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Thread: Repairs....Repairs......Repairs, are we still doing it ?

  1. #1
    Manuf. Lens Surface Treatments
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    Redhot Jumper Repairs....Repairs......Repairs, are we still doing it ?

    Here is a theme that is not in the general interest on OptiBoard. It is always the newest and latest techniques and nobody is ready and willing to tackle one of the opticians original duties which is : can you repair a frame? are you willing to repair a frame, or is to far below your professional interest to do so.

    Not enough money in it ?

    Have you ever thought about the goodwill you can create by doing repairs to frame and lenses ?

    Any comments are welcome............positive or negative will be interesting.

  2. #2
    Master OptiBoarder
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    I do repairs daily and there is plenty of money in it!

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    Redhot Jumper Question = Who repairs Eyeglasses

    Quote Originally Posted by CME4SPECS View Post

    I do repairs daily and there is plenty of money in it!

    Thanks..............what a nice opening post


    ( Question = Who repairs Eyeglasses )

    I just put in the question to Google Canada and got the following answers:

    About 1,130,000 results (0.47 seconds)


    Then I went on Yahoo with the same Question:

    Answers 5, 560,000


    So there must be a market for it. I have looked at some of the websites and it seems a lot are doing it by mail or delivery services over big distances.





  4. #4
    Master OptiBoarder rbaker's Avatar
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    I believe that one could make a living in the proper locations doing nothing but repairs soldering frames repairing broken zyle frames (bridges and eye wires) replacing nose pads and temple end pieces and cleaning and properly adjusting frames, etc. No license to worry about. A minimum investment and a small kiosk in a busy mall should do it.

  5. #5
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    Redhot Jumper I just checked out these search results

    I just checked out these search results and there not really that many of them as most is lightly related items and on-line glasses websites that are listed.

    So there must be widely untapped market on this subject.

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    Redhot Jumper We could have franchises all over the place

    Quote Originally Posted by rbaker View Post

    I believe that one could make a living in the proper locations doing nothing but repairs soldering frames repairing broken zyle frames (bridges and eye wires) replacing nose pads and temple end pieces and cleaning and properly adjusting frames, etc. No license to worry about. A minimum investment and a small kiosk in a busy mall should do it.

    Hey Dick, come out of retirement, and we can start SAFEYOURFRAME Corp.,get one of those deals with UPS or Fedex for cheap next day delivery and need one central location on a slope of your mountains or near a beach in FL.

    I have all the solvents to re glue invisible plastic mends and and the buffers as well as a big 4 pliers optical soldering machine with a foot pedal and lots more for fixing up even old celluloid frames.

    We could have franchises all over the place and become the Costco of frame repairs.

  7. #7
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    I offer spectacles repair services in Singapore, Visio Optical is the only shop here to have this service. It is very satisfactory, both to help people and to offer an exclusive service.

    We do welding, parts replacements, frame repaint, ...

    Some of the more interesting repairs are the spring hinge replacement and frame paint. Both time consuming but feasible and profitable.

    When the spring-loaded temple breaks, the hinge block can be fully removed, and a new one is welded.

    We repaint frames with powder coating. It requires sandblasting, but the new paint is more durable than the original.

    Check our video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baL37sXJqMw
    Last edited by stefyxz; 07-29-2015 at 01:57 AM.

  8. #8
    Master OptiBoarder rbaker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Ryser View Post
    Hey Dick, come out of retirement, and we can start SAFEYOURFRAME Corp.,get one of those deals with UPS or Fedex for cheap next day delivery and need one central location on a slope of your mountains or near a beach in FL.

    I have all the solvents to re glue invisible plastic mends and and the buffers as well as a big 4 pliers optical soldering machine with a foot pedal and lots more for fixing up even old celluloid frames.

    We could have franchises all over the place and become the Costco of frame repairs.
    Let me make a few calls and get back to you.

  9. #9
    Master OptiBoarder
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    Most now do not do repairs, and are taught to sell new frames instead. I have a brother who does repairs and is the ONLY place in his community that will, and he does well financially by doing them. It is against some corporation's policies I understand.

