How much do prescription glasses cost?

[KFC911]

Mom has failing vision, and this morning after our monthly visit for eye injections, we got home and she couldn't find her glasses... and panic ensued. After she found them, I suggested that she always have an extra pair... just in case. She told me she paid about $400 for them (nothing fancy, frame wise) .... I had a WTF? moment.

Prescription in hand... what's the going rate for glasses... give or take?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions....

[stevej37]

https://www.zennioptical.com/

About half the price.
Their online facial measurements are great. Just need a prescription to enter.

[Roswell]

The progressive lens I am currently wearing were well north of $400, for just the lens...


Costco has great optical department.

[Cajundaddy]

It does vary some depending on the prescription. My last cheapie pair were Walmart specials at around $200.

[masraum]

Yes, prescription glasses can cost a ton.

Want a basic frame, $200. Want a fancy frame by a designer, that could be as much as $500-600.
Basic lenses, no idea, but probably pretty cheap. Fancy coatings to help with reflections and scratches, add more $. Bifocals or Trifocals, add more $$. Don't like the lines in bi/tri-focals and want the fancy progressive lenses, add another $400. So yeah, lenses could be another $600 on top of the frames.

[upsscott]

My bi-vocals were $550 but I did choose Rayban frames. I feel like Optometry is second only to Dentistry when it comes to invading my wallet.

[fintstone]

They start at under $50 unless you want/need something pretty fancy.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/2022/09/16/prescription-glasses-online-eyeglasses-online/?sh=273d14a349e1

[jcommin]

That depends:

Frame type: inexpensive plastic, titanium or designer
Lens type: single lens, bifocal (with the line) or progressive, coating, UV etc

As other who posted here, it can get costly. Mine cost about $700. I like the titanium frame: lightweight and almost indestructible. I had the same frame for 12 years so my cost is usually the lens. My eyes are bad.

[David]

I got RayBan progressives from GlassesUSA for $257

I bought a pair of RayBan progressive sunglasses from RayBan online for $355 and they arrived in less than a week. Super impressed.

[KFC911]

Thanks guys! I'll find out tomorrow more about her prescription & glasses, etc. It will be a few months before her next pair, and I really don't know how many more....

Money isn't really an issue, but I thought she was paying too much.... sounds as if it might be "fair".

I'm still "fuming" from her recent visit to some LONG time "friends" funeral home to arrange (and pay by check) for two funerals. She didn't even read what they talked her into signing.... and set up monthly payments and didn't tell me. Two funerals.... 25K (reasonable) .... but when she started to pay the total by check, her "friends" talked her into a payment plan ....interest to be paid over three years.... another 17K . She trusted her long time church going "friends" sales pitch ... they can go straight to hell from my perspective.

Sorry for taking my thread off-topic .... I needed to vent .

Oh yeah... after I found out, I told her to go do some math with her calculator, and a few days later she was able to pay the whole total before it was too late.

Mom is "gullible"... and believes in people... she still thinks "her friends" were looking out for her best interests.... yeah right.

I know better....

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by Roswell

Costco has great optical department.

My Wife who is powerless without her glasses has struggled to find a good optometrist. She was finally referred to Costco and went yesterday for her appointment. had nothing but great things to say, the Doctor was a younger, efficient gal who let her know that the last prescription she was given was WAY too strong and was giving her headaches.

She got a utility pair of progressive glasses and now this weekend we will go visit Elton John's "glasses wizard" to pick out some frames for her Birthday/ Anniversary gift. That's when my wallet will feel the pain!

(BTW, Elton John no longer needs glasses. he had Lasik and uses glasses as part of his established "look")

[Otter74]

You can get good-enough eyeglasses for most prescriptions for $150 or so. You can spend as much as you want above that. I have Danish titanium wire-frame glasses that I just love and those fames are around $600 and the lenses maybe another $150 but the frames will last forever.

[Arizona_928]

Got my dahmer glasses for free but zenni sells them for 45.

[rcooled]

Glasses from an optometrist are one of the biggest ripoffs going. Most frames are injection-molded plastic and are turned out by the boxcar load...can't cost more than a few bucks apiece given the quantities produced. Lenses are the same deal. The process is fully automated, so there's very little actual labor involved. The frames/lenses are assembled on the cheap in some third world country, then the optometrist marks them up by at least 50%. Even more for designer eyewear.
The industry has been getting away with this for a long time, but now that on-line eyeglass retailers are starting to pop up, we're getting a better idea of what these things actually should cost.

[Baz]

Lot of useful info here, KC:

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/918534-ordering-glasses-online.html

[KFC911]

Thanks guys! Seems as if mom might be on a path of needing a new prescription pretty often.... and we've been making monthly trips for her to get injections into one of her eyes from a new/different eye specialist... ouch . Great care through the Wake Forest system too.... but a different doc for the glasses.

[jcwade]

I second, or third, Costco.
You can get good cheap frames there and the lenses are not too expensive if you don't need all the bells and whistles.
Or, you can bring your own frames for a $25 charge, they now make you sign a waiver that if they break them, they will replace them with a set of frames that they sell.

I brought in a pair of designer frames that cost around $500 and they broke them. I got them to replace them with similar priced pair based on what their salesperson had told me over the phone.
They were not happy but they did it.
I was probably partly responsible for the waiver as I had to sign one the next time in.

[WPOZZZ]

I used to order all my glasses from Costco. Then Covid hit and I tried Zenni. Had my old scrip from the last checkup and ordered some nice tortie frames with blue filter and progressive lenses. They fit fantastic out of the box, dare I say better than the Costco glasses. And it was only $66!

[KFC911]

Thank you all!

[bivenator]

Progressive lens with frames with bells and whistles cost me 550 last week.