw buying another pair.

i remember when I went to optamitrist or whatever, and I asked if I could just replace my lenses for glasses with new ones with the same thing as previous ones or whatever since they are scratched up and they told me I had to come in and Redo an eye exam because I havent in years, and I say fine just trying to hurry and get it over with and they say its gonna cost me like 100 dollars. Pfft. so I still wear my scratched up glasses cause they wont replace the fuckin lenses.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

As for the cost of lenses. My eyes are pretty ARGH, so I want as light as I can afford, and my budget allowed that, but it doesnt change the fact of cost.

Well perhaps pricing there is something I'm not accustomed to. However, in terms of wholesale costs and what is usually passed onto the consumer, spectacle lenses at 1.66 thickness are not incredibly expensive. Now, when they add Anti-Reflective and use Polycarbonate lenses... they start to artificially jack up the price. (Since all 1.66 lenses are usually both made from polycarbonate plastic and already come with a goddamn AR coating on it.)

I also went for some neat looking plastic frames instead of that lightweight metal stuff since it was cheaper and had fewer moving parts.

Plastic frames have improved considerably in terms of durability in the last five or six years or so. Still, I hope they have spring hinges (you can flex them "the wrong way" and you'll notice the spring), cos otherwise if you sit on em... you'll have to have them readjusted, and no don't try that at home. If you don't know how to fix glasses, get an optician to do it for you. Most places'll do it for free unless they need to solder something.

I'd never go contacts at this point either cause im so used to glasses.

I only mentioned contacts as an alternative to surgery. Considering the costs involved (ie: putting lenses in solution vs painful and possibly irreversible damage), one can suffer through the "inconveniences" of contact lenses much better. I know many people too lazy to wear contacts and prefer just sticking glasses on their faces. It is easier.

 

[Firest0rm]

Yea, my dad used to work in the optics industry and its amazing how freaking much stores rip you off. The quality of many of the glasses is terrible and the lenses themselves are shit. They cost a few dollars to make yet sell for 100s.

 

[MrAngryFace]

I had this one pair of glasses where one of the screws on the side shot out and the lense shot straight out too haha. Always fun searching carpet for the missing screw.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

blahblahblahblah don't want to see an optometrist

Actually there's a very good reason to have your eyes checked once a year (at the very least). People with myopia (if you require correction for distances) have a higher chance of retinal detachment between the diopters of -5.00 and -10.00. Therefore having your eyes checked is a good thing since any good optometrist of opthamologist will dilate your pupils and take a look see.

Among other things, a noticeable increase of the number of floaters (black dots that "move" while you're looking around) can be a warning sign. The only way to reverse a retinal detachment is emergency surgery. However, if they see the possibility of it (there's signs) they're able to put it back where it belongs with less invasive and urgent surgeries.

Besides retinal detatchment, there's glaucoma (which causes irreversible damage) and all sorts of preventable and treatable eye diseases that people don't know about or recognize the symptoms quickly enough to have treated before suffering permanent vision loss.

Even not counting eye diseases, it's good to be checked to see if there's a change in your perscription. Many myopes can either require a stronger Rx or even a weaker one.

So remember kiddos: seeing a quack isn't a bad thing to do every year or two.

 

[MrAngryFace]

I didnt have them dialiatete my pupils cause well thats creepy and I was driving home a ways. My eyes are pretty healthy tho, but I do have a lot of floaters, always have had really.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

I didnt have them dialiatete my pupils cause well thats creepy and I was driving home a ways. My eyes are pretty healthy tho, but I do have a lot of floaters, always have had really.

It' still a good idea. If you're not comfortable driving (or don't have anyone to drive you), try wearing sunglasses. It helps considerably, and while you can't see close up, (due to the dilation), you can still see distance, which is what is required for driving.


That or take the bus.

 

[LakeEarth]

"Those were $500 sunglasses, asshole!"

