Independent Optical shops

[sher70]

Are there any Optical shops without a doctor that have an agreement with local optometrists for referrals? If so, what is your agreement with them? Do you offer anything for these referrals? Any info would be helpful. Thanks

[optical24/7]

There are virtually no OD’s that refer glasses Rxs out. For independent OD’s the majority of their income usually come from eyewear sales.

If you want referrals you’ll want to seek out OMD’s that don’t have an optical. (Rare nowadays). Hopefully they already know you or have heard about you (in a good way).

I’ve ran multiple OMD’s dispensaries. The absolute best was a high traffic location (walk by) with a big ‘ol window to display frames and such. Almost half of sales came from walk-ins. Location can (and probably will) make or break an independent optical. These locations don’t come cheap. The location I just described ran us close to 10k per month…A lot of money, but it more than paid for itself with those walk-ins. ( 1.5M sales.) And that was done without accepting eyeglass insurance.

[Excel-Lentes]

OD’s don’t refer unless they don’t take a particular insurance for eyewear. I believe the only thing you can offer them legally in return for the referral is to treat their patient well. There seems to be public health centers popping up with eyecare services minus glasses. That could be a source for referrals.

[KrystleClear]

I think your best bet for operating without an in house doctor would be a location with lots of foot traffic, like a busy shopping center. Most doctors have their own opticals and want to keep that $ in house. It's doable to not have a doctor on staff but you need to fill a niche or get lots of walkins.