Don’t Make Your Eye Doctor Rich

Posted by M.S. on May 4, 2009

Did you know that one of the largest profit centers of an eye doctor’s business is the sales of glasses and contact?   In this day of reduced insurance company reimbursements, eye doctors are looking for profits wherever they can– and selling new glasses and contacts is a cash cow!

Several years ago I had the good fortune to run into a man that had worked as an optometrist at the large ophthalmology practice where I had my vision tested each year. He told me that the lab that fabricated the glasses ordered through this fancy eye doctor’s office was the exact same lab that made glasses for the vision centers at Wal-Mart!

Before this conversation, I had always pictured a minimum wage Wal-Mart employee  sitting in a back room, piecing together the item most important to my eyesight– my glasses.  I thought I would be compromising my precious vision if I ordered glasses from a place like that– just so I could save money!  Not So!

Now that I know my glasses are being made in the same way at the same place as the the fancy eye doctors office orders–I only get my glasses from Wal-Mart.  The last time I ordered a new pair of glasses, they were 40% less than what the fancy office had quoted me for the identical product! Wow! I also order my brand name contact lenses from Wal-Mart for the same reason!

It is the law that you are entitled to your vision prescriptions, so you can take it anywhere you want to have it filled.  Get your eyes tested by the ophthalmologist at the doctor’s office, then order the glasses elsewhere.   The lovely people at the vision center will even adjust them if they ever become loose!

Invest the money you save, so YOU get richer–NOT your eye doctor!