Glasses Direct may be catching all the headlines but there are plenty of other virtual dispensers doing much the same thing.
Rob Moss looks at what each has to offer
Ten minutes typing 'cheap glasses' and similar phrases into Google last week unearthed eight UK websites dispensing spectacles to consumers in the comfort of their own home.
Without performing a mystery shop exercise on each, it is hard to judge exactly how they operate, what prescriptions would be accepted and how much contact would be made between the online retailer and the consumer. But we have briefly reviewed each to assess how well they adhere to simple points of law, such as not being able to dispense to under-16s and people registered blind or partially sighted, and how they deal with PD. Prices began at £13.48 for complete single-vision spectacles, including postage and packing. Lenses were all standard CR39 and in most cases an AR coat was an extra £10-20.
1intheeye.com
This site is not the most advanced in terms of web design, but straightforward and easy to navigate. The Devonshire Collection comprises 10 budget spectacles, which are available for £24.95, while a selection of 29 Jai Kudo specs are offered for £59.95, including P&P. The Rx form allows you to select spheres and cyls as high as ±20.00 and ±6.00 respectively. You have to declare that you are over 18 and that your sight was checked in the past 12 months and you can then enter you credit-card details. Whether the company would contact you about a complex Rx is unclear. PD is only required for those above ±2.50. The user's optician's address and contact number are requested. Some elements of the site appear out of date: 'October Special - half price'. Bifocals and varifocals only available upon receipt of previous glasses.
www.bargainspecs.com
www.cheapspectacles.co.uk
Based in Worcester, this site's budget section single-vision spectacles with spheres and cyls of ±6.00 to ±2.50 are available for £19.90 including P&P. Bifocals are available for an extra £20 and varifocals an extra £40. Terms and conditions are spelt out but at no point do you have to declare that you've read them when you make an order. Designer ranges include Calvin Klein, Boss, Nike and FCUK but the styles appear to be out of date and prices range from £80-100, including single-vision lenses and P&P.
www.economeyes.co.uk
This site is not especially easy to use or high-tech. Cheapest complete spectacles are £24.95 for single-vision Rx up to ±5.00DS and ±2.00DC.
The Rx has to be posted, faxed or emailed to Economeyes in Preston, but there is no requirement to submit a PD. The only mention of
measurements is in relation to varifocals for which you need to 'ring for a quote'. A wide range of designer frames are available, although they look like old stock, for £99.95 complete with lenses and P&P.
www.glassesdirect.co.uk
James Murray Wells' company Prescription Eyewear trades under the name Glasses Direct. The headline price is again £15, but you are constantly tempted into spending more. Thin lenses cost an extra £40, as do polarised lenses or Transition [sic] lenses. An AR coat is £15, as is UV400 protection. Spheres are taken up to ±8.00, cyls up to ±4.00. 'We recommend that you have your pupillary distance measured by an optician and provide it to us here. However, you may chose to leave it set to the measurement provided which is an average PD set by our dispensing opticians.' This average is set to 63mm for distance spectacles and 60mm for reading. P&P costs an extra £2.50 but all lenses include a free 'scratch-resistant' coating.
www.myoptics.co.uk www.glassesonline.co.uk
www.15quidspecs.co.uk
Myoptics is based in Bristol. Its Prima range is £15 (with P&P) but prices rise to £75 for its designer ranges including Calvin Klein, Guess and Hugo Boss. Bifocals appear to be available at no extra cost. Myoptics asks for the contact details of the customer's optician, but stresses that it does not normally need to get in touch.
www.specsonthenet.com
This site featured the cheapest glasses we could find on the web at just £13.48 including P&P. It also had the only accurate explanation of how to measure a PD of all the sites reviewed here. While others suggested that you get a friend to measure the distance 'between the pupils', Specsonthenet gave an accurate diagram of how this should be done. Designer glasses were also available including a pair of Moschino specs for £46.48, including lenses and P&P.
www.spex4less.com www.spex4less.co.uk
This website has been set up by Bolton optometrist Mark Bowden, who welcomes bargain hunters with a short video clip: 'If you're looking for high quality Rx glasses at a fraction of the cost, you've come to the right place'. Single-vision budget spects are available for £20 including P&P.
PD is treated in an interesting way: unless stated on your Rx, Spex4less.com suggests you leave it at an unspecified default. Away from the ordering process, it does suggest you get your optician to measure your PD.
www.specs2go.co.uk
Perhaps the most fashion-orientated site, Specs2go is based in Brewood, Staffs. It is more expensive than nearly all the others, with an entry point of £40.95 including P&P. A large line of Jai Kudo spectacles are then available for £90.95. This site also asks for details of your optician.
Terms and conditions are correctly laid out but at no point in the order process must the consumer declare they have read and understood them. There is no request for the patient's PD.