Progressive Lenses Questions

[reggiemcp]

Hi

My eye doc just prescribed progressive lenses and I have not had the prescription filled yet. Money is tight these days and I have heard that a pair of glasses with progressive lenses can cost up to $800. Stopped at the Costco counter last week and they told me ballpark $300-400, but as eye doc said I have to be very careful where I fill it because glasses won't work it not fitted correctly I have not done anything about it.

So I am getting gun shy. Any advice as to cost, or if Costco would be ok for it.

It just seems confusing and overwhelming at the moment. Thanks for your help.

 

[D&D's Mom]

I just got progressive lenses at Costco. With the $59 frames I picked and the whatever it is to make the lens the thinnest, it cost less than $150. Mine are really great & not to difficult to get used to. I can definitely see much better for reading. I primarily wear contact lenses, but my glasses were over 10 years old so it was time for an update. Initially, it was a little blurry in my peripheral vision, but I think I am getting more used to it. I would try Costco again, maybe the frames you chose were among the pricier ones? Anyway, good luck with your purchase.

 

[Green Tea]

Look online. zennioptical.com has great reviews here. I just ordered a spare pair from greateyeglasses.com They both offer specialty lenses.

zenni says progressive lenses from $29.95

 

[CleoPahd]

I was just at Sears optical today because they are having a 2 pairs for $99 sale. There was a person inquiring about progressive lenses when I was in there and they were told that there is a promotion right now for 2 pairs of progressive glasses(frames up to a certain price & lenses) for $199, which seems really cheap. If the frames are a little more expensive, you just pay the difference. For the 2 for $99 deal the frames had to be $69, or you pay the difference. They also had a huge section of frames on clearance that (up to $139) if you used a clearance frame, it would only be $10 more than the promotional price.

 

[Nicolepa]

Look online. zennioptical.com has great reviews here. I just ordered a spare pair from greateyeglasses.com They both offer specialty lenses.

zenni says progressive lenses from $29.95

Do not buy progressive lenses online. They have to mark on the lense where the center (or some point) of your eye is in order to get the progressive starting at the right point. Too high or too low and they are useless.

I don't know how much they are now, haven't worn them in 7-8 years but I know I never paid $400. My eye insurance doesn't cover too much for glasses (maybe $150 total) and I never had to pay more than $100 or so out of pocket. I can't imagine they would have gone up that much in price over the years.

ETA: I always bought my progressive lenses at lenscrafters. Never had a problem with them.

 

[Green Tea]

Do not buy progressive lenses online. They have to mark on the lense where the center (or some point) of your eye is in order to get the progressive starting at the right point. Too high or too low and they are useless.

The ones i bought were not progressive lenses, but to fill the order you must know you Pupillary Distance number, which is what you are referring to, I think. Many of the frames we looked at would not work with the particular number we obtained from the doctor's office.

 

[CleoPahd]

The ones i bought were not progressive lenses, but to fill the order you must know you Pupillary Distance number, which is what you are referring to, I think. Many of the frames we looked at would not work with the particular number we obtained from the doctor's office.

For progressives your eyes really need to be measured wearing the frames because they need to see exactly where the frames will sit on your face so they can determine where the distance, middle & close areas should fall. It's not the same thing as pupillary distance. I've bought lots of glasses from zenni too and love them, but would never use them for Progressives. My mother wears progressives and has had numerous problems with them when an inexperienced person has done the measurements. They have to measure perfectly to your face of you will get sick/dizzy from wearing them.

 

[FozzieFan]

My dad just got a pair of progressive lenses at Costco about a month ago. He had been a long time fan of Lens crafters but after I got my last pair of glasses at Costco and saved so much and had such a great experience he thought he'd give it a shot. His glasses run around $600 at Lens Crafters.

He got frames, progressive lenses, anti scratch and transition tinted for somewhere around $250. So more than half off. It took him a few hours to get used to this pair of glasses, not that there was anything wrong, I just think that with every pair of progressives you have to readjust. He loves them now and doesn't notice any difference except for the savings in his pocket!

 

[CC12005]

The ones i bought were not progressive lenses, but to fill the order you must know you Pupillary Distance number, which is what you are referring to, I think. Many of the frames we looked at would not work with the particular number we obtained from the doctor's office.

