Buying eyeglasses on-line?

[Pat Barry]

This week end I lost my bifocals in the woods while hunting for small logs to use on a project. They could be in anyone of 4 different places and I spent a couple hours searching for them in vain. My bride reminded me that she gave me a device to hang them from around my neck of course so I would not lose them. Now its back to Pearle vision. So, does anyone here have any experience buying prescription glasses thru the internet? If so, what web sites do you have experience with? Did you buy bifocals or just single prescription? How was the quality and turn around time for what you purchased?

[glenn bradley]

Quick and cheap is one thing. Who's going to measure the height of your pupil in relation to the Rx so that the lenses can be ground appropriately? I can guarantee both your eyes are not the same height. Or maybe I'm just jealous because my eyes are 5mm different :D.

[Wade Lippman]

I have, but only in existing frames. You put a dot over the pupil. I don't know how prpfessional that is, but it seems to work.

I just bought a pair at Walmart for $80 because I needed to take advantage of my health insurace benefit.

[Pat Barry]

I understand that the optometrist has to provide you with the prescription info. I just don't know what that all entails. Not sure it covers what Glenn was describing. I will go to Pearle tomorrow to get my prescription. I suppose I will order glasses too but I am interested in trying the on-line site to get a back-up pair for day to day use away from the ones I wear to work

[David Weaver]

Wife got glasses from zenni a couple of years ago. When they came, she said they had glass too far out to the ends, and if you can figure out what that means, you're ahead of me.

She just didn't like the idea of wearing $20 glasses, but I think they were fine. Hit or miss if they're OK for you, but if you have some questions about it, you can take your prescription information and fill out a form and get some ugly spare glasses for about $15 and see how well they work.

[Phil Thien]

Glasses I'm wearing are from Zenni. I'm thrilled with them. Don't let the naysayers scare you away.

[Jamie Buxton]

Glasses I'm wearing are from Zenni. I'm thrilled with them. Don't let the naysayers scare you away.

Are they bifocals? I can see how single-correction lenses could work over the web, but I can't see how bifocals would work over the web.

[Jerome Stanek]

I get my prescription and check out several places for prices.

[Jim Matthews]

I have some experience with this, having ordered from the UK when I was between vision plans.

The lenses were fine, the frames disintegrated in a matter of months, but I'm clumsy.
I suggest buying two pair of glasses at a time, using the same frame on both.

That way, if one is lost or damaged - you have a backup.

If the frames are built to withstand the rigors of mishandling by children,
they'll last multiple iterations of your prescription.

While the same makers offer frames online as in your optical dispensary
it's something that you must get right, for proper fit.

A perfect lens in a frame that won't keep things in place is an expensive boondoggle.

For those lucky enough only to need "readers", I think the Clic design is clever
and easy to use. They have a magnetic catch in front that's unobtrusive.

http://www.clicmagneticglasses.com/?gclid=CLf74rH3u7oCFUGd4AodJRUA1w

[Pat Barry]

Thanks everyone. I think what I am going to do is to get my prescription info from Pearle and then order a pair (funny why its called a pair of eyeglasses) on-line. I was looking at the Zenni site yesterday because it was one of the first I came across. They sell bifocals also so I will probably order a pair of those and see what happens. In the mean time I will just live with the drugstore cheaters even though they are giving me a headache due to my astigmatism.

[Jim Rimmer]

http://www.clicmagneticglasses.com/?gclid=CLf74rH3u7oCFUGd4AodJRUA1w[/URL]

I don't know why but those glasses remind me of the one's Steve Martin invented in the movie "The Jerk". His had a little foot that came out and went down to the nose to keep them form slipping down. Not similar but it reminded me of that. :D

[John Sanford]

Wife got glasses from zenni a couple of years ago. When they came, she said they had glass too far out to the ends, and if you can figure out what that means, you're ahead of me. It means that the focal point of the lenses were in the wrong place, likely to the outside of where she looks. This could be either because the frame width was too wide overall, the nose bridge was too wide, or the lenses were ground incorrectly for her eyes. Imagine if you took your glasses, cut them in half at the bridge, and then inserted an 1/8" or 1/4" spacer between the two pieces before putting them back together. They would now be "too far out to the ends...."


