SUNY Instruments

[289573]

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Hey All,

I just got a letter from SUNY informing me about the necessary first year instruments which will cost $1103, with an additional $600 - 900 needed later. The letter states that most students order the equipment through school...is this true?

If we didn't order the equipment through school then we'd have to go to private vendors?

Can anyone give some advice as to how they purchased their instruments and how they've held up?

Thank you!

🙂

 

[destrin24]

It is true that most students, at least at SUNY, do buy through the school. As students, the companies usually offer repairs/replacements while we're still at school without incurring charges.

 

[achirum]

No questions asked, buy from school. You will not get better deals by contacting vendors. Actually, we were looking to purchase BIOs which were offered for say 1500 through the school, while at Vision Expo, the Heine booth was selling them for almost 3000.

You also can get any malfunctions easily taken care of no questions asked.

 

[hiisociety]

Most people don't realize is that lens manufacturers have student programs.

For example. Ocular Instruments offer their lenses are 20% off retail (student discount) and this applies when you're in your residency as well.

And they also offer a no holds bar guarantee. They will repair/replace your lenses no questions asked why you're in school. Even if its due to accident; ie dropping, running it over by a car, etc...

Do price comparison because my school store charged us more than what we could have gotten them by going direct. =(

 

[blysssful]

I agree that you definitely should buy equipment from the school... the discount is great, and I'm sure it's a headache to try to get all the right equipment if you're doing it independently.

As another note, be aware that the FIRST set of equipment from SUNY is ~$1000 (the letter you got now). The second set of equipment that you will order in the fall will be approximately $600-1000. The THIRD set of equipment (that you will order in June of your first year, BEFORE you get your second year loans) is approximately $2000-3000.

Just something to be aware of when trying to budget your money.

 

[edwardn]

I went directly to a manufacturer in my first year, called Ocular Instruments and they gave me a 20% discount which was nice.

You could also try http://www.ocularstore.com I don't know if that is the same company (I'm assuming it is not) but they have much better prices and I've started buying my lenses from there.

You could also try going directly to Volk but they have a lot of distributors so you could also go through them. Shop around 🙂