Opticians 'seeing 1,000pc profit on glasses'

An interesting piece found in the daily mail..................

"High Street opticians are making profits of more than 1,000 per cent on glasses, it has been claimed.

A recent Government study found that the sale of spectacles is the one area where deregulation and the supposed introduction of greater competition has failed to drive down prices. In fact, the average price paid for a pair is now put at £148.50 - up by around 40 per cent since 1999.

The industry is dominated by four major chains, Boots, Vision Express, Specsavers and Dollond & Aitchison, which are responsible for more than 70 per cent of sales.

It is claimed there is little evidence of price competition - except around promotional periods such as January.

The public is largely kept in the dark about the true cost of frames and lenses, which means they are unable to challenge charges. And there is little or no value in shopping around because prices across the major High Street names, and even small independent opticians, are about the same."

Save money.Don't go to Specsavers.Buy your glasses online.It's easy.

An interesting piece i found on the eBay discussion forum.

eBay Blogs - Save money.Don't go to Specsavers.Buy your glasses online.It's easy.: "Hi.I want to encourage as many people as possible in the U.K. to start buying their spectacles online.You may have seen stories in the press about Opticians selling frames etc. with a 1000% mark up in price.Well these stories are true.How do i know?I am a qualified Dispensing Optician and have worked for several Opticians over the years,the last one being Specsavers,and can tell you that the glasses you purchase are being marked up at around 500-1000%. I won't tell you that this is all profit because it certainly isn't.While working for Specsavers,my employment there ended around 2 years ago,the average branch was aiming for an end of year profit of around 15%.This is clearly not the same 1000% mark up i talked about earlier,so this tells us that selling specs on the high street is a business loaded down with overheads.So maybe we understand the need for them to charge us say £150 for a pair of specs but understanding it doesn't mean we should like it or accept it.Remember,something which you pay £100 for may well have only cost the Optician £10.Why would you want to pay £150 for something you can pay maybe £10-30 for.There is no good reason.You will see just as well with the specs from the online company as you will with the specs from the high street optician,assuming they are produced accurately to the same prescription.Simply make sure any online firm employs a suitably qualified person e.g. a Dispensing Optician and your specs will be constructed to meet or exceed any relevant British or European standard. The better online companies,if not all of them,will be able to send you frame samples to try at home or will have a website that allows you to upload a picture of yourself and superimpose the different frame styles on top of that photo.If you use the uploaded photo method you will be in a better position to judge how you look than if you were in a shop trying the frames on.Firstly because you will be in the more relaxed setting of your own home.Secondly you will have as much time as you like to make your choice.Thirdly you will find it easier to be objective about your choice because you can look at your picture as if it were of someone else.Finally, you will be able to clearly see how you look because you will have your spectacles on while you look at your photo,so you will really be able to see what the frames look like on your face,something you can't do while trying on a frame with dummy lenses in a high street store. Please,if you wear specs consider using one of the online companies who supply glasses direct.If you are unsure about anything you can contact me at keith.bennett2@virgin.net and i will try and answer any questions you might have. Finally,just in case any of you would feel uncomfortable about paying for your eye test and taking the prescription away or feel that it's somehow not fair on the optician to do this please bear in mind the following.If you go to the Specsavers website ,arguably Britains most recognisable Opticians,and then pick the Peterhead store,you will find a section,in STORE OFFERS, which says something along the lines of....if you want new specs but don't want your eyes tested simply bring us your prescription from any other Optician and we will use this to make you a new pair....They are trying to encourage you to do exactly what i am.That is to get your eyes tested in one place and shop around for what you want.I am saying,however,that you will find what you want and with a huge saving if you shop online and not at Specsavers or any of the other high street Opticians."

Save money.Don't go to Specsavers.Buy your glasses online.It's easy.

An interesting piece i found on the eBay discussion forum.

eBay Blogs - Save money.Don't go to Specsavers.Buy your glasses online.It's easy.: "Optometrist working for Specsavers
Comment made on 18/03/2007 17:05
as an optometrist it is worth while to have eyes checked at the rommended periods.What i tend to find is that once you start to get ocular problem that are not due to prescription problems but health realted , it may be too late to retify any damage.
But i can see you may be concerned about going because you feel you may be flogged a pair of spex. This is feel is the main problem with working for specsavers as they pay bonuses to opticians for seeling glasses, and keep track of how many person you test get glasses on your advice.
I would alway recommend that all patient that have a sigt test, never buy thier glasses on th day of the test and go around looking for quotes from other shops. this prevents overselling by the optometrist(which is ripe in specsavers)
Pingback made on 15/02/2007 12:35
found this comment on another site and i hope it will encourage you to go to Specsavers Peterhead,if you're in that area,for an eye test and take your prescription away with you.Once you have your prescription you can buy your spectacles from an on-line company and save yourself a fortune.Of course if you don't live near Peterhead any Specsavers branch will do."

Opticians 'seeing 1,000pc profit on glasses'

"High Street opticians are making profits of more than 1,000 per cent on glasses, it has been claimed.

A standard pair can cost as little as £7 to produce - for frames and lenses - yet the public is charged £99.

A recent Government study found that the sale of spectacles is the one area where deregulation and the supposed introduction of greater competition has failed to drive down prices. In fact, the average price paid for a pair is now put at £148.50 - up by around 40 per cent since 1999.

The industry is dominated by four major chains, Boots, Vision Express, Specsavers and Dollond & Aitchison, which are responsible for more than 70 per cent of sales.

It is claimed there is little evidence of price competition - except around promotional periods such as January.

The public is largely kept in the dark about the true cost of frames and lenses, which means they are unable to challenge charges. And there is little or no value in shopping around because prices across the major High Street names, and even small independent opticians, are about the same."