Some of You Offer Cash Pay Customers Discounts … Some Don’t … Some Only If/When Asked

Question: Do you offer discounts for cash payment of frame, lens or contact lens purchases?

Yes: 46%

• 20% in optical. No discount on exams or contacts. — Nicole Leonard, Custom Eye Care, San Antonio, TX
• We tell them at the time that the appointment is made and again at check in. — Stephanie Crowley, Sie Eyecare, Charlotte, NC
• Verbally discuss the information with the client. The greater the total purchase the more flexibility for discount. — Leisa Lauer, Westcliff Optometry, Newport Beach, FL
• I don’t for contact lenses because the margin is a bit slimmer, but I do on glasses. We present it as a “at time of service” savings. — Amber Fritsch, OD, Precision Eye Care, Mt. Juliet, TN
• During the frame and lens discussion the optician mentions the discount. — Caitlin Bruno, Binyon Vision Center, Bellingham, WA
• Our opticians have the freedom to offer an incentive (discount) for a patient to make a cash purchase. — Barbara Bloom, OD, Weber Vision Care, Harrisburg, PA
• We give a cash pay discount if they have another vision insurance that we do not take and also on a second complete pair of glasses. — Caitlin Wicka, San Juan Eye Center, Montrose, CO
• Tell them up front about our discounts for cash payments, buying two or more pairs, and sending someone to us for an eye exam and purchasing frame and lenses. — BJ Chambers, Carrera Optical, McQueeney, TX
• We put everything in packages to ensure we are giving all patients the same basic makeup of their lenses and the same quality, regardless of their coverage. Being a part of Vision Source, we have access to special discounts and proprietary lenses that help us keep our prices really competitive. Our “Cash Pay” packages are roughly 30% off our retail costs and that tends to be the sweet spot in terms of pricing for our patient base. This is only for glasses, however. We don’t have special pricing for our contact lenses for those without insurance, unless you consider the rebates. — Tiffany Firer, Lifetime Eyecare, Jenison, MI
• 20 to 30% depending on a couple of factors, but it’s on a case-by-case basis. — Josh Bladh, Dr Bladh OD, Diamond Bar, CA
• We don’t offer discounts for contact lens purchases because we all know there is no profit margin on contact lenses. For a cash pay frame and lens purchase, we usually give 20%. It is not brought up until the end when we are quoting the patient’s purchase unless the patient brings it up before. We just let them know it is a courtesy discount since they are not using insurance. — Ann-Marie Weaver, Optimal Eye Care, Lewis Center, OH
• If they ask I will offer otherwise I do not. — Gayle Bergthold, Bee Cave Vision Center, Bee Cave, TX
• We offer 20% off frame and lenses to all private pay patients, we take this calculation into account when we set up our pricing structure. This way the patients feel like they are getting a little help on the price. — Mark Perry, Vision Health Institute, Orlando, FL
• We have a lot of cash pay patients. We offer lens packages all bulked together to make sure that the patients are getting what’s necessary and needed for their prescription instead of having to pick and choose options because of price. — Heather Harrington, Elevated Eyecare, Denver, CO
• We don’t take many insurances so our prices aren’t marked up to discount. We do run some incentives for new clients and long-time clients from time to time. — Travis LeFevre, Krystal Vision, Logan, UT
• We will give a 20% frame discount or package deals to contact lens patients. — Colleen Galanti, Pascarella Eye Care & Contact Lenses, Newtown, PA
• We offer 20% discounts on services and eyeglasses only (contact lenses are already discounted and many have large rebates). — Pam Peters, Midwest Eye, Downers Grove, IL
• We will verbally announce it when selecting frames/lenses. — Amina Ebrahim, OD, D Vision Eyecare, Allen, TX
• Only if asked. — Dave Schultz, OD, Urban Optics, San Luis Obispo, CA
• 20% cash pay in the optical and an extra 10% off eyewear if they also get a year supply of contact lenses with us. — Adam Ramsey, OD, Socialite Vision, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
• Membership pricing. — Vittorio Mena, OD, Optical Academy, Little Ferry, NJ
• We inform them that we offer a 20% discount off the frame and have lens packages that would fit their needs. — Deanna Phillips, Clemmons Family Eye Care, Clemmons, NC
• If the patient is friendly, I’ll usually give them 30% off total balance. — Jade Kowalick, Ryczek Eye, St Petersburg , FL
• We promote it at the beginning of each encounter, after we uncover if they are using managed care or not. This then leads to the incentive we offer for multiple pairs. — Chris Dudley, Lake Eye/Precision Optical, Wildwood, FL
• It is usually a special that is going on. — Tammy Warmouth, Main Optical, Luzerne, PA
• We have a number of offers for our cash patients, and we let them know of them as they start their selections. Also, we compare to see if any of our offers works better for the patient than insurance. Patients appreciate that. — Pablo E. Mercado, Optima Eyecare, Alpharetta, GA
• Just tell them! — Susie Phillips, Dr. Brendon Johnson, O.D., Pekin, IL
• We only communicate it if the patient asks, and for glasses only, not contact lenses. Usually anywhere from 10 to 20%. — Larah Alami, OD, Hudson River Eye Care, Tarrytown and White Plains, NY
• We offer a prompt pay discount of X% if you pay in full now. — Dave Goodrich, Goodrich Optical, Holt, MI
• Only as a special. — Tammy Warmouth, Main Optical, Luzerne, PA
• 5%. We have a sign right at checkout. I also communicate this to the patient at the time of the sale. — Jennifer Leuzzi, Mill Creek Optical, Dansville, NY
• Our in house pricing is explained by our staff and a pamphlet provided for easy follow up for any questions. — William Chancellor, Eye Can See Eyewear, Hampton, GA
• Explained as an in house discount. — Sonja Franklin, OD, Modern Eyes, Austin, TX

