New eyeglass lens for old pair of frames

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Cressida

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I am going to need updated progressive eyeglass lens for my vision and enjoyed reading the recent thread about progressive lens. I have a couple of my old frames that were good quality and still in good condition (except for the prescription change) and wondered if anyone has any experience and recommendations for getting new (current) lens installed in your old eyeglass frames? I do not try and save on my lens; for example I usually get "CR39" with Varilux branded lens so have paid $300-400 just for lens in the past.

Fwiw, I somehow stumbled upon a teaching type web site for those in the retail eyeglass business and it was discussing how to "help" customers know why they should not re-use an old frame but to purchase new ones instead. I walked into a large retail eyeglass chain and a young employee looked at my old glasses and proceeded to tell me some reason they couldn't use my frames for getting new lens, but instead telling me about the "buy one get one at big discount special". It's funny that a few years ago when purchasing new frames they would tell me the reasons to pay up for quality - - but now that quality no longer seemed applicable.

If anyone has had new lens put into their old frames I would like to learn who you used and your experience? Was it a distance place you mailed your old frames and prescription, or a local establishment, etc.?
 
If the place will do it go for it.
Shopko optical though expensive will usually allow you to reuse frames under a certain age if they are in good condition.

So I do it all the time but usually they won't do it after a while


Other option is spend $9.99 at Zeni optical and don't worry cause it's cheap
 
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I recall going to Lenscrafters 20, 25 years ago and being told to not reuse frames. Maybe they used cheap ones, dunno. Obviously the ones I get from Zenni's I do not reuse the frames.

But I have gotten new lenses into old frames. The optician that I went to, the store attached to it, had no reservations about (not a chain). I told him I wanted new lenses, he said he'd give me a call in a couple days when they were in. Went in, he took 5 minutes to install, done. Since he sold me the frames he knew how the lenses needed to be cut. No issues.

I've decided to buy at least on pair locally so as to support local business, and to keep some ability to get eye wear in hopefully short order. But I can't deny the siren call of cheap internet goods either, and plan to buy single prescription sunglasses online. I don't wear them but for driving and as such I don't need a "good" pair.
 
Recently I had Walmart Vision Center put new lenses into an existing frame. It worked fine. The frames and original lenses originally came from optical store attached to my eye doctor's office.

Whimsey
 
Originally Posted by Cressida
If anyone has had new lens put into their old frames I would like to learn who you used and your experience? Was it a distance place you mailed your old frames and prescription, or a local establishment, etc.?

Originally Posted by Rmay635703
Other option is spend $9.99 at Zeni optical and don't worry cause it's cheap


I'll second Zenni. I've found they're so reasonable with many of their frames, it doesn't pay to bother with the old one's.

https://www.zennioptical.com/?gclsr...K7IKuBLIP0aAt5wEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
 
I had my vision checked and got a new (and slightly revised) prescription. I have a good quality and current looking set of frames, but the lenses were getting a bit scratched. We have moved since I bought those glasses. I asked the staff at the optometrist's shop at my new location if they would be prepared to put new lenses into my old frames. They said they didn't handle that brand of frames and in general weren't keen on the idea.

So on a trip to my old location I visited the shop where I bought them and asked about the availability of parts and had the owner check my old frames for any developing problems. He said they were in excellent condition and he could and would get parts if required. I ordered a new set of lenses using my new prescription, and left my old frames. They had all the relevant measurements of course.

I've had good experience with this shop. It's a private company - with no chain affiliation. They stand behind their products and will "make it right" if anything goes wrong, even if it's not their fault. [They replaced a lens they had correctly filled but where someone else had made an error writing down the prescription - no questions asked - for example.]

In Canada an optometrist must give a customer a written prescription on request, so the customer can buy their glasses anywhere.

A week or so later my old frames with new lenses arrived, and all is well.

To make this a sensible plan you have to consider how good the old frames are. Mine are a current design, high quality, had parts available, and I had absolutely no concerns about wearing them for at least the next 2 years. I don't think I'd do it with "usual quality" frames. I've had these "usual quality" frames suddenly break for no good reason.
 
That's what I'll do the next time I get Varilux lenses. I always buy Safilo frames, true Italian made quality, not China. I'll go back to the local optician where I bought them and have them load up new lenses. I already know they'll do it. It seems new frames are running about $175-200 these days, but nearly all come from China, even the "designer" brands.
 
Back in the day, when I bought a new frame I always bought the best quality I could afford at the time, so they would last the longest. And I always kept the original dummy lenses on 'em for exactly this purpose. When the time came for new lenses, I'd reuse the same frame and give the optometrist the old dummy lenses to use as template for shaping and cutting the new lenses. This way, the new ones would always be a perfect fit.

