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MoneySavingExpert.com » Family & Health » Glasses Buying Cost Cutting Plan

Glasses are an expensive necessity, but with a bit of selective shopping you can slash the cost right down. Whether it's a Dame Edna look you're going for, or more John Lennon, use online discounters and you'll be blinded by the amazing savings.

What's the trick? Why are they so cheap? What info do I need? BEST BUYS   Basic lenses   Designer glasses   Bifocals & varifocals What happens if they're not right? The size of the saving Other articles/discuss

Don't be horrified by the cost of glasses

The key here is to use an online discounter to buy your specs from. Very simply all you need to do is supply an up-to-date prescription (from the last 2 years) and enter the relevant details on the online form.

If your prescription is out of date you can expect to pay £25-30 for an eye test or keep an eye out on the chat forum for free vouchers which regularly appear.

As with contact lenses, buy specs from the high street and you're covering expensive overheads and salaries as well as excessive profit margins.

Opt to purchase your glasses from an execution only company and you can substantially cut the price as you won't be financing costly sight equipment. They also buy in bulk directly from manufacturers enabling them to get special deals and discounts.

Extra Tip: Reclaim the costs of your glasses

Healthcare Cashplans allow you to reclaim the cost of dental, optical and other forms of healthcare, whether it's via the NHS or not.

Prescription

By law opticians are obliged to provide you with a prescription. Once you have had a thorough eye test they must give you a copy of your prescription without requiring you to make a purchase.

• Sphere. Specifies the strength of the lens; plus for long sightedness, minus for short sightedness.
  
  
• Pupiliary distance. This is the horizontal distance between your pupils in millimetres. If you don't know what it is you can either have a go at measuring it yourself with the help of a mate and a mirror or use the average which is about 63.
  
  
• Cylinder. This is your astigmatism correction so if you don't have an astigmatism. you can leave this blank.
  
  
• Axis. This corrects an astigmatism which is when the eye is slightly rugby shaped.
  

If you're not fussed about style and are just after a basic frame, Specsonthenet and Budgetspex come in cheapest at £9.99 for frame and lens, though delivery with specsonthenet is a bit steep at £2.49. After that you can expect to pay about £15 for a basic frame and lens, Glasses Direct, Goggles4u and Spex4less* have all been given good feedback from MoneySavers.

Do look out for special offers and promotions as well, for example if you sign up to the spex4less newsletter you'll get a voucher for a free sun tint and anti-reflective coating. If you don't have regular access to the internet or just want to speak to a human a few of the dispensers will also take your order over the phone or by post. Compare this to a high street retailer like Dollond and Aitchison where you will pay £99 for a basic frame and lens.

The total price of the cheapest glasses

Retailer	Total Cost (1)
Budgetspex	£10.48
Specsonthenet	£12.48
Selectspecs	£13.95
Goggles4u	£14.56
Spex4less*	£15.00
Designer Glasses	£15.00
Myoptics	£15.00
Glasses2you	£17.50
Glasses Direct	£17.50
Perfectspecs	£17.50
Site4eyes*	£17.50
Lowcostspex	£17.99
Optical4less*	£20.83
Specs2go	£20.95
39dollarglasses*	£21.40
Designer Specs*	£50.00
(1) Based on cheapest frame & lenses, including postage costs for one pair of frames.

NHS Vouchers

NHS vouchers allow you free eye tests and money off glasses or contacts should you need them. You are entitled to NHS optical vouchers if you: Are under the age of 16 Are aged 16, 17, 18 in full time education Are getting, or you partner gets: income support, income based jobseekers allowance or pensions guarantee credit Are entitled to or are named on a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate Are named on a valid HC2 certificate (for people on a low income) Many of the cut price websites are now starting to accept NHS vouchers so if you're entitled make sure you redeem it; you'll get about £30 off the price of your glasses. The following sites accept vouchers: Budgetspex and Glasses Direct.

If you fancy yourself as a bit of a fashionista, many of the online dispensers offer designers spec at bargain basement prices too. Go and try some frames in a high street store to see what suits and fits you then make a note of the model number and then you can try and find the exact frames online without having to buy blind! Budgetspex come up trumps here again with designer frames from £44.99, you could also try Perfectspecs who have D & G frames starting from £109 with free lenses.




The majority of online dispensers do not offer varifocals as they are difficult to fit correctly. If you find a site that does offer this you do need to be more cautious; due to the complexity of the lens you risk losing more money if you make a mistake with the prescription.




You do need to be careful when ordering, if you make a mistake with entering prescription details you are not necessarily guaranteed a refund or exchange. Having said that dispensers like spex4less offer a full money back guarantee regardless of whether it was your mistake or theirs. In other cases provided you return the frames within the specified time limit you should get a refund or exchange, though you will have to stump up for the postage costs again. If you're not sure of something on your prescription most online dispensers will decipher it for you if you fax it or phone them.

Extra briefing: Top tips for getting good fitting glasses online

Order the glasses and then go in to a high street optician for a final fitting and adjustment. Check the frame dimensions online before buying and compare them to an old pair of glasses that fit well. The inside arm of your present pair of glasses should have a pair of two digit numbers e.g. 55/21. The first number represents the width of the lens and the second the width of the bridge.

Head to Dolland and Aitchison to buy your specs and you would pay £99 for a basic lens and frame. Buy them online and you could pay as little as £10.50 for the frames and lenses plus they'll be delivered straight to your door for that price; that's an eye opening 90% saving.

LINKS THAT HELP THIS SITE (all have a * in above article)
(this has no impact on product or recommendation - see explanation below)

Spex4less, Optical4less, 39dollarglasses, Site4eyes, Designer Specs

Explanation (of * links)

Two types of contacts are listed. The first (which all have a * within the main body of the articles) help MoneySavingExpert.com stay ad-free and free to use, as they're affiliated links which invisibly take you usually via commercial price comparison services like Moneysupermarket, Uswitch or Find, which then pay this site. The second type doesn't help (and don't have a *).

You shouldn't notice any difference, the links don't impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things I write) is NEVER impacted by the revenue. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it is still recommended and still included in exactly the same way. For more details read how this site is financed.


LINKS THAT DON'T HELP THIS SITE
(please only use if necessary)

No * Link Available:

Budgetspex, Specsonthenet, Selectspecs, Goggles4u, Designer Glasses, Myoptics, Glasses2you, Glasses Direct, Perfectspecs, Lowcostspex, Specs2go

Duplicate links of the * links above for sake of transparency, but this version doesn't help MoneySavingExpert.com:

Spex4less, Optical4less, 39dollarglasses, Site4eyes, Designer Specs