C & E Buying Group Frequently Asked Questions

What’s this program all about?

This member benefit program will provide you, as a POA member, with:

substantial savings on the ophthalmic supplies you use in your office;
the opportunity to have your POA/AOA dues paid for you in direct proportion to the amount of your purchases through the buying group; and
acquisition of non-dues income for your state association to fund programs and minimize future dues increases.

Of course, how much you and POA benefit depends on your utilization of the C&E Vision buying group. As a member of the C&E Vision buying group, you will be able to continue to purchase from virtually all of the suppliers with which you presently do business. Ordering your supplies is no more complicated than your current practices. However, you reap the benefit of the increased purchasing power of the group and all those savings are given directly to you in reduced prices.

This program is a better investment than money in the bank! You’re already spending the money but you’ll pay less and still get credits as if you had invested those funds.

Where do I find all the details?

This Q&A sheet includes most of the information and the C&E Vision buying group Application and Membership Agreement includes the rest. A list of vendors and their discounts is available online at www.cevision.com (you must login as a member to view vendor discounts). If you have other questions or do not have access to the website, please contact the C&E New Accounts Representative at (800) 346-2626 extension 127.

How soon will I begin receiving the benefits of this program?

When you enroll in the C&E Vision buying group, you can take advantage of C&E Vision’s reduced pricing as soon as your application is processed, which is generally 7-10 days after being received.

Dues credits and non-dues income to the association begins to accrue in the first month that you begin to
make purchases through the buying group.

How do I actually receive the benefits?

The reduced prices of your supplies begin as soon as you begin billing through the C & E Vision buying group. Depending upon the vendor, your monthly statement may show your discounts for purchases or the amount billed may be shown net of the discount (i.e. discount applied to purchase price).

Both dues credits and non-dues income are earned monthly when payment in full of your monthly statement has been postmarked by the 15th of the month and received by C&E Vision by the 25th (i.e., payment in full of January 2007 statement has been postmarked by February 15, 2007 and received by C&E by February 25, 2007). Credits toward POA/AOA dues are paid directly to the POA by November of each year and are applied to the following year. Your initial POA dues bill each year will reflect any credits to which you are entitled for the purchases you have made through the C&E Vision buying group during the previous year. For example, credits earned from October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007, will be applied to 2008 dues. Likewise, credits earned from October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008, will be applied to 2009 dues. For added convenience, each monthly C&E statement will indicate how much credit has been earned toward next year’s dues as of the previous month’s payment.

Non-dues income to the association is calculated and paid directly to POA each quarter. A significant portion of the non-dues income which POA receives from the C&E Vision buying group is used to fund public information activities through the Vision Conservation Institute. Some of these monies are allocated to individual VCI areas for use in local area PR projects. The remaining portion of funds retained by POA support other programs and minimize the need for future dues increases.

How are credits calculated for POA/AOA dues and POA non-dues income?

Ophthalmic suppliers who participate in the C&E Vision buying group provide a discount to C&E Vision for administrative services in addition to the discount you receive. This discount does not in any way affect the reduced prices you pay for ophthalmic supplies.

In addition to paying less for your supplies, you will receive a dues credit of one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) of your net purchases of frames, laboratory services, contact lenses (.75% on net distribution purchases through ABB), cases and other items that are billed through the C&E Vision buying group. A number of POA members who are purchasing through C&E Vision suppliers are generating sufficient credit to have much or all of their POA/AOA dues paid.

Another smaller portion of the discount provided to C&E Vision by your purchases is returned to POA as non-dues income.

Does C&E support POA in any other way?

In addition to the dues and non-dues credits earned by members through their purchases, C&E Vision supports many other activities throughout the year including sponsorship of events at annual POA meetings, sponsorship of activities of the Pennsylvania Paraoptometric Association as well as activities of individual local societies. C&E was the sole sponsor of the OPAT Program at OptoEast 2002 and plans to continue as an OPAT sponsor in the future.

What does this do to my bill paying system for ophthalmic supplies?

Only one monthly check is required to pay for all supplies purchased through C&E Vision. C&E Vision recently re-designed its statement to provide your staff, in a clear and concise format, all of the information they will need to reconcile your statements with ease. The resulting time savings and staff satisfaction will be a major boost to your practice. Any credits due you are automatically deducted from the total purchases, not just from the vendor from which you received the credit. Your statement is available for online viewing on approximately the 6th of each month at www.cevision.com. Online payment is also available.

May I pay my monthly C&E Vision statement by credit card?

Yes, however, C&E Vision statements which are paid with a credit card are not eligible for these credits and are subject to the payment of a small credit card convenience fee.

What if I’m already in another buying group?

Those who are currently enrolled in another buying group will also want to join and use the C&E Vision buying group in order to receive the benefits which are available exclusively through the POA-sponsored buying group. This transition is easily made by completing the New Account Application and Member Agreement. No other buying group directly pays your dues for you and contributes on your behalf to the activities of your profession.

If you find it cumbersome to transfer your account, C&E Vision will gladly assist in switching your existing accounts to new ship-to numbers for hassle-free transition.

What’s the relationship between the C&E Vision buying group and ABB Optical?

ABB Optical recently acquired the C&E contact lens distribution business. If you make purchases from ABB Optical and have them billed through your C&E Vision account, you will receive the same dues credits (and the POA will receive the same non-dues credits) as for all other purchases made through C&E Vision that were previously available through C&E Vision Northeast. To learn more about ABB Optical, visit their website at www.abboptical.com.

The more everyone participates, the greater everyone’s benefit!