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    Redhot Jumper King Farouk even tipped

    Quote Originally Posted by wmcdonald View Post

    Most now do not do repairs, and are taught to sell new frames instead. I have a brother who does repairs and is the ONLY place in his community that will, and he does well financially by doing them. It is against some corporation's policies I understand.

    I am so glad you made this post.

    When I was an apprentice in the optical, it was the first thing I had to become a master in.

    Repair, Repair and one more time Repair, and the better you could do it, the better you were valued.

    I got my best tip ever from the old King Farouk of Egypt, in Lausanne Switzerland for fixing his glasses and delivering them to his suite at the Palace Hotel.

    The repair cost then was the equivalent of SFr 20.00 and his secretary handed me a SF bill of a 100.00 francs for which I had no change of course.

    The Farouk just waved his hand and said " keep the balance". The next day he bought the Palace Hotel for a few millions. It was my biggest tip ever and never to forget.

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    I was just having the conversation with my OD the other day. I think this would be a great way to have your own business with very little start up and low overhead. I've never soldered before but I know that I could learn it. I remember in CT I worked down the street from a family optical and at least weekly we had pt's at the LC who wanted us to fix something that we physically couldn't because we didn't have the equipment to do it. We always sent them down the road to Cartier's...And yes, the LC will not allow anyone to order just a temple or frame front.

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    OptiWizard OptiBoard Bronze Supporter pezfaerie's Avatar
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    I think frame repair is one of the first things an Optician or Apprentice who is just starting out should learn. I love to tackle the frames no one else will touch. Also the look on the patients face when you do fix it is priceless!
    Pez:D

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    40 years ago when I started in the business frame repair was part of the college course and was the first thing I was required to become proficient in when I started working. I worked at a small local chain, 8 offices, that was known as the best optician practice in the area. I now work for a MD's practice and do very little frame repair. My boss came into the business via Lenscrafters so the attitude is sell a new frame and move on. The opticians here don't even want to learn simple repairs.

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    Blue Jumper I would rather call them an "optical salesman/women" and not an optician

    Quote Originally Posted by BigGuy View Post

    My boss came into the business via Lenscrafters so the attitude is sell a new frame and move on. The opticians here don't even want to learn simple repairs.

    An optician that does not master, what an apprentice has to learn first before anything else, has not earned the title of an optician.

    I would rather call them an "optical salesman/women" with no other object than to produce sales.

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    Master OptiBoarder Mizikal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rbaker View Post
    I believe that one could make a living in the proper locations doing nothing but repairs soldering frames repairing broken zyle frames (bridges and eye wires) replacing nose pads and temple end pieces and cleaning and properly adjusting frames, etc. No license to worry about. A minimum investment and a small kiosk in a busy mall should do it.

    I think instead of a location I would do it via mail. You could make deals with offices. They would mail your a broken frame you could do the repairs and mail back.They would do the final adjustments and look like a champ to their patients. Might not be a bad way to earn some extra money. Now I need to learn how to solder and I have my own business.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mizikal View Post
    I think instead of a location I would do it via mail. You could make deals with offices. They would mail your a broken frame you could do the repairs and mail back.They would do the final adjustments and look like a champ to their patients. Might not be a bad way to earn some extra money. Now I need to learn how to solder and I have my own business.
    So the patient should wait while they mail you their only pair of spectacles? Good grief, that defeats the purpose of offering on-site repairs. But be prepared.......soldering is much like the ABO exam, rocket science!

  17. #17
    Rising Star
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    We most definitely repair as much as we can, change nosepads, adjust frames, & fix temples/hinges. The only thing we don't/can't do here is solder or mend a broken plastic frame.

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    Compulsive Truthteller OptiBoard Gold Supporter Uncle Fester's Avatar
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    Been there done that...

    Send it to Hilco. Charge $65. If they can't leave them then they need a new pair. Put the lenses into a loaner if you have to. When gold and monel ruled I'd say sure, solder away. Too many downsides to it these days otherwise.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Ryser View Post
    An optician that does not master, what an apprentice has to learn first before anything else, has not earned the title of an optician.

