Eyeglass marketing campaigns confuse consumer – the restrictions on bids must be clearly stated, says the consumer authority

Optician movements Selling eyeglasses at a campaign price for two, or even three for one glass price.

They also wanted a 64-year-old Helsinki resident Kirsi Toivanen.

He says he has been upset with his old glasses for years because buying new ones is so cumbersome.

After twisting the five eyeglasses in the Helsinki shopping center, he was on his bike, but still without glasses.

Toivanen It is heavily near -looking and uses dual power glasses.

« Without glasses, my eyesight is so bad that if I don't put glasses on the bedside table for the night, I can't find them in the morning, » Toivanen says.

The two glasses at the price of one were interested. « It would be nice to have one bolder and one safer poke. »

After twisting his eyeglasses, many things were confused.

At some store, he had immediately been told that the offer applies only to a certain price of a certain price, not those with a strength of -6.5.

Toiva was also amazed that even though the frames cost € 250 in one store and the other € 560, the final price of the glasses was about € 1,500 in both. « Is it that the frames discount is taken back in the price of the lenses, » he asks.

The prices mentioned are not related to the stores interviewed in this story.

Two Glasses at the price of one offer, among other things, the Finnish eye health market leader Eye Station: « Buy eyeglasses, you can get any other equivalent or cheaper branded sunglasses, glasses or contact lenses on the market. »

The offer does not involve any limitations or conditions for frames or lenses, says the commercial director of the eye station Pauliina Aalto.

The offer also does not involve a connection store.

« Sure, we offer another pair of eyeglass protection, a two-year repair and maintenance service, but it is the customer's choice, whether or not to take it, » Aalto says.

The eye station also provides ophthalmologist and optician services. However, according to Aalto, using them is not linked to the offer.

“Eyeglasses can be purchased either with a recipe for a doctor or an optician or by any other recipe,” Aalto says.

So why do you always seem to get the price of eyeglasses always as high, no matter how affordable the frames are?

Aalto does not comment on the claim, but states that there is a lot of variation in the price and quality of lenses and frames.

“We always strive to look for a look at the client to correct the lens. If the customer is in sixty, a multi -power lens is usually needed, which is basically more expensive than one -off. ”

Two However, the exception to the Eye Station offer is: so -called grooming lenses or smart glasses are not included in the offer.

Known for Facebook, Meta and Ray-Ban solar and eyeglass brands have been developed by smart glasses that can be combined with a smartphone and Meta view application. They include taking photos, shooting videos, listening to music, answering calls, sending messages, and sharing content as streaming on social media.

Therapeutic lenses refer to contact lenses or eyeglass lenses that, according to Aalto, can slow down the progression of myopia, while vision is still evolving. The customer base is mainly children and young people.

« A new study shows that the lenses work in the same way in both European and Asian populations, » Aalto says.

Britain Founded Specsavers says they are today the world's largest private optical industry group, known to just Choose two of its lives one.

“The now valid Select 2 Pay 1 campaign has no restrictions,” says Specsaves Country Manager Lotta Holmah.

He adds that Specsaves has many different campaigns over the year: « When we implement them, we always strive to follow Finnish consumer protection legislation and the guidelines of the consumer ombudsman. »

For example, select 3 Pay from 1 EUR 59, according to him, according to his own terms, which can be found on the campaign website.

According to Holmaheik, it is difficult to comment on the customer's experience in price variation in general. « Eyeglasses are unique products tailored to the customer, » he says.

Eyeglass Pricing is one of the duration of questions and complaints coming to the FCA, says the agency's leading expert Hertta Hartikainen.

The competition and the Consumer Agency, together with the optical industry guidethat was updated a couple of years ago.

It states that marketing must clearly state any restrictions on products or additional terms related to their purchase, such as the lens strengths or features or what brand frames apply to the offer.

Otherwise marketing is misleading consumers

There are also temporal restrictions on the duration of discount sales.

New eyeglass leasing contracts and connections to optician and ophthalmologists are enhanced by the complexity of the industry.

According to Hartikainen, vision research is the same as the marketing of eyeglasses: « If the study is linked to the fact that eyeglasses are purchased from a particular movement, it must be clearly stated. »