Do I have to buy my glasses from the same place I get my eye exam?

No you don’t. Just ask for your prescription and take it anywhere you want.

No – you can ask for them to give you the prescription and then go elsewhere.

No. When you get your eyes examined, you get a prescription and you can take that prescription to any place that makes eyeglasses and/or contact lenses and have it filled. The Federal Trade Commission actually enforces what are known as The Contact Lense Rule and the Eyeglass Rule. According to the FTC, both rules require that eye care providers give their customers copies of their prescriptions. Contact lens prescriptions must be given to the customers once the lens fitting is complete; eyeglass prescriptions must be given to customers at the end of the eye exam.

Expect some heavy sales pressure. The markup on the eyeware is where many optometrists make their money. They count on the fact that most people will just buy where they get their prescription, without comparison shopping. I discovered huge price differences for the same glasses when I took my prescription elsewhere.

awesome, thanks everyone!

Nope, I never do. For my glasses and contacts, I take my prescription to Walmart.

No. They check your eyes and write you a prescription. You can take that prescription anywhere you like just like you can take docs prescription for meds to any pharmacy you like. In the UK they will only honour the prescription if it the exam was in the last two years (and I wouldn’t be surprised if other countries have similar limitaions) but other than you can shop around as much you like.

If you just need reading glasses, go to a Dollar Tree store.(U.S.) For a dollar a pair you can color coordinate your glasses with the clothes you wear. Of course, the cheap glasses don’t last as well (the frames tend to break) but Crazy Glue can take care of that.

Same in Australia. You can ask for your prescription and go anywhere. As @Lightlyseared said though, they don’t like to make up glasses for you if the prescription is not reasonably recent. The limit here is two years too but I think given that your specific vision could have changed and an eye test is about more than just how well you can see (also about eye health), they will probably ask you to have a test if your prescription isn’t fairly recent.

Same in the UK. There are online sites where you can get glasses made to your prescription.

No, they are just hoping you cash in on their convenience shopping. Sometimes they can be quite bold and prance you right over to their sales folks before you even realize they want to put the touch on you. One of the hardest balances I find is how to be assertive but nice in these potentially embarrasing, often awkward situations.

@smilingheart1 I would just say I was running late and would look for glasses later.

No…I always go to Costco for my glasses…The price is right there, and they have a decent selection of frames…