 

[Loki]

With all due respect, MAF, if you can't save ~$350-400 over the course of three years (which is how frequently most people need new glasses), which works out to $10/month, despite having two dozen copies of Tech Romancer in mint condition, then you have bigger issues than the cost of your eyewear.

 

[truffleshuffle83]

just buy a nice pair of oakley frames off ebay and get your scripts put in. its "cheap" and stylish

 

[Lambtron]

I had a bit of an accident with my glasses and they broke something fierce-- the metal part of the frame that goes around the lens broke away from the part that goes to my ear. They're currently taped together. I went in to ask if they could fix them, and the dude looks me in the face and says "$200, you have to buy new frames." I told him to shove his frames in 'is ass, I'd keep the tape. He said I could ask a jeweler to solder it but I'm a bit scared to.

I'm going to have to take my insurance card in and see what they're going to charge me for new glasses. The ones I have, after insurance's part, cost something absurd like $250. Bleh. :/ I'm deciding if I should go for the transitions lenses or not, they're kinda fucking creepy, but I HATE the sun.

Buying glasses is hard. I really wish they'd come out with contacts you can wear overnight for people with astigmatism.

 

[Koshiba]

I realized a while back how ridiculously expensive glasses are. :/ I have great eyesite but I wanted just plain glasses for both cosplay and to just wear casually. (Maybe I'm just weird. Lol.) But they wanted well over $60 just for some cheap little frames. Not the lenses, I just needed clear lenses. D: I was like, wtf?

 

[Limedust]

I can't complain, because I'm insured. I'm slightly near-sighted, and I got my first pair of glasses about 5 years ago. Even being insured, I had to shell out some dough for a decent pair of frames. I think the exam and lenses were free, but frame allowance was only about $80 or something, and in the end I think I paid about $150 out-of-pocket. Not bad, but I have a hard time believing it costs a manufacturer any more than $10 to press a pair of top-of-the-line frames.

Having yellow eyes for a couple of hours (from the test) tends to freak a lot of people out.

 

[B'z-chan]

I got my first pair 12 years ago didnt use them much. But i just went to get them checked out and now i need freaking glasses again. They say its just for indoors, but fuck. Now they want a crap load for glasses.

And i dont know if i should get them. Me with glasses look geeky

 

[AB 101]

My wifes cousin is married to an eye doctor.

Got a pair of Nike frames with scratch resistant poly carbonate lenses.

Exam was free and walked out the door with the glasses the next day and all for $99.

In fact, going to stop over there today and get some perscription sunglasses (maybe Nike as well). Said I can get them for free.

 

[maynerd]

Also: LASIK is GENERALLY A BAD IDEA. Don't go for that. Better to get contacts than to possibly have worse vision after surgery. Most doctors require you to sign a release that says you can't sue them if they fuck up. Something I wouldn't sign.

Other than having to sign a waiver....what other supporting information do you have that Lasik is GENERALLY a bad idea?

 

[Cherubae]

I paid about $300 for frames and lenses (including the uvcoating) at lensecrafters last fall.

In the past I have been an "America's Best Contact and Eyeglasses" customer. They charge about $150 for a 5 year contract that includes eye exams and "discounted" frames and lenses. I ended up going to lensecrafters because I was having problems with my contact and my optometrist wasn't helping diagnose the problem. You get what you pay for at "America's Best". Lensecrafter's doc actually found the problem (overly-dried eyes), pointed me in the right direction, and now I'm just peachy with contacts again.

At work I wear my glasses because I'm in front of a pc screen all day (and under a *very* annoying AC vent) but on the weekends I switch to the contacts.

 

[MrAngryFace]

300-500 dollars IS A LOT OF FUCKING MONEY.

My problem is my eyes are fucked up and cost me money. As for saving 300-500. I moved a lot, lost a lot of money in the self-relocation. Not all of us are so blessed Loki.

 

[Cherubae]

Before you can get any glasses you're going to need an exam if you don't know your prescription. Once you get that out of the way you can shop around for some inexpensive glasses.

The other alternative is to go to your local Goodwill / Salvation Army store, go to their used glasses bin, and try them on until you find one that doesn't give you a headache.

