Should You Buy Prescription Eyeglasses Online? - Comments Page 2

I bought online for the first time two years ago. The glasses fit perfectly and the lens was correct. No issues at all. I would buy online again. Just a word of caution, measure your frames carefully. You have to provide a lot of details about them. I was ordering frames similar to what I had so I took my measurements from the old ones. The savings was worth it.

I tried on-line purchasing of single-vision reading glasses twice recently. I had to wait several weeks each time to discover that I could not wear what I received either time. Took my bifocal and single-vision prescriptions to Costco and was very pleased. All other purchases of glasses and contacts over the past 50 years have been through a local optometrist and without a single problem. After cataract surgery, my eye surgeon gave me a new prescription and mentioned that I should not use online retailers to fill it because they did not have the ability to properly measure the center of vision within the frame and adjust for my astigmatism -- which explains why the glasses I ordered online were so much worse than 99 cent store non-prescription readers.

One think to be aware of is that the major chains who provide eye-wear are almost all owned by only a few companies, who naturally can charge what they like.

Not long ago my wife bought glasses from a UK high street store (Specsavers) after their optometrist did the prescription. They were so wrong that for a time she thought she was losing her sight. Only a visit to another optometrist discovered the error in the first prescription. Moral - all types of opticians can make mistakes, so why not take the budget option?

I have only tried purchasing online glasses 1 time and it didn't go well. I used Goggles4U because my daughter used them and was really happy with what she got. The first pair we got back was a bad prescription and the frames were totally flimsy. I bought the most expensive frame they had.They were good to replace the glasses and try again. The 2nd pair, the prescription was also bad. I went back to my optometrist to have them verify the lenses were in fact what their prescription said it should be. Well -- they had given us the prescription from before cataracts! Their bad! We resent the right prescription and it was right this time. Was very happy with their customer support - they really worked with us and didn't charge us for our mistake but the frames are still VERY cheap. Maybe next time I'll try one of the other ones recommended here.

I've tried several of the online vendors, and have been happy with all. For progressive lenses, the savings is HUGE. The last pair of glasses I bought IRL cost me $600 (AFTER insurance!). My first on-line pair, with upgraded lenses and polarization and all the bells and whistles ended up being about $250. I screwed up entering a prescription the first time I ever ordered, and the called me on the phone to question it. Great customer service. I do have an odd prescription, and others have emailed me to confirm what I have entered. So they're not just banging them out, but have humans double-checking things.