Buying Prescription Eyeglasses Online - Comments Page 2

I work in an Optometrist's office; I'm in Canada, but I don't think the American experience is that different from ours. There are some people very happy with their experience, and they are usually young people (so no bifocal), and they have simple prescriptions. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who isn't the "just put it on my face and go" kind of person.

When someone buys a frame from us, it comes with a two year warranty against defects, as do our lenses. Also, it's pretty easy to bring your glasses back to a local office.

Just a note: unless the U.S. is different, Optometrists write prescriptions as well as Ophthalmologists, and it's usually Opticians that you will deal with online.

Our family has been satisfied so far with our purchases of glasses from EyeBuyDirect.com. But "your mileage may vary". So, the Consumer Reports recommendation is a good alternative.

I've had excellent results with glasseshop.com. Look for online coupons and sign up for their mailing list if you want to be notified of sales. (No, I have no connection with them except as a happy customer.) I've paid in the neighborhood of $15-30, though sometimes you have to buy two to get the best price. Buying a spare at this price makes good sense anyway.

If you have any trouble getting the distance between your eyes' pupils, this link shows how to do it yourself. It's easy and even if you're a millimeter or two off, it probably will make no difference since there's a bit of leeway.

http://glassyeyes.blogspot.com/2007/09/illusive-pd-and-how-to-wrangle-yours.html

Been getting glasses from Zenni for years. I've never had any issues at all. I find I order spare sets and try different looks, but mostly stick with $12 aviator style glasses. Once I adjusted a measurement by 1mm to get a specific set of frames. One of their doctors contacted me to make sure everything was ok and then agreed the 1mm wasn't really going to make a difference. I generally order sets for everyone in the family at once to take advantage of the flat $5 shipping. They even have this thing where you upload a picture of yourself and put glasses on you to see how they look. Zenni has a better selection of glasses than Kaiser.

I've good success with Zenni for years. I'm really bad about losing or breaking even unbreakable glasses. I've had fewer problems with them than I have with buying in a local store (but to be fair, I've been buying in stores for 30 years vs 7 years at Zenni).

I am also skeptical about the research from the AOA mentioned above. If they said they stuck to ordering only from some of the bigger and reputable online providers, it would hold more weight. I.e., you could order 100 glasses from reputable providers, then 100 from scam artists. Surprise surprise, the results will look bad.

Nonetheless, I have seen message boards with complaints about Zenni and poor customer service. So, my experiences may not be the only consideration.

My wife has purchased several pairs of bifocal glasses from Zenni Optical, and all but one were correctly done the first time. The one "bad" pair were replaced at no charge. They're like any other good company; they're not perfect, but they do fix their (few) mistakes. And at the price, you can afford to buy three from Zenni and still save money compared to Lenscrafters or Pearl Vision.

I am a cheapo. I find a good frame at the flea market or garage sale.. usually for a $1 or 2 and my current frame cost $400 new! With gold and all, fits perfect and cost me $1 with case. For the lenses, I get them made locally and they usually cost about $30 for bifocals. So I spend $31 instead of $430!

I think Zenni Optical is FANTASTIC. I've ordered from them multiple pairs of glasses at 4 different times throughout the years.

Last time I made a mistake on a new RX and entered it in wrong. Received the glasses and I of course couldn't see out of them. Zenni gave me a one time credit (for my mistake) and I mailed them glasses back to them. I was able to re-order the correct glasses with the credit. I have nothing but praise for Zenni.

I've been buying from Zenni for several years and they are great! Because I have a very strong prescription, they questioned me the first time I ordered to make sure it was correct. I have nothing but praise for them.

Thank you for this article concerning online purchase of prescription glasses. It is a subject that has been on my mind because I have received proposals to make such a purchase. It is kind of you to offer this independent information.

I began ordering glasses on line in 2006 when I lost vision insurance. The coating wore off my progressives and my eye doctor wanted $600 to replace the 3 year old lenses. I've used Globaleyeglasses.com, Eye Buy Direct, and 39 Dollar Eyeglasses. It is a lot of work to check the measurements, upload photos, "try them on". I had one bad prescription out of maybe 10 pairs of glasses and that was the eye doctors fault. The company replaced them for free. I now pay about $160/ pair. To me it's worth the hassle to save $340.

