Online Optician Mark Bowden Responds to Allegations of High Street Opticians Profiteering

Online optician Mark Bowden B.Sc.(HONS) M.B.C.O.O from www.spex4less.com who also operates two high street optical practices in the Bolton area defends the Profession (with reference to the Daily Mail article on page 29, 13th Jan - Daily mirror page 27 13th Jan).

(PRWEB) January 15, 2005 -- 1,000% profit on the supply of prescription glasses (Daily Mail) is a completely false allegation.

Claiming that high street opticians are rip offs" (Daily Mirror) is ludicrous.

Mark Bowden who has followed in both his fathers and grand fathers footsteps as an optician and runs two highly successful opticians in Bolton Lancashire, providing a personal quality service to its patients for many years.

High street practice overheads include fully qualified Ophthalmic Optician, Dispensing Optician and ancillary staff all with many years of professional training and experience behind them. Along with expensive optical equipment and one to one time spent with a patient the average cost of an eye examination simply doesnt cover the outlay, in-fact many local opticians who provide a personal service struggle to make ends meet.

Mark Bowden realizes that many of the public want to buy their prescription spectacles online, without the full practice service. Consequently he set up the web site www.spex4less.com, the fist of its kind as it is run by a fully qualified ophthalmic optician, where people can buy professionally glazed spectacles complete from just 20 pounds.

Because companies such spex4less.com can provide prescription glasses over the internet at these prices does not mean the high street opticians are rip offs" (Daily Mail) they are simply selling their glasses at a higher price to cover the expensive equipment professional service that you receive when you visit the opticians.

In time as the internet grows and more people turn to it for their prescription glasses the cost of glasses in the high street will reduce to be able to compete with internet prices and the cost of an eye examination will increase to cover the costs of fully qualified staff and professional equipment.

Being able to buy cheap glasses online is only possible if you have an optician to first examine your eyes. Unfortunately, due to the internet companies online at the moment many opticians will simply not survive this transitional period. To call them rip offs and profiteers is simply not fair.

M Bowden

B.Sc. (HONS) M.B.C.O.O

###