It is not just the Pupillary Distance that is checked for progressive lenses. They actually need to see the glasses on you to place the progressives. This is why online progressives would not be recommended for most wearers. Beware of extremely low priced progressives. The type of progressive does matter. Sometimes in order to give you a low price, some optical centers sell you a lens with a short progressive field of view. This would give you a limited "up-close" viewing area which is aggrevating to most wearers. Don't simply walk into a store & tell them that the other store has them for $xx.xx., they will almost always beat the price by just putting you into a cheaper lens. Go into a store compare frames & ask what lens would be most appropriate for you. Go with the frame you like the most, you are wearing a piece of jewerly in front of your face, all day long and with proper care you will probably be wearing those glasses for 2-3 years. Sometimes that's worth an extra $150.

 

[FoodLover]

Several years ago, Consumer Reports tested the accuracy of major companies in producing glasses from a prescription, and Costco came out on top. Most of the big chains such as LensCrafters did a terrible job (prescription was not accurate) and cost a lot more.

I believe it. I had to return a pair of glasses to LensCrafters because they were just wrong. I could easily tell they were not my prescription -- I could barely see with them on! I went back and complained. They gave me my money back without the slightest hesitation, so they must be used to it.

Then I took the same prescription to Costco. The glasses were perfect, and cost half as much.

Edited to say, oops, I was wrong. It was ABC News, not Consumer Reports. I read about it on Consumerist, which is operated by Consumer Reports, so that's why I mis-remembered. Here's a link to the ABC story: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/Story?id=3820387&page=1

 

[Green Tea]

I've always been a big fan of Costco and have gotten glasses there with no problems. Didn't know about all the measurements with progressives. The ones I ordered yesterday will hopefully be fine. I ordered from all the raves here. If they don't work, not much lost. They were not progressive so hopefully ok. Ive learned something new today.

 

[Michelle and crew]

I paid $250 for mine at walmart, and the frames are cute.

 

[reggiemcp]

Hi!

OP here, thanks for all the input. I think that I will give Costco a go, i really do need to do something soon, as my old glasses are not really working so well anymore.

I knew my dis pals would be able to help.

 

[MrsPete]

My progressive lenses came from Sears, and I'm very satisifed.

Two notes on making friends with them:

Choose a slightly larger style. They're just better suited to progressive lenses.

You cannot look "sideways" with them. The person who fitted me for the glasses said that I could see clearly whatever my nose pointed at. This took me a while to understand. You must turn your head and look straight at whatever you're trying to see. It becomes habit.

 

[Muushka]

I ordered my progressive lenses from Zenni and they are great. I paid $95 for them, but got 2 clip on sunglasses, anti-glare and transitional.

At Sams (sans the sunglasses) I paid $400 3 years ago and at the eye doc, they would have been $1000 .

Also, I was surprised that the frames that I ordered from Zenni were not appropriate for what I needed and they emailed me with a suggestion.

 

[Green Tea]

My Dh who won't bargain shop paid, I think, $900 ish for his at the eye doctor.

 

[SalandJeff]

I got mine at Lenscrafter in April and they were $400. That was with 1/2 off the lenses. I got the light lenses (are they poly something???) because my script for my distance is so bad.

I would have gotten them at Costco, but didn't find any frames I liked (on me!). I thought my script might have been wrong after I picked them up. I have had progressives before, but these are stronger and I just felt like they were making me dizzy. The guy at Costco checked them for me and said they were spot on. He also told me the bit about looking out the sides of the glasses and because a lot of the glasses now are more rectangular, this is more of a problem. I have gotten used to them and am okay with them now.

If I never had progressives, I might go with a regular or no-line bifocal instead - they are much cheaper. Did your doctor say why he was prescribing progressives vs. bifocals?

 

[calchiquita]

I apologize for hijacking this thread for a second, but D and D's Mom was looking for Sleepy Time Tunes by Discovery Toys. I have misplaced my tape, but I do have the cover and list of songs. We played this every night when my daughter was a baby (now 18) and she would love to find it too. (The other thread was closed or I would have posted there and I am very new so can't PM her).
Side one: Rock-a-Bye Baby (Mallory's song), I'll Love You Forever, Dreamship, Rhapsody in Baby Blue, Loving My Baby Goodnight, and Lullaby and Goodnight.

Side Two: Instrumental Sing-a-long for each lullaby

The words to the songs are printed but I won't post them here.