I'm surprised at you writing about glasses. With so much going on in the software and computer markets are you running out of topics? This article is one of the few that has provided me no help. I don't look at you for advise on glasses or doctors visits. For the record I do buy my extra pair from Zenni for less than $10 and paid $500 for the same in the US. I have enough brains to realize that the $10 are cheap and only use to watch TV and if I run into a rake I will be wearing my $500 glasses. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW ANYONE WITH SINGLE VISION GLASSES WOULD KNOW THEIR PRESCRIPTION WAS FILLED INCORRECTLY UNLESS THEY ARE AN OPTICIAN AND HAVE THE PROPER TOOL.

Recently a TV station in Houston, KPRC Channel 2, did a consumer segment on ordering prescription eyeglasses and frames on line. They ordered from two popular companies. When they received the glasses they had them checked for accuracy by a local optician company. Every pair had the correct prescription, quality frame and an amazingly low price.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/cheap-online-eyeglasses-put-to-the-test/34855760

The only reason these online glass suppliers came about is that the local suppliers charge too much and upsell on things you don't really need. Same reason the discount providers came about.

Bob

Well I don't need glasses except for reading. I can buy cheap readers from Amazon ($10 for 3 pairs).

But I also have color vision issues (what is mistakenly called red/green colorblindness).

There is a new company out of Berkeley, Enchroma that makes color vision correcting glasses that work me. I had to get them online and they were expensive. But they work for me! Is it need seeing all the colors properly now.

They won't work for everyone that has a color vision issue.

I have used Zenni for several (7-8) years for progressive lense glasses, sunglasses and computer glasses. All have been fine. My eye doctor has checked them and seen no problems.
The 5 pairs I have bought from Zenni cost less than the last single pair I bought from our previous supplier.
My wife tried a pair and decided she wants to purchase where she can have someone adjust hers.
My son has had several pairs from Zenni and he was the reason I first tried them.

Wow Bob! I was just about to upload a photo and order some glasses from Zenni. Hmmmm....think I will wait now, get mine locally, and then maybe get a second pair there to try......

Thanks for the head's-up!! Great info....

I haven't ever tried online eyeglass purchasing, but I suspect it's like traditional retail...you have to look for the signs of a quality shop: longevity, customer reviews (remembering people are much more likely to post a review if their experience was bad), etc. Having poor vision with marked astigmatism, I need the super-thin (super expensive) lenses to avoid carrying 10 lbs around on my face. Frames are the smallest part of the cost; $20 - $30 vs. $300+ for the lenses. I would be willing to try one of the better-known online vendors if it meant some significant savings.

A lot of the "chain" optical shops hire minimally trained people, not licensed, trained opticians, so you're also at risk there for a bad fit. Their lenses are usually manufactured elsewhere in common correction levels, and they just pick out the closest prescription to what you have and pop them into the frame. That's why they can deliver in "1 hour."

As for knowing how you have a bad prescription:
1. You can tell, believe me. Once, the astigmatism correction was off on mine (optical shop @ Dr's office) and I got nauseous every time I turned my head. Another one, the lens was the correct Rx but I couldn't see...turned out the frames were designed so the lenses were too close to my eyes, compared to the standard testing distance.
2.The optometrist or ophthalmologist's office where you got your prescription will usually "read" the lenses for you for free. You can compare to your prescription.

I've had laser correction surgery on my eyes, therefore, I no longer need glasses for seeing. I only use over the counter reading glasses. But, when I was wearing glasses, I would go to my local optical shop.

I probably would not order prescription glasses online. There is too much that could go wrong.

I have been buying glasses online for years...very few problems. Besides, any mistakes were negligible considering that I was paying on average only 10 dollars per pair.
It helps to have balanced vision and only needing magnification lenses. And if I need to be concerned about impact resistance, I wear goggles or a face shield when doing yard work or similar activities.