I need a new pair of glasses, but I keep on not finding the time to go to an optician and have a pair made. But I’ve become increasingly aware that a lot of people are buying glasses online.
So where do my fellow Dopers go to buy eyeglasses online, and how happy have they been with the results?
Zenni Optical and Goggles4U and Optical4Less. Have never been let down.
Zenni Optical.
Zenni takes a million years to ship because it comes from China. Now, don’t get me wrong, they are cheap and I dig that-- I’ve certainly ordered from them a few times. That said, I’ve now moved on to a better site: EyeBuyDirect. I find their site easier to navigate and I really do get the items twice as fast as I did with Zenni.
Plus, EyeBuy always has tons and tons of coupons (hop on RetailMeNot.com, type in EyeBuyDirect and you’ll see all the options). I just got two pairs, shipped, for $18 the other week using a 30% off coupon.
Eyebuy also has a referral program, so if you get friends and family to buy from them, you get $5 toward your next pair. So, ya know, if anybody wants a 15% off code, feel free to PM me :p;). Though really, you can probably get a better coupon on RetailMeNot.
Eyeglasses and shoes are two things I cannot *imagine *buying without trying on first–I have to go through scores of both of those to find ones that don’t hurt.
What I do is measure my current glasses that I love and work from there. It’s easy to take that starting point and find something that is the same exact shape, size, and style. Without doing that, though, I definitely couldn’t buy online.
Then there’s the “looking like a dork” factor. I’m not that ironic…
I get regular eye exams but buy cheap glasses from a local source–they take about 3 days. Still, I’m glad the internet sources are out there!
I’ve bought several pairs from Zenni and been very happy with them, but thanks Diosa for mentioning EyeBuyDirect! They have some really nice frames there that I couldn’t find on Zenni!
I highly recommend Warby Parker. You can try on the glasses for free.
Not only that, but they need to be fit to you individually after they’re finished. Also there are measurements that are necessary for making the lenses that require the optician to be nose to nose with the patient wearing the frame. It is impossible to make glasses properly by mail order.
shrug I get my pupillary distance from my eye doctor, then order online. Now, I will readily admit that my prescription is a light one, but I think for folks like me, online is a fabulous option. I used to rage volcano every time I’d have to spend $50 on an eye exam, then another $400 on glasses in store (no insurance). Online has far more options for far lower prices-- definitely the best option for someone with a light prescription like me.
Agree. They’re also very reasonably priced.
Any suggestions for non-prescription reading glasses? Or how to write myself a prescription for a pair or reading glasses.
I always end up liking frames for prescription glasses but then I need an expensive prescription to use them. I just want to read in style and on the cheap.
Can’t you buy non-prescription reading glasses in a drugstore? They’re sold in some states.
As for Zenni, I ordered from them a couple of weeks ago, and the glasses are on the way. They have a fairly large selection but I wasn’t totally satisfied with it. And as others said, get the pupillary distance from the ophthalmologist. You may also need the temple length and lens width. If you have existing glasses that fit, you can get these number from them.
Yeah, not sure how my mail order glasses could fit any better than they do. My glasses are made properly and are made quite well. My wife has ordered six pair from zeni with not a single fit or size problem.
$200 eyeglasses and paying to have them fitted “properly” is the biggest scam in retail.
Like what measurements? What does the optometrist do that justifies paying 20 times as much for frames as an online source?
I got 4 pairs of glasses a month or two back from Zenni, for less than $100 shipped, and they arrived in a matter of days. I’ve never gotten a single pair of glasses for that cheap from an optometrist, even with insurance.
I ordered from Zenni for the first time a few months ago and I am completely thrilled with them. I had no issues adjusting the nose pads for a proper fit. I bought 3 pair for less than $60 and that included shipping.
Not the optometrist, the person who is qualified to fit eyeglasses is an optician. There’s too much involved in fitting eyeglasses to put in a short post, but here’s a link to a PDF of a text for people starting in the field:
Introduction to Ophthalmic Optics
You don’t need to read the whole thing, just look at chapter 9, which starts on page 67 of the PDF.
Regarding cost, online companies typically sell discontinued frames or low quality no-name frames. It’s been about 7 years since I was an optician, but at the time I left the average wholesale cost of middle of the road frames was over $100. That’s just the frames. The markup on eyeglasses is nowhere near what people seem to think it is. Usually retail is 2-3 times wholesale for low end frames and about 1 1/2 times for high end frames – fairly close to what the markup on consumer electronics was when I worked for JCPenney in college. Markup on lenses is higher, but that’s because there’s more labor involved.
I buy new eyeglasses about every 2 years, and I don’t scrimp because I know why they cost what they do and what I’d end up with if I spent less. And you know what? They cost me about $0.90 a day. I spend more than that on Mountain Dew.
Well, I’m honestly curious what trouble you think I might have with the frames I got online. My newest pair is comfortable on the eyes, durable, and fits well. To me, no-name brand is a plus, discontinued is a plus - “designer” brand frames strike me as a total waste of money. 90 cents a day is great - 9 cents a day is much better.
I also wonder if any issues encountered couldn’t be solved by visiting an optician with the frames I purchased on the cheap.