Clear choices.(readers rate eyeglass chains)(Buyers Guide)(Cover Story)(Industry Overview)

Eyeglasses are part medical device and part fashion statement, a marriage that has always made them a tough buy. Today, you have more choices than ever, and they can cost you.

There are tens of thousands of different frames and probably as many places to shop: private medical offices, small optical boutiques, optical chains like LensCrafters and Pearle Vision, and the optical departments of warehouse clubs, department stores, and mass merchandisers. There are also enough options in lens types, materials, and coatings to make you bleary-eyed.

To help focus your decision, we surveyed 64,000 CONSUMER REPORTS readers last year who had bought glasses during the previous two years. We asked them about eye exams, frames, lenses, service, and any problems with their new glasses. The Ratings on page 15 are based on their responses.

Readers awarded eyeglass vendors high marks overall. Three out of four said they were completely or very satisfied with their experience. Even more praised the quality of lenses and frames, the care taken to fit them, and the skill and courtesy of those involved.

Our survey respondents were less enthusiastic when we asked about price. Fewer than half overall said they felt completely or very satisfied with the cost of their new spectacles.

Nowadays, it's more than the markup--about two and one-half times the wholesale cost for both lenses and frames--that's turning this purchase into an investment. It's the designer names and the optional extras that vendors are touting and people are buying. The information here will help you decide what to opt for and how to save money. You'll learn why some frames cost far more than others (opposite page); the merits of various lenses (page 12), whether scratch-resistant coatings work (page 13), and what to expect in a good eye exam (page 13).

Our report also looks at quality and service, those vendor virtues that can draw cost-conscious consumers away from bargain basements to more-expensive stores. Indeed, small shops and the private offices of ophthalmologists and optometrists, which readers said had outstanding quality and service, were rated higher overall than big chain stores-even though readers tended to pay slightly less at chains: Readers paid a median of $204 per pair of glasses at small shops and $197 per pair at doctors' offices, as against $180 per pair at the large chains.