No: 54%

• We have been offering a discount off frames because we were closed for COVID-19 and have a lot of inventory. I feel it’s best to just mark it down and move it out instead of trying to exchange it later with sales reps that had a difficult year too. Better to just cut our losses and make some money, rather than no money. — Julie Uram, Optical Oasis, Jupiter, FL
• We don’t take insurance so our prices are set to move. — Frances Ann Layton, Eye Associates of South Georgia, Valdosta, GA
• We declare everything. There’s no point to a cash discount. — Richard Frankel, OD, Atlantic Cape Eyecare, Wildwood, NJ
• We offer enough other discounts. Any extra money we make on cash sales helps to make up for what we lose on our credit card merchant fees. — Jen Heller, Pend Oreille Vision Care, Sandpoint, ID
• Have never seen a need. — Jenna Gilbertson, McCulley Optix Gallery, Fargo, ND
• While I love cash and it does come in on occasion. Most of my business is credit card payments. — Kevin Count, Prentice Lab, Glenview, IL
• We only take one insurance plan, so most of our patients are cash pay and we offer them great packages. — Star Taylor, Richens Eye Center, St. George, UT
• We give discounts but only if patients ask and then just 10%. — Judith Whitelaw, Dr. Gregory Char, OD, Orange, OR
• Our answer is really yes we have package pricing that we offer for private pay purchases but patients can use a credit card, check, or cash and still get the package price. — Zachary Dirks, OD, St. Peter and Belle Plaine Eyecare Centers, Saint Peter, MN
• I don’t believe it is fair to others. — Martha Davenport, Safe Vision, Wheatfield, IN
• Cash, check, credit cards and debit cards all the same. Care Credit is a little on the pricey side so it’s not encouraged. — Texas Smith, OD, Dr. Texas L. Smith and Associates, Citrus Heights, CA
• We work hard to create a branding strategy that differentiates us from cheap chains and mass retailers. Discounting waters down the perceived value of the products and services you have to offer, and forces you into the space wherein you compete with free eye exams and $39 complete pairs of glasses. That’s not who we are or what we do. Our sales conversations are not centered around price, but quality and expertise. We want to maintain the “get what you pay for” brand perception. — Rebecca Furuta, Avenue Vision, Golden, CO