New Practice - Is A Tracer Worth It?

[Agnitio]

Hi all

First post to the group after reading for quite some time (the despensing tips thread is an absolute gem!) and I'll really appreciate your input with this question.

I'm in Australia and am looking to open my own dispensing practice supplying lenses frames, contact lenses and some designer sunglassses since it will be on the coast in a holiday town.

I've looked into buying and leasing an edger which i think has its advantages for providing new specs to those that have lost them in the sea or they have broken (mainly holidayers i'm talking about) but I'm still debating the cost/time i will have to devote to it long term.

I'm a big fan of Hoya. Essilor quality just gets worse and worse, it seems to be a global thing from what I've read and I'd really appreciate some feed back anyone has had with the hoya tracer.

The main advantage i see is being able to maintain stock ie Ordering a new frame when one is sold instead of sending it off to the lab to be fitted
and have that frame off the shelf as I'm looking to carry just a few brands with most of their lines on my racks.

All feedback is greatly appreciated

[Fezz]

Welcome aboard. Jump on in, the water is fine. DON'T BE A BYSTANDER. Ask questions, give answers, debate...this is a great place to be involved with.

I have a tracer from Hoya. I love it. I would fight someone to the death if they tried to take it from me. But, I also have an old Optronics(now Essilor?) Horizon II edger. I edge some lenses in house. I have figured out that my time is a valuable thing. There are times when I just don't have the time to run down and edge a bunch of jobs. My time is spent on the sales floor. If I make 1 or 2 more sales because I devote the time to it, I am ahead of the deal. You really have to weigh it out. I have closed a few sales because I was able to edge the lenses on the spot. I have made a few extra sales because I had the freedom to work with the patient and discover all there needs and fill them. If you work with Hoya, I think you will find the system very beneficial. They give an incentive to use the system. It saves $7-$8 off of there edged pricing. That gets you to just about there wholesale pricing(at least here in the states). You can use any of there available lenses from the cheapy Navigator short to the Hoya ID. I have the best of both worlds. If I were in your shoes, I would start with the tracer. Spend your time selling and marketing your practice. When you get a few thousand extra bucks, buy a reliable used edger and start using it for whatever jobs. Best of luck on your new venture. Let us know how you make out.

[MarcE]

Fezz is right. I would add these thoughts.

You save the most $ edging SV lenses because most of them are stock and less expensive than surfaced lenses. So if you do a lot of SV non-tinted lenses, you might think about it.

If you plan on selling quite a bit of suns to vacationers, there is no sense do the edging yourself because you have to have a lab generate the polarized lenses. Are you now going to tint the rest. Unless you do 3-4 jobs a day, your tint will go bad before you pay it back. Tinting definately is not worth my time. Also, many of those suns will be in wrap frames and many edgers have problems with the high-base curves. And like the polarized lenses, they will have to be generated because a stock -2.00 lens won't come on a 6 base.

Take it from a guy that Casts lenses, stocks lenses, tints lenses, traces, edges, and drills lenses. Don't do it until you can understand your market, costs, payback and personnel skills available. It's takes skill. Don't believe the edger manufacturers when they say "You can bring in a high-school kid to run through 8 jobs in an hour and a half"

I think I just convinced myself to stop doing all that lab work and sell more.

If you want to provide quick service, get the tracer and find lab that works a night shift, will take your calls after 5pm and on Saturday. And to save money, find one that will use stock lenses whenever available and won't charge much extra for overnight delivery.

[Fezz]

MarcE-

Your too kind. I wish it was true though!!

;)

[RT]

Please note that the original poster is from Australia, which is of course a different country than the US. As such, there are different pricing policies than our US posters may experience.

However, the quality of the tracer, and the accuracy of the resulting edged lenses, would be more or less constant. The convenience of being able to send frame traces, even when ordering uncuts, ensures accuracy as well.

Most modern frame tracers should give you the accuracy and convenience you're looking for.

[Fezz]

That gets you to just about there wholesale pricing(at least here in the states).


I think I made that perfectly clear. Did you miss it?

[Agnitio]

Please note that the original poster is from Australia, which is of course a different country than the US.

That is for sure:hammer:

But I do realise that the equipment is quite universal.

Thank you all for your info so far and i do look forward to exchanging more ideas with you in the future

[Judy Canty]

I used the Optronics 4T tracer for years in my shop. I loved it. Accurate, easy, dependable.

[EyeFitWell]

I think it depends on your lab.
The lab I used to use would start grinding/coating/check stock lens drawer before they got the frame. I'd give them the measurements, and they'd start on the lenses while the frame was in transit.

The lab I use now does not even check the lens drawer before they have the frame in the tray (Unless I use T&T) so for my current situation, the tracer definately eliminates a couple day's lag which would otherwise cause longer ETA's if I was sending in every frame.

I have had good luck with the sizing being good, but you need to have a handstone incase things come back a little large.

[allanon]

We've got a Hoya tracer and it's great.

When I bought my practice, I took out a loan and bought an edger. Got a refurb Santinelli 9000... it's a gem and it paid for itself in about 1.5yrs.

Don't lease.. it's evil.