Also a customer. I’m extremely bad with glasses, I lose them, sit on them, drop them under my car - it’s the one item that I have a horrible record with and at $300/pr at most local shops it’s horrifying. I used to wear non prescription sunglasses just so I could get away with the $5/pr ones.
Since I found Zenni I always wear my prescription in both regular and sunglasses and there is usually a pair or two in the glove box in case I lose or dmg my current pair. I’ve had a quality issue with one pair where the plastic arm shattered around the screw but otherwise they’ve been great and I cry less. I still lose glasses (latest pair is hanging around in Vegas somewhere) but it hurts less and now I have a selection of fun frames.
I also buy from Zenni Optical and have for years. I love it. I can afford to have several different pairs at any time, and prescription sunglasses as well, without breaking the bank. It remembers your order, too, so you can easily re-order the same frames and lenses with a couple clicks if a pair breaks. You can’t beat the prices, either – LensCrafters quoted me over $400 with the cheapest possible frames in the store for my prescription (that’s with the vision coverage discount), but at Zenni I pay about $25.
Or your job could have an outrageously liberal vision plan, and stick them with the bill. Since my company was fronting the bill, I got some Ray-Ban sunglasses with feather-weight polarized prescription lenses. The clerk kept adding different add-ons to see what the insurance would cover (such as glare-free), and it kept accepting them. This was so unusual that the clerk even called over other clerks to take a look. So now I have a pair of sunglasses that are the equivalent of a Bentley with all the fixin’s.
So the most expensive pair of glasses I’ve ever bought are a pair of sunglasses. I’m stylin’. Go figure.
When I’ve had vision coverage and shopped for new frames, the optical shop will tell me, “Your insurance will cover any of the frames in this section.” This usually amounts to about a dozen or two of the crappiest, ugliest frames in the store. Meanwhile all of the other frames in the shop are available, at additional cost.
So many people were recommending Zenni, so I checked out their site, and the prices for standard glasses are amazing. But, as I mentioned, I have a VERY high prescription, and I couldn’t find information about high index lenses on the site. So I called, and they stagger the price based on how bad your eyes are-- it ranges between $30 and $80 per pair, on top of the initial frame cost.
Since I need the $80 lenses (with $30 frames) it works out to the same for me as Warby Parker. Personally I think the Warby Parker frames are more stylish (but I favor that geek chic look), and they also give a pair to charity, so I think it’s a better deal. But if I had a more normal prescription, I would definitely be buying some glittery cat eye frames for $30 from Zenni!
Anyway, to sum up, if you have very bad eyes, Zenni is a lot less cheap than you’d think while your browsing, but still a great deal compared to any brick and mortar store. I just thought this info might be useful to the other blind people on here.
How do you get the frames to fit, when you order online? I’ve thought about it before, but I have a relatively wide head, and lots of frames don’t fit well. Isn’t that an issue if you can’t try them on?
Also, when I’ve ordered glasses, the store has always marked where the center of my eyes are, in relation to the glass, I assume so the glass can be ground correctly. How does that work?
They have measurements so you know how large the frames are, and as I mentioned Warby Parker has free home try ons. There’s also returns, but that’s a hassle.
Its called your pupilary distance and you need to have it measured at your eye exam.
I asked at the ophthalmologist’s office and they were happy to tell me, perhaps because they don’t sell eyeglasses. For most people, the eye exam happens in the same shop that’s trying to sell them eyeglasses.
This exactly. I lied to the eyeglass store my doctor sent the prescription to and told them my insurance company needed the PD filled in on their form. After transferring me to 3 different people they finally gave me the info.
At any rate, the Walmart vision centers in my town will do it for free and it was no hassle at all. Well, a little hassle; I had to fill out a HIPPA thing so they could release the info to me. But it only took a minute and I had my info and was on my way. Try calling the Walmart in your area (assuming you have one) and see if they’ll do it. It seemed to be company policy, but I’m not sure.
If that doesn’t work, Warby Parker (I swear I don’t work for them you guys!) has a little program on their site that can do it, as long as you have a webcam. I do not have a webcam, so I didn’t use it, but I think it just gives you the info. In other words, you could use it even if you weren’t ordering from them.
eta: I went to the optometrist attached to Walmart, and she didn’t have the machine to do it. the vision center in Walmart had it, and they measured me for free. I highly recommend going to an optometrist like that (without an attached glasses store) because they don’t have an interest in keeping you buying from them. I was upfront with her about how I wanted to order online, and she was VERY helpful in getting me everything I needed to make it work.
It’s not. Under federal law, pupillary distance and other fitting measurements are part of the dispensing process, not part of the refractive testing process. The same is true in Canada, except in British Columbia. The regulations of your state may vary, but probably don’t.
I’m confused. Are you saying it’s not illegal for them not to tell you the pupillary distance? In other words, they can refuse to tell you this information and be in compliance with the law?
Don’t ever go back to that eye doctor. Perhaps call them and tell them why, too.
I’ve never had an eye doctor refuse to give me my PD. I’ve had one try to talk me out of buying my glasses online, but he gave a generally shitty eye exam, too. . . so fuck that guy.
I probably won’t go back. In addition to not giving me the PD, they also weren’t going to give me the prescription until I asked for it. They are also a bit more expensive than anyone else. The only reason I went was because a friend of mine works there.
Former optician with 15 years experience. The measurements for fitting prescription eyewear are the responsibility of the optician, not the prescriber. Even if someone came in with an Rx that had a P.D. written down, I still took my own measurement, because ultimately I was responsible if it wasn’t right. Also there’s more to fitting glasses than the P.D., and some of the necessary measurements can’t be done in the exam because they are specific to the combination of frame and wearer.
One of my favorite recurring conversations from those days: “No, you can’t just come in and order glasses for your wife/husband/child. I need to have him/her in front of me wearing the frame to get all the necessary measurements.”
Exactly. Should it be required? Maybe. It is in the UK. Under existing law, however, an optometrist is under no obligation to provide a pupillary distance, as Doug said.
