Explore your options to keep costs in focus when buying new glasses

On a recent cloudy winter Sunday, Peg McCormick, 72, was picking up a pair of sunglasses at the Warby Parker in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis for an upcoming snow-escaping trip to Mexico.

Though she has purchased glasses from the retail chain for years, her resounding review of the process in general: “I hate buying eyeglasses. I hate it.”

McCormick is one example of the stress glasses-wearers encounter when trying to find a pair of lenses that not only look good enough to be an everyday accessory but don’t cost a fortune. Now that the Federal Trade Commission is doubling-down on its rule requiring eye doctors to provide their patients prescriptions after eye exams, consumers like McCormick are encountering more options for their purchases than just those in their doctor’s office lobby.

Glasses retailer Warby Parker, which has locations throughout the Twin Cities, is posting record annual profit, and some consumers are looking toward online outlets like Zenni Optical to fill their prescriptions.

Cost-wise, a 2022 Consumer Reports survey with 11,450 respondents found people paid a median of $224 out of pocket or $205 after insurance for glasses. The median price was higher at traditional optical shops, costing people $511 out of pocket. Consumers still face costly fees and financing, said Sally Greenberg, CEO of the National Consumers League said.

“The industry has cleaned up a lot,” Greenberg said. “But you do have to watch out, because like any industry, they’re going to add fees if they can get away with it.”

Here’s how experts suggest you avoid steep costs and still look like an enchanting, mysterious intellectual in your next pair.

First of all, familiarize yourself with the different kinds of eye docs: optometrists and ophthalmologists. Optometrists diagnose and treat eye diseases and vision problems while ophthalmologists provide total eye care and perform surgery, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Greenberg recommended people to go to eye specialists like those once a year, as they detect more than 200 conditions and diseases like macular degeneration, diabetes and brain tumors.

Before heading to her appointment at these traditional doctor offices that often sell glasses, too, Greenberg likes to ask: “What will the exam cost? Are there any additional costs attached? What is the average price of glasses?”

Ruth Susswein, advocacy group Consumer Action’s director of consumer protection, said those providers often attach extra services and fees to the cost of a vision test.

“It’s not always clear to the consumer whether all of those additional tests ... are necessary,” Susswein said.

To weed out services that might be costly and unnecessary, Susswein suggested consumers ask: “What is that test? Why do I need that?”

Whenever Greenberg encounters a surprise fee, she simply says: “I don’t want to pay that.” A few years ago, when she complained about a “refraction fee,” it was missing from the bill a year later, she said.

A Federal Trade Commission rule has required doctors to provide patients copies of their prescription after an eye exam since 1978. The agency has long received complaints that doctors did not comply with the rule, it said in a news release earlier this year.

In the past, Greenberg said optometrists and ophthalmologists could limit options for patients who came in for eye exams, holding them back from shopping around by not providing the prescription.

Without prescriptions, Susswein said consumers often settled on purchasing glasses at the optical office before considering other options.

“If you didn’t know, as a consumer, that you were entitled to it ... you might not know to ask for it,” Greenberg said.

The agency changed the rule this summer, requiring doctors to request their patients to sign a statement confirming they received their prescription, the news release said.

Consumers who don’t receive their prescription should ask for a copy, Susswein said. If the doctor still doesn’t provide the prescription, the consumer can file a complaint with the agency, she said.

“There are those in the optometry industry that would look to, if not eliminate, at least curb our freedom of choice, consumers’ freedom of choice, because it’s not in the optometrists or opticians best interest to have more competition,” Susswein said.

If consumers aren’t satisfied with offerings from their eye doctors, they can take their prescription elsewhere.

“We have so many options these days of where to buy eyeglasses and contact lenses,” Susswein said. “And that competition leads to lower prices and more affordability and more choice. And that is what is best for consumers.”

Jason Schultz, 49, has only started wearing glasses for the majority of the time in the past five years to correct his farsightedness. He picked up a pair of progressive lenses and trendy see-through frames at the Warby Parker in the North Loop recently. The pair cost him under $200, which he purchased using funds from his limited-scope flexible spending account.

Glasses varieties vary widely. Reading glasses, available without a prescription at general retailers like Target for less than $20, can help people focus on small text as they age and the lenses inside their eyes become more rigid. Prescription glasses, which tend to be much more expensive, correct a patient’s specific vision problems. Some of them, called bifocals and trifocals, can contain multiple prescriptions correcting both nearsightedness and farsightedness in a single pair.

Check with your health insurance plan administrator or workplace benefits manager on how you can use your FSA and HSA dollars for glasses. People can typically use these funds to pay for vision expenses, such as reading glasses, beyond what vision insurance covers, like annual eye exams. You can save money by using your HSA or FSA to cover costs your employer or insurance plan won’t reimburse.

Greenberg said consumers should check online comments for low-cost glasses retailers like 1-800 Contacts to verify they consistently fill the right prescription. A consumer can occasionally receive the wrong prescription, she said.

Greenberg said consumers are often offered add-ons like anti-glare, UV protection and scratch-resistant coating. Susswein said eye doctors should disclose the costs of these extras. But make sure you only pay for extras you want.

Some local shops offer expansive customization. IWare Northeast cuts all its lenses by hand, allowing them to customize frames. It also outfits vintage frames with new lenses. Specs Optical in Minneapolis offers free frame cleaning and adjustments every three to four months.

Greenberg said less than a decade ago, she’d pay up to $1,200 for what she said was a complicated frame. They now cost her as little as a quarter of the price at retailers, she said.

Consumers should check the terms of the return policy before making a purchase, Greenberg said, and avoid financing options if at all possible.

“We never like financing because oftentimes, those are very onerous and predatory terms,” Greenberg said.

Schultz said the options at his eye doctor’s office fell short, so he asked for a printed copy of his prescription and brought it to Warby Parker.

“I don’t really like the whole process of it because it’s hard to find something that you like,” Schultz said.

Elizabeth Firestone, another customer at the Warby Parker, said the retailer’s app allowed her to virtually try on pairs. In the store, she said, staff helped her make adjustments.

McCormick said she isn’t willing to purchase glasses online because she wants to see how they look first. Susswein, though, has bought glasses both at the doctor’s office and online, she said. She said the retailer options — alongside wholesalers like Costco ― offer affordable prices, and people have used websites more for the prescription purchases since the pandemic.

To find a pair that looks good, McCormick said consumers should find a shop with workers willing to be transparent.

“Go to a place that has helpful staff that is honest,” McCormick said, “that will tell you, ‘They do not look good on you’ or ‘They do.’”