    I would rather call them an "optical salesman/women" with no other object than to produce sales.
    It's not always that simple. Programs are being squeezed financially. Insurance costs are rising. When weighing the cost of a new focimeter against maintaining equipment for soldering frames who does one choose over the other. Our state board does not require the applicant to perform repairs on a frame. I'd be curious to learn just how many States that require the applicant to sit before a State Board demonstrate the ability to solder.
    I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it. Mark Twain

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    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Smith LDO View Post
    It's not always that simple. Programs are being squeezed financially. Insurance costs are rising. When weighing the cost of a new focimeter against maintaining equipment for soldering frames who does one choose over the other. Our state board does not require the applicant to perform repairs on a frame. I'd be curious to learn just how many States that require the applicant to sit before a State Board demonstrate the ability to solder.

    Paul, this fact that state boards do not test this is irrelevant, really. Most state boards are made up of ill-prepared high school graduates, and should never be in the position to begin with. To top that, most could not pass the boards they administer. They have absolutely no clue in most cases I have seen, and is one case for doing away with them altogether. I was in Atlanta this weekend and had a 30-year Optician that had never heard the term focimeter, and could not neutralize a pair of spectacles for my refraction students! We are in a real mess, but soldering and other repairs is an art that can be learned, and is inexpensive to do. That said, your state board also does not require you to have a calculator or computer. Does that mean you should not have one? If a business (not sure what you mean by program, but if it a school program, they should have it) or a school cannot afford a soldering iron and materials to do this, they need not be in business to start with.

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    Master OptiBoarder rbaker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mizikal View Post
    I think instead of a location I would do it via mail. You could make deals with offices. They would mail your a broken frame you could do the repairs and mail back.They would do the final adjustments and look like a champ to their patients. Might not be a bad way to earn some extra money. Now I need to learn how to solder and I have my own business.
    No deals . . Stand on your own two feet !

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    Compulsive Truthteller OptiBoard Gold Supporter Uncle Fester's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wmcdonald View Post
    ...or a school cannot afford a soldering iron...
    You date yourself Dr. McDonald!

    I'd learn with a torch.

  23. #23
    Master OptiBoarder rbaker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Uncle Fester View Post
    You date yourself Dr. McDonald!

    I'd learn with a torch.
    For sure an open flame but a soldering iron, a soldering iron - never happen GI.

    The newer materials used to fabricate todays frames do require tools and technology beyond what we used back in the good old days of gold filled frames and mountings. Today you have to be able to repair a variety of stainless steel alloys, memory metals and God only knows which requires special materials and tools.

    It ain't that easy to perform a good repair, strong and attractive, as good or better than original, on todays metal frames but it is quite doable. You have to seek out some training and experience.

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    OptiBoard Professional Dustin.B's Avatar
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    As to the original question in this post. I do repairs every day, literally. And while my higher ups would rather I just sell a new frame I take every repair as a challenge and opportunity. Maybe they can't afford that new frame today, but someday they can. And when that day comes around they'll remember who knows what they're doing here. ^_^
    Best kind of professional promotion I could hope for. Doesn't cost me a bit and word travels well.
    ~Dustin B. AboC

    "Laugh, or you will go crazy."

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    Blue Jumper

    Quote Originally Posted by colem84 View Post

    We most definitely repair as much as we can, change nosepads, adjust frames, & fix temples/hinges. The only thing we don't/can't do here is solder or mend a broken plastic frame.
    That is actually the easiest part in frame repairs. You need the to have the proper solvents for the plastic materials, a set of good clamps , some sandpaper in different grades and a buffer and you are all set.

    Soften up the break surfaces join them together in the clamps and let dry over night. Following morning you remove the small bulge and buff and polish and reinsert lenses if the have not been inserted before gluing back together.

    All you need are 3 basic solvents in small quantities. All it takes, is to practice on some old frames.

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