The best (and most pricey) frames I ever had were titanium and they were good for 3 sets of lens changes. They never corroded nor rusted.
 
MINOR POINT: In my lifetime having a pair of glasses "relensed" is completely normal and done all the time. I've done it many times.

MAJOR QUESTION: Have you had progressives before?

The problem IS in the bottom portion. Only a thin vertical band of correction is available. Both sides of both lens' bottoms are not used. You must point your "reading face" squarely at what you want to read.

The top portion is OK.

I get 38mm lined bifocals-the longest they make. They work.
 
I do want to get new lenses in my glasses. I switched to contacts back in 2013 and haven't updates my glasses since. My glasses are Silhouettes which they still make so getting new lenses shoudl be easy. Although I think at this point I have been through a couple earpieces so I am not sure if it will be the same pair anymore.
 
Seriously take a look at these folks, https://www.warbyparker.com/

I have used Zenni for my son and EyeBuyDirect for myself. I don't like Warby Parker's frames (Mostly acetates) or shapes that fit my broad face, hence I would preferentially buy them.

If you are getting progressives for the first time, I would not suggest to fit them in an old frame.

Walmart actually does refit lens but clearly told me, if the frame breaks while installation, it is not their responsibility (which makes sense) but then you will have lenses and no frame. IMHO, not worth the bother. Every time I get a new frame and set of the lens (which is every year due to my migraine connected to the eye shape).
 
There are places that will insert your new lenses into existing frames so long as the lens fits, just keep calling around. Whenever my Rx changes i just get new frames and lenses. My insurance covers a big chunk of it, if not all. I don't do anything fancy because I have health issues that can change my Rx from one year to the next.

And I always donate my old pair to the local Lion's Club. They refurbish and distribute them to local orgs for the needy.
 
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Costco will install new lenses in your old frames if you bought them from Costco. They have some stipulations but generally speaking it can work. I think every situation is a little different.
 
The glasses I'm wearing now are the most comfortable ones I've ever had, although I'm on my second set of frames of the same model.

I bought the first frames in 2013 from the shop at my doctor's office, and they weren't inexpensive. Two years later, my opthamologist made a small tweak to my prescription but advised that I didn't necessarily need new glasses unless I really just WANTED them. My only real complaint at the time was that the lenses were a bit scratched up. I was JUST inside the 2-year Crizal scratch warranty, so instead I just had the optical shop order a new pair of lenses under warranty, which of course were on my 2-year old prescription.

In 2017, it was pretty much the same story-the doctor made a small tweak and said that I didn't really need to get new glasses unless I wanted them. By that point, I was afraid that my old frames were about to fall apart at the nose piece(they were a bit loose). Because they were so comfortable, though, I had the shop pull my order from 2013 and re-order the same frame.

I actually have already collected on the scratch warranty on my current pair a couple of times, so actually went back last year and ordered another pair in glass to wear at specific times when I knew I was likely to scratch(specifically looking through a camera eyepiece, particularly on older cameras). I had those fitted into an inexpensive but sturdy set of wire frames from the discount rack at the shop. I only wear the glass at those specific times because they're heavy and uncomfortable(it actually took some arm twisting to even get the shop to agree to order them, but the scratch warranty collection history convinced them the lenses themselves weren't that expensive).

In any case, I'll be due again for another pair next year, and despite my best efforts I still have some scratches on my current lenses. As long as the frames are still in good shape, I plan on having my next set of lenses fitted again to the frames I'm currently wearing. If they're not in good shape, I hope to goodness that I can get another set of those same frames.
 
Glasses are a real anti-consumer racket.

The only frames I've been able to get re-lensed is the expensive titanium frames. Not coincidentally, they are the only ones I've been able to get major replacement parts for. So that's all I buy now. In the long run they have cost me less.
 
Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
And I always donate my old pair to the local Lion's Club. They refurbish and distribute them to local orgs for the needy.

That's a nice idea but I'd suggest you keep your most recent pair for emergencies and project work. I've sometimes had a pair of frames break and it takes a few days to get new ones. And when I do carpentry and auto maintenance my lenses are at risk of scratches. Better to scratch an old pair.
 
My Rx safety glasses are my back ups … have both polarized sun glasses and wrap around darkening

I ordered my 2nd to last pair of office glasses with clip on's for driving (don't darken in vehicles) so with a new pair I can leave those in the roof liner compartment … all set
 
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