InTheNews.co.uk
Breaking News:
Your source for news

Associate Article

 13 May 2008 12:58 BST

Are high street opticians a rip-off?

Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 00:00
High street opticians represent part of an industry that is currently worth over £2.5 million. With the increase in technologies surrounding spectacles and the contact lens, many consumers do not question the price tags attached to these necessities. However, there is a pattern emerging where people would prefer to buy contact lenses or spectacles online, rather than pay high street prices. Hardly surprising when Vision Direct’s online contact lenses are advertised as being 70% cheaper

Reading glasses can cost around £150. Research suggests that the actual cost of making these items can be as little as £3 - £7 per pair. Online, these can cost from between £15 - £55 a pair and online contact lenses also show a similar cut in price.

This is due to entrepreneurs buying lower-cost frames, but sending them to the same laboratories that are used by major optical companies who use machines to build glasses in less than 20 minutes. Using the savings involved, these dealers can then sell the products on the public at a much cheaper rate.

Opticians argue that they are just the ‘front men’ for a much larger industry that is supported by the fees charged for optical products. They claim that without these charges, advances in laboratories would be slowed, research equipment would be harder to afford and the consumer would suffer as a result.

There is a feeling that, while these entrepreneurs may be meeting the public demand for cheaper optical aids, they are also hampering the development of the optical industry. It is felt that the only way to maintain these standards is to adhere to current prices and, in some cases, possibly increase them as a result.

Optician Magazine states that this current trend for cheaper online glasses “may have implications for spectacles and ultimately on the price of an eye examination. The ramifications for the profession could be enormous.”

But consumers seem to remain unconvinced and many are using the high-street opticians as a tool to get cheaper optical aids, by taking an eye test with them, but using the prescription to find the correct lenses, at a more affordable price, through the Internet.

Clinical evidence for contact lens suitability has also come under scrutiny. Claims that ‘long life’ lenses, that retail at around £5.00 for a pair, are no more suitable than ordinary lenses, that retail at around £1.00 per pair, were given credence when certain optical companies have admitted that “there is no medical reason why the daily lenses could not be reused and worn as other brands, provided they were disinfected in the same way.”

However, many optical suppliers have been quick to point out that different types of lens are designed for different purposes and that the cost of a month’s supply of daily lenses is more expensive than simply purchasing the long-life version.

The choice is currently in the hands of the consumer, as to whether they should buy from one of the growing number of optical suppliers like lensesbymail, posheyes or visiondirect contact lenses online or trust high-street opticians. One company has said that how a patient ultimately chooses to wear lenses should be decided in conjunction with a healthcare practitioner. End of story

Also In The News 

  • England notch one-day win

    England cruised to a 104-run victory in the first one-day international of the series against India at the Rose Bowl thanks to centuries from Alastair Cook and Ian Bell. Full Story
© 2008 Advertise | Privacy | Terms of Use