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Warranty coverage is an important consideration when contemplating the purchase of an expensive pair of glasses.

 

In a January 2012 article in Ophthalmology Times Arthur De Gennaro reports on an unusual practice where some retailers refuse to pass on the manufacturers one year warranty and instead force their customers to pay for a 15 month extended warranty when they could have had a twelve month one for free.

 

In the optical business, manufacturers extend product warranties to dispensers. The policy of nearly every ophthalmology dispensary I visit is to take the manufacturer's warranty and extend it to the patient at no charge. In the case of frames, the most common warranty is 1 year against defects

This policy of extending warranties is not true for many commercial chains, however. One case in point is a particular optical retailer (LensCrafters). When patients buy frames from this optical retailer, they receive a 90-day warranty against manufacturer's defects. Breakage that occurs beyond 90 days is not covered. Accidental breakage is not covered either.

The optical retailer sells an extended warranty, however. The for-sale warranty extends for 1 year beyond the initial 90-day period and includes accidental breakage as well. There is a fee for the warranty and a fee when the patient uses the warranty.

The interesting point here is that the optical retailer does not extend the manufacturer's warranty to the patient but chooses to sell warranty coverage, even though the manufacturer warrants the frame to the retailer for most of the 15-month period.

 

 

Read the whole article here.