26 May 2010

Buying glasses in China

Dear TCG

I heard it is much cheaper to buy glasses in China or Hong Kong, is this true and what is the quality. Im going to be visiting Hong Kong on the way to Beijing in a coupla months time and would like some advise.

Anon

Dear Anon (TCG just can't be arsed to think of a Witty retort to your anon email to me)

Anyway glasses in HK, are pretty good quality, over the border in SZ they are also fairly good quality. Something you should note though is their eye testing equipment is shit. The only store I can think of off the top o me head is Optical 88.

There is of course one catch a biggie too which I think applies to China too.

While at the opticians in the UK (I take other people as TCG can see fine) will perform a through check using a big arse piece of machinery to check your eyes with landscapes, letter charts and various different lenses and they will take their time in HK and China by extension they do not.

It is a hurried affair with a simple piece of machinery and they almost always get it wrong, my Cousin who regularly goes there tells me they always make them understrength by a small amount due to the poor testing technique. She's a doctor and probably knows more about it than me. So therefore the generally accepted advice is to get an eye test and a prescription back home be it UK/Europe/USA/Can or wherever than to go to HK and get an eye test there.

Though of course with purchase nearly everywhere eye tests are free.

But have you ever (I am uncertain of where you come from) taken a car to a free MOT test? They never pass....


Though I hear there is a free eye test clinic at Hong Kong University I have never been there before as said I don't need glasses, though my mates in HK often disagree from the choices of my dates sometimes.




No comments:

Post a Comment