What's perplexing you today?

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

...All of which is to say, good opticians certainly do the things you list above. But good opticians may be rarer than you think.

Originally Posted by squirell nutkin

Spexx, the party's over. I wonder why photographers didn't do the same thing that doctors did a long time ago: create a guild that prevented others from practicing without a special license.....

Unfortunately, only 22 (I think) states are licensed, which is why I live in PA (non-licensed) and work in NJ (licensed).

Originally Posted by Pie

Hey, I pay an optometrist $60 every year to give me a full eye exam. I get pics of my retinas and everything, since I'm typeIID and work with <Dr.>frikin' lazers</Evil> every day.

It's good that you get examined every year, that's the standard of care for diabetics (you should probably see an MD, though). But "eye doctors" don't know much about glasses. They know about eyes.

Originally Posted by Pie

I refuse to pay a kajillion dollars to some frame manufacturer when I know it should cost $19.95.

Should? What's should? You're not going to get a high quality, stylish, current (not discontinued which means unlikely to be replaceable if broken), frame fitted well by a good Optician for $19.95.

Originally Posted by Pie

And I work with precision optics for a living -- we don't pay hundreds of dollars for the stuff we use, and it's a lot more high-tech than my specs.

A replacement headlight for a 2008 Buick Lucerne is $142.00 on line. That's not high tech, either. Or installed.

Originally Posted by Pie

I know my prescription, my IPD, all the various lengths associated with my last specs, and verify that info with my optometrist.

As I said, you're young enough that it probably is not critical, but when you need multifocals, you may feel differently. There are something like 170 different progressive addition lens models, and plenty of lined bifocal types. Additionally, just because the sizes and lengths of your last glasses suited you doesn't mean that your new ones will. You were wearing an 18 bridge? Is that a saddle, keyhole, modified saddle, fixed, adjustable, or unifit bridge? How will the difference effect how the glasses fit you? An Optician would should better know.