 

[AB 101]

Damn MAF.

Its not your day.

Car insurance and eyeglasses.

 

[Drozmight]

I'm insured, but I still had to pay ~$150 for mine total. Ah well, they look nice enough.

 

[Warm Machine]

I just paid $770 Cdn for a new pair of glasses. I get $100 off the frames and $200 off the whole package due to extended medical insurance but they are still pretty expensive even after that. Thats what you get for Gucci frames and top tier Nikon lenses I guess. My last pair of Armani frames and Nikon lenses were a total of $420 and that was 3 and a half years ago.

I have a theory in life. If you are going to use something every day for years on end it is worth spending the money on to get something you like and something quality.

 

[Loki]

300-500 dollars IS A LOT OF FUCKING MONEY.

My problem is my eyes are fucked up and cost me money. As for saving 300-500. I moved a lot, lost a lot of money in the self-relocation. Not all of us are so blessed Loki.

First off, I was kidding around (note the Tech Romancer comment and smiley)-- no need to get pissy. But there is a grain of truth in what I said: if you can't put away ~$10/month for something that you know is a necessity for you (your glasses), then that says something about your spending/saving habits. It's not just you, either-- it's the entire country. Nobody saves, but everybody bitches. Some of my friends bitch too, and I tell them the same thing. My mother makes shit money ($17K/year-- she only works for the medical coverage), but she has several budget books with envelopes marked for various occasions/needs (e.g., my dog's vet, holidays, baby showers, new tiles, graduations etc.), into which she puts a pre-set amount of money each paycheck. Sure enough, when that need arises, she has ample money for it. She doesn't complain or get stressed about it, because she saves wisely.


Why complain about something that, if you were sensible enough to budget for, would have cost you so little? Sorry, but $300 over the course of 3 years is not a lot of money, regardless of how little you make-- that's $100/year, or a little over $8/month.


It has nothing to do with being "blessed." Neither I nor my family are well to do by any stretch. If you can honestly sit there and tell me that you didn't have eight spare dollars each month to put away, then I will retract my comments-- but I find that very hard to believe. The point is, yes, $300 is a lot of money if someone just sprang it on you without notice; if you knew about this expected cost for years, however, it shouldn't have been such a big deal.

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

I just got new glasses last month - $350. I also have some custom sunglasses that set me back $180. I got sunglasses because for whatever reason, nobody can touch my eye. I can't, doctors can't, nobody. So I bought a pair of prescription sunglasses.

Unless you get Chester the Molester glasses, they won't be cheap.

 

[MrAngryFace]

Ive moved like 5 times in the last 3 years, that costs A LOT of money. Shut up

I already got the glasses ordered, just shocked is all.

 

[Loki]

Ive moved like 5 times in the last 3 years

What are you, on the lam?


MAF: a modern day Kwai Chang Caine.

 

[MrAngryFace]

Something like that.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

i have perfect vision and, the rumors are true, it rocks.

 

[Loki]

i have perfect vision and, the rumors are true, it rocks.

I need to get myself new glasses too, soon.

 

[miyuru]

I just paid $770 Cdn for a new pair of glasses. I get $100 off the frames and $200 off the whole package due to extended medical insurance but they are still pretty expensive even after that. Thats what you get for Gucci frames and top tier Nikon lenses I guess. My last pair of Armani frames and Nikon lenses were a total of $420 and that was 3 and a half years ago.

I have a theory in life. If you are going to use something every day for years on end it is worth spending the money on to get something you like and something quality.

:lol

Chances are those are the only designer anything you own. Just because it's designer doesn't mean they make the best glasses. Plus a lot of people aren't as lucky as you, so don't rub it in our faces at GAF.

I do agree with you though on your last point there.

 

[ChrisReid]

The other alternative is to go to your local Goodwill / Salvation Army store, go to their used glasses bin, and try them on until you find one that doesn't give you a headache.

Man, that's kinda ghetto.