Yes, these will be daily all day wear. This is indeed relevant.
My main questions right now are:
Are the titanium frames worth the money? I don’t treat my glasses too roughly (and watch, now I’ll break them).
Should I bother with big chain places?
What is a good deal for glasses/frames?
I go to a big chain place (Visionworks) and have been happy with them. Sometimes they have specials going that result in prices lower than what they’d be with my insurance (it’s an either/or thing). I fell going up the stairs to our front door coming home from Black Friday sales and broke the last pair I bought, went to the store on the 26[sup]th[/sup] and the clerk (who turned out to be the manager) got me a new pair for the same price as last year. $550 or so for all the bells & whistles (progressive transition lenses, etc.) and the replacement frames. They’re plastic because something about my skin causes metal to deteriorate.
Should’ve paid $60 for the extended warranty last year, then the replacement wouldn’t have been so expensive. The manager waived the warranty this time so if the new pair gets broken within the year…
I would say that steel frames should serve you well if you aren’t rough on your frames. If money is a concern then go with them rather than titanium. Titanium is great if it’s within your budget and they will surely last a long time, but they aren’t essential.
Well, hell, I once got a decent and very serviceable set of lenses from Wal-Mart of all places - a big chain might work out well for you, it might not. You get a chain location with employees who give a damn it could be great. Get a stand-alone eye doc location with a fitter who doesn’t give a crap it can be terrible.
Buyer beware.
For a typical prescription (outside of a deep discount place like Zenni) somewhere between $150-300 for eyeglasses. Part of what you should get is someone who will take the time to give you a good fit, which includes adjusting the frames as needed. Part of what you’re paying for is that skill. Something you wear all day every day really needs to fit properly.
If, after that, your prescription seldom or never changes and you know what you like then ordering from some place on line might be an option for you.
Another Zenni customer here. Been buying mine there for about five years with no objections from my optometrist or ophthalmologist. Why not try a pair and if you have problems with them you’re only out about $20.
I just bought from For Eyes. My insurance covered part of the cost, so out of pocket I paid $300 for two pairs of glasses. One pair is bifocals with extra-thin lenses, and the other is a pair of sunglasses intended for driving, so it’s not bifocals and it’s the medium-grade lenses. The first set of frames was advertised at $220, but insurance covered all but $30, and For Eyes had its own deal where the second set of frames is free.
I don’t recall what I’m paying for my insurance, but obviously that figures into the overall cost as well.
Me too. I used to use Costco and avoid Luxottica at all costs - IMHO, they are the reason for high costs for eyeglasses.
I’m another cheapo when it comes to glasses. I won’t buy them online, but I will pay between $100-200 in-store.
My previous pair had a titanium, rimless, almost wire-like frame for $185 CDN all-in, high-index lenses included, with anti-scratch, UV, +1 other coating I can’t remember.
They look almost exactly like these: http://www.speckyfoureyes.com/rimless/1207-sfe-collection-rimless-glasses-rm6003.html
They weigh about 10g, and are durable as long as I don’t abuse them too much. That pair lasted ten years, even after I often fell asleep wearing them, partially sat on them, and accidentally drop-kicked them across the floor. In fact, they are still usable, although the bridge piece is now a bit loose. I only had to replace them because I had an updated prescription. I was so satisfied with them that I replaced them two years ago with an identical pair (this time for $130 all-in), which is my current one. The old pair I could still use as a backup in a pinch. Both were bought from Pacific Mall in Toronto, where there are no less than ten optical shops under the same roof competing for my business any time I go there.
My most expensive was a pair of Nauticas for ~$380 that broke in less than 2 years. Never again. Glasses for $600+? Not even if I were rich.
Another Zenni fan here. I couldn’t imagine paying $300-700 for a pair of glasses I could lose or break.
