We are planning on buying an edger in the near future. I was just wondering where people currently buy their stock lenses.
We are planning on buying an edger in the near future. I was just wondering where people currently buy their stock lenses.
Vision-Ease
However you get them, we've worked our way toward SOMO. Good variety of options, AR coats are great, usually better priced than Seiko, which seems little different to me. Lots of people around here like Nassau, which I think is Big E, but people seem to like it.
Younger, Vision Ease, Seiko, Hoya
Have I told you today how much I hate poly?
Gostock.com It is owned by a group of independant labs. Monthly billing through the lab.
The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.
Nassau has quick turnaround time and reasonable pricing. If you don't mind working with an Essilor owned company they're your best bet.
Avoid Hoya and their subsidiaries (Seiko and VE) like the plague.
Have never worked with Younger personally but I know of many people who swear by them.
You may also look into local distributors, as well. There are still some regional labs out there that you may want to support.
I disagree. I use all three, and they're fine. I also use GoStock -- lots of good options there -- including Somo, and Labtech is a good source of stock lenses for their brand. I seldom use Nassau -- not so much because of the Essilor connection, but I just don't think the deals are as good.Originally Posted by Browman
Last edited by jefe; 12-13-2016 at 03:55 PM.
Nassau was the first place I tried to contact as I had seen them listed for block buying group. I am having a hard time even getting a price list from the rep though. He keeps pushing the credit application which we are not going to fill out without having a price list first.
I tried the website and it links to a sight for stock brokers.
Gostocklenses.com
It's through cherry optical. You need to talk to them for an account to order.
Do you get your contact lenses through block buying group?
To be honest I am not sure. I work strictly with the glasses.
Thanks!
I see...well check to see who you go through for your CL because a lot of CL distributors carry stock lenses now and you probably have an account with them so you would be able to see some sort of price list.
My favorite is the buying group that won't give my doc any pricing without SIGNING UP for their programs. Of what use is that? "Here: I have a box for you. The stuff inside is way cool, and you can see it once you pay me for it."
I guess I understand this policy, but it drives me up a wall. We recently purchased and reopened another optical, and our Doc has a credit freeze since due to the recent glut of stolen credit card numbers he experienced after the AOA data breach earlier this year. We've opened tons of accounts, have a four year old office with tons of gross, but I throw the doc's personal info in for humor's sake, and invariably get a call back on it. Every. Single. Time.
Most wholesalers will want to "qualify" your business prior to discussing prices. They want assurances that they are dealing with a "real" eye care business entity with a reasonable credit rating.
If you got the bones you will get an account. If not . . .
If not, you're boneless! Which is great for chicken, not so much for business. Haven't been a chicken nugget on an account yet, though.
Really, I get this when opening accounts for extending credit. It's the requiring credit for a price that aggravates me. If I have a tax ID and a verifiable business address and phone, and I have the phone number to an optical wholesaler I think that's enough to get at least a pricelist without having my credit pulled.
I get that. I confirmed our block number and I feel like that should be sufficient to get a price sheet. Also I have gotten prices from plenty of other vendors without a credit check and at this point I feel like it is par for the course.
Browman, I am interested in why you don't like Hoya, Seiko, and Vision-Ease. I realize that different businesses have different experiences. What factors drove your comment?
It sometimes took WEEKS to get jobs back from them, even simple stuff like a standard PAL in poly with no coating. When stuff did come in, it was off-tolerance or scratched out of the envelope, requiring us to send it back for work... and sometimes getting it back OT or scratched AGAIN... IIRC our record was four remakes on a single job before it was in any shape to dispense to the pt, and that was for a simple -3.00 safety in poly with standard AR and transitions. The lab kept deciding to neglect one aspect of the order (safety and trans but no AR; AR and trans but no safety stamp). Which also brings me to their tendency not to put Z87 stamps on lenses... Had to send back more than a few pairs that otherwise met tolerance and were in good shape but had no safety stamp.
What really burned us, though, more than the money and patients we lost due to busiens with Hoya, was how their up-and-ups acted when we decided to pull out. The reps were great but when it came to dealing with anyone above them, they were always ready to play the victim card or the bully card. It was always that Hoya is the "ally of the independent practice!" It was always "we care about you and your community and the people in it!" It was always "how can you NOT do business with us and support the people putting you out of business?" It was always "if you're not doing business with us, you're only hurting yourselves!" These were the same people who were NOWEHRE to be found when our reputation was on the line with our patients and community, but were all too quick to poke their heads out of holes, point fingers, and play the martyr when we let them know we were going back to "The evil e." (Speaking of which, we were treated 1000% better than our Essilor reps, and even when their product came back like crap, they were a lot quicker to get it fixed. The only thing Hoya had on them were the free vouchers they were happy to rain down on our office to try and keep us pleased). If Hoya were as concerned with quality control and account relationships as they were with tooting their own horns, maybe they'd be worth dealing with again.
I can forgive a lot of things form basically decent people, but I encountered too far of those in Hoya. My grandfather taught me that in business, character can be as valuable as profit. Hoya has no character.
ETA: As far as Seiko and VE, I had no issue with them before Hoya bought them out. Am waiting to hear about their quality dropping now.
We use mostly Somo lenses, acquired through ABB. I'm cutting my first personal pair as I type.
I'm Andrew Hamm and I approve this message.
We are an independent Company and we sell finished single vision and multifocals. Go to www.superoptical.com and you will see what we stock. Call me 800-543-7376 if you have any questions or want any samples.
Definitely agree with the issues with Hoya- and though I'm not excited about them buying Seiko and VE, they haven't necessarily 'taken' over either in any sense. They just want rights to the products and technology these companies have. As long as I keep the service from the little guys, I'm okay with Hoya's name being slapped on packing slips or whatever else they want to put it on.
Have I told you today how much I hate poly?
Thanks for the information Browman. We have no experience with Hoya. We have used Vision-Ease nearly exclusively since 2004, and have always been pleased with their product, pricing, and service. Hopefully, Hoya will not ruin an exceptional company.
The original post was about stock lenses (not lab work). I would still recommend Vision-Ease for stock lenses, conventional progressive blanks, etc. Their new lab is also good to go for freeform progressives and wrap-compensated single vision.
Somo are pretty good, but if you want truly high end AR Zeiss or Crizal...
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