Decent opticians?

[arthurleung]

Well I'm just into my 20 and I need new glasses again.

Trouble is, my eyes are so weak (probably genetic related coz all my family members have eye problems), that every eye-test I did could be off by +- 1.0 all the time.

The optician in my college is charging me 18 quids per eye-test and I have no idea about their reputation.

Last time I had my eyes checked was August and the values aren't as strong as what I had 18 months ago so they're definitely off by a massive amount.

Could anyone suggest which optician I should go for?

My eyesight was about short-sight -6 and astigmatism of 2.5 both eyes

If I don't get my lenses right there'll be 200 quids down the sink (my last pair of lenses alone cost me 170 quids)

Thanks
Arthur

[herulach]

If youre still in college you know you can get your lenses paid for?

[excalibur2]

Well I'm just into my 20 and I need new glasses again.

Trouble is, my eyes are so weak (probably genetic related coz all my family members have eye problems), that every eye-test I did could be off by +- 1.0 all the time.

The optician in my college is charging me 18 quids per eye-test and I have no idea about their reputation.

Last time I had my eyes checked was August and the values aren't as strong as what I had 18 months ago so they're definitely off by a massive amount.

Could anyone suggest which optician I should go for?

My eyesight was about short-sight -6 and astigmatism of 2.5 both eyes

If I don't get my lenses right there'll be 200 quids down the sink (my last pair of lenses alone cost me 170 quids)

Thanks
Arthur

What's wrong with going to a well known name like Boots.

[frumpet]

D&A are quite good for the actual eye tests themselves. Boots are also well recommended.

I'd steer clear of Specsavers as I've had a number of hassles with both their eye tests and also the specs themselves.

I'm planning to get my next set of glasses off the web anyway as I'm sick of paying a premium for the 'service' that the high street opticians give.

[dave87]

I had my eye test done at Boots, then went to a specialist (who just makes glasses). Got my Armani frames + lenses (no fancy tints, they annoy me) for £110. And yes, they are real.

[Kezzer]

I wouldn't go to specsavers personally. I went there and they told me nothing was wrong with my eyes even though I couldn't see the lecture boards at uni. I went to Vision Express and they gave me glasses and I realised how bad my eyesight actually was after that.

[arthurleung]

If youre still in college you know you can get your lenses paid for?

Cheers, I'll look it up
Though, a few yrs ago when I'm still in school my lenses alone is 3 times more expensive than the NHS allowance.

I suppose if I'm opting for normal lenses they'll be insanely cheap. But my lenses is gonna be cheap and thick (i mean >1cm, more likely 2cm) or thin and expensive (my current one is refractive index 1.7 and ~4.5mm thick).

Because of my astigmatism it means there is no stock lenses

What's wrong with going to a well known name like Boots.

Last time I had an eyetest in Boots (aberdeen). Apparently there were many people booked for the "free eye-test" and the optician rushed through my check and gave me values way lower than my current subscription.

Online service such as Glasses Direct tells me my prescription is too complex so I need to call them. Which probably means no stock lenses and higher price And they use 1.6 refractive index lenses which won't cut it...