[Knut]

Originally Posted by Minnie

How does Costco rate on their product? I used to post at a board years ago with a woman who worked for an optometrist, and they didn't think very highly of Costco. Now obviously that could have been a play for more business but she lived in the US and I live here, so it's not like I could have given her my business, lol, so I figured it was perhaps slightly more unbiased than it could have been were I a potential customer.

But with as much money as I'm looking at spending for Progressives and frames and such now, I was reminded of that conversation. I've been doing a little shopping around and they certainly seem to be the least expensive, for $350 all in (frames, lenses, coating). But is cheaper necessarily better?

Another place today quoted me about $465 (+$18 for the frames) for the Progressives lenses, and it includes all the coatings - anti-scratch, anti-glare, A/R, and something I don't recall the name of - hydrophobic and oliphobic or something? Probably butchered that. We get $200 coverage and they will direct bill so that's an advantage, plus they offer me 90 days to decide if I am happy with the Progressives and if I'm not, I can come back and they'll replace them with SV and refund me the difference. I can go with their cheapest version of Progressives and that drops the lenses to about $300, give or take.

Seem about standard, the pricing?

That is about right. You can start going even higher if you get into digital or free form lenses. A basic progressive with frame for under $500 is pretty good. Just like anything else, you get what you pay for and going with the cheapest option is usually not the best option.