I used Zenni for years before I got married 6 years ago. My wife was very skeptical that they could be any good, but after she spent >$300 for her latest pair, I bought her a virtually matching pair from Zenni as a spare. Even with all the bells and whistles – progressives, scratch protection, auto darkening, etc. – the Zenni pair cost only about $70, and after using them for a while she decided she liked them better: they were a little lighter. So now the expensive ones are the spare.
As others have said, if you try Zenni and don’t like them for whatever reason, you’re only out a fraction of what you’d pay anywhere else. If you do like them, you’ve saved literally hundreds of dollars. You do the math.
Zenni Optical. My wife ordered them by the dozen, about $15 each, and thew away the ones she didn’t like. Every one was optically perfect but the frames are pretty variable.
It is a much better idea to get that written on your Rx. Ask ahead of time to make sure they will do that. If they won’t, go somewhere else.
As much as I’m tempted by Zenni, I’m also very skeptical for the reasons people have already expressed,
Last time I bought glasses my husband’s was included. Two pairs (regular and sunglasses) cost almost 1K because of his vision issues as well as the bells and whistles, I told him he’s going hang onto those frames for the rest of his life. Meanwhile my pair (plain bifocal) was only a couple hundred because I wear kids’ frames because of my face shape.
The P.D. is the responsibility of the optician, not the Dr. If your optician doesn’t measure it, go somewhere else.
I’m Zenni all the way! I’ve been buying my glasses from them for 3 years now. I wear progressive lenses and have never paid more than $60/pair. I get my prescription sunglasses through them also. I buy a couple pair of glasses and sunglasses every year. I get different styles and colors that I can switch out. I’ve never had an issue with any of them.
Eyemart Express is a chain (not online) that’s pretty reasonable too.
My whole family uses Zenni and we have never had a problem.
90% of what you are paying for frames anywhere else is for the designer’s name on the box.
Eye glasses and funerals are two of the biggest scams on the planet. They both try to baffle you with bullshit when you are vulnerable. They will nickle and dime you with all kinds of crazy “extras” if you let them. Get your script and take it home and shop online and pay about 10% of what you would pay in any store for an equal or better product.
Yeah, yeah, zenni-zenni-zenni…
Most of their frames are actually half frames, which I can’t use due to the weight/thickness of my required lenses. That vastly reduces my choices.
Their frames are fragile - they break too easily for my needs.
Also, after pricing out my Rx on them with frames that have any durability at all they’re coming to around $180-200. Not that much different from what I’m paying at bricks-and-mortar AND with the B&M I’m getting an actual fitting for maximum comfort.
Yes, I’m an outlier, but while Zenni is great for many it won’t work for all.
“Most” of their frames? :dubious: My prescription is -14.00 in my right and -12.75 in my left, so I’m extremely qualified to speak on the topic of Coke bottle glasses. Even with the highest index lenses, they’re still at least 1/4" thick on the sides. That limits my frame choices, but I still have plenty to choose from at Zenni. YMMV, but I’ve never broken a pair in the last 4 years I’ve been wearing them full-time. And if I ever did break them, I’d be much happier to break a $80-90 pair than a $700 pair.
As I have stated - I have broken 4-5 frames in my life. I don’t break the lenses, I break the frames. I can’t use rimless or half-rims because they won’t hold up for me. If YOU can manage it, fine, I can’t. Great optics are useless to me if they’re in crap frames that won’t hold up to my activity level.
And while I did, at one point, pay a grand for eyeglasses it was at a time when that wasn’t hard for me to afford. These last ten years I’ve been paying under$350, not $600 or $700 which is unnecessary.
Zenni is great for a lot of people. It’s not great for everyone.
It’s not the retail markup that makes prescription glasses prices criminal, it’s Luxottica’s profit margin.
LensCrafters is cheaper than the places associated with eye doctors.
I think of them as a mid priced option. Around $300.
I’ve used my local location for almost 20 years.
Just ordered new frames & lenses at Costco today. $220 before tax.
Duraflex 2506a titanium frame
Progressive bifocal,transition, antiglare, high density, scratch resistant.
GaryM