She just didn't like the idea of wearing $20 glasses, but I think they were fine. yeah, but you weren't the one wearing them. There are three things we wear that one should never, ever surrender to someone else's judgement on how they feel. Glasses, underwear, and shoes.

[Kevin Bourque]

I've been buying my glasses online from 39dollarglasses.com for a long time. Never had a single problem with them. I always wait for their 50% off sales.

[David Weaver]

It means that the focal point of the lenses were in the wrong place, likely to the outside of where she looks. This could be either because the frame width was too wide overall, the nose bridge was too wide, or the lenses were ground incorrectly for her eyes. Imagine if you took your glasses, cut them in half at the bridge, and then inserted an 1/8" or 1/4" spacer between the two pieces before putting them back together. They would now be "too far out to the ends...."

yeah, but you weren't the one wearing them. There are three things we wear that one should never, ever surrender to someone else's judgement on how they feel. Glasses, underwear, and shoes.

That wasn't the issue. What she said was that they were fine, because she got to specify where the focal point was. It was fine. She thought the overall glass was too wide, in that she would see lens all of the way out of the corner of her eyes on both sides and she didn't want glass to be there. Not that the focal point was out of place, that was fine when she was looking straight ahead. Other than that, they were fine. I make the comment about not being able to tolerate having cheap stuff because it sort of runs in the family, brand loyalty and the belief that things like buying glasses at a brick and mortar store is more acceptable than ordering them online because it's the sign of having a cheap streak and that someone might find out.

She did go to brick and mortar and get glasses after that and wasn't really any more satisfied with them than the zenni optical glasses (actually a little less so, but for other reasons), but the fact that she spent 8 times as much made her feel like she had to live with them and get used to them. And she went back to contact lenses shortly after that.

There are a lot of people in this country who won't get $20 glasses simply because they feel like in the end, they don't want glasses that are $20 because they are entitled to have something that costs more. My wife can be thrifty about some things (we don't have to have a big house or the newest everything), but some other things there is no compromise on (food, glasses, stuff for the kids).

[Bill Cunningham]

|I got mine at Costco.. They have a optomitrist on hand and he does the prescription (it only took two trys and three weeks waiting for him to get it right.) They screwed up the coating on one lens, so they replaced them (they seemed fine to me I couldn't see the coating flaw) They let me keep the flawed coated lenses so I just bought another pair of frames for them and use them as a spare pair. The coating is supposed to prevent scratches, but I've alread had these back to get replaced because of scratches and their in need of this again (2 years guarantee).. Would I buy glasses from Costco again? Not likely. I only need them for reading and computer work the over the counter 1.5 readers always worked fine, and were more scratch resistant

[Justin Ludwig]

I paid $7 for my 2nd pair of glasses from Zenni. My 1st pair was from my optometrist and they were $100 (at his cost - a family friend). Only my left eye has an astigmatism. I lost my $100 pair a few years after I bought them. The Zenni pair lasted me for 2 years before they broke dead center in the nose piece (my fault, as I was stretching them around my 3m dust mask.) I'm on my 2nd pair of glasses from Zenni. This pair cost me a whopping $14 because I added anti-glare. I won't buy anywhere else.

Only downside to Zenni... My wife can't get glasses through them because she's blind (-12 prescription for glasses). Her's we still have to pay $200+. I think they only go up to +/-7 on the prescription.

[Samuel Jones]

Quick, but they can be damaged during transportation

[Mike Null]

I bought a pair from $39 glasses for my wife as an extra. They were just ok and we haven't gone back.

We just bought new glasses again this time at Lenscrafters. My wife used the optometrist there. After two or three returns she went to her opthamologist who gave her a new prescription which Lenscrafters made and they were excellent.

[Matt Meiser]

Along the same lines, anyone have a good source for quality safety glasses? Mine apparently fell out of my backpack somewhere between the customer's office, 2 hotels, a rental car, 2 planes, and 3 airports on a recent trip. :mad: My regular optometrist wants up to $200 (2 different answers from 2 different front office employees) to replace them, $50-60 something more than I paid 9 months ago. :mad::mad:

[Pat Barry]

I experienced sticker shock last night at Pearle to the tune of $289 for a replacement pair of bifocals. It could have been worse but there was a 30% off sale. And no, these weren't the designer frames. Needless to say I am serious about getting on-line pricing to see how they will compare. Oh yeah, I ordered the glasses because I need the bird in the hand on this one.