Comment: Verum

Colleagues who were around in the 1980s and 90s tell me that attacks in the media relating to the cost of spectacles were commonplace at that time. TV programmes such as Watchdog and consumer magazine Which? featured articles on the high prices of spectacles. That was at a time where I suspect the average price of spectacles compared to earnings and other retail prices were certainly far higher than it is today. This was before unregistered internet sellers and supermarkets entered the market. So perhaps, although we would not like to admit it, there was a point to make.

Moving to the present, I doubt if there are many practitioners who could claim to be making excessive profits. So it was surprising that at the end of 2010 optical practices were featured in the new BBC series Rip Off Britain. Consumers were interviewed in the street, and asked about their views on the cost of spectacles and their reactions to the 'fact' that a lens only costs 25p. Of course no mention was made that this was an extreme example or of the service and advice that goes into the product. We also did not see those consumers who gave positive responses. The possibilities to purchase online were also covered with an interview with Glasses Direct founder James Murray Wells, who repeated the online retailers' mantra for patients to ask for their prescription and pupillary distance. Again no mention that this service is included in the cost of spectacles at an optical practice. At least there was some balance by interviewing a customer who had had a poor experience of the internet, and industry spokesperson Karen Sparrow from the Association of Optometrists, who made the point that it was entirely the consumer's choice as to how much he or she spent on spectacles, and great value was available from as little as £25. Also the message that it was better to buy from an optical practice, and that there was in fact a very competitive optical market on the high street, driving a good deal for the consumer.