Buying eyeglasses online

[leighton]

Anyone do it? Apparently its a lot cheaper than going to the brick & mortar stores, and honestly, I don't see what the difference would be other than I can't try on the frames in person.

Oh yeah, and got a reputable source?

 

[PaulX608]

There are measurements we use to make your glasses that aren't in your Rx. They're the only way we can accurately locate the optical centers of the lenses in front of your pupils and at the appropriate height in the frame. These need to be taken by someone trained to do so. Some of them are made with the frame on your face. I guess if you knew someone who could take these measurements using a similar frame, and would actually give you the info to use elsewhere, it could work. But what about fitting, adjustments, and/or repairs? I don't know if I'd do it. Opticianry is a pretty hands-on and very personal service industry.

 

[Leche]

I think Paul makes some pretty valid points. I buy eyeglasses at costco but always buy my contacts online. Coastal Contacts has been my favorite which also does eye glasses IIRC.

 

[haiti222]

I have been buying from optical4less.com for many years and have been very happy. You do have to measure your pupilary distance for your first order (or get it from somewhere). My glasses have fit well.

I believe Clark Howard has been a big fan of zenni optical online.

 

[red71veloce]

I have bought from glassesunlimited.com with good success. It's not a mysterious process. Yes getting the pupil distance is important. When you go to the optometrist to have your eyes checked get your prescription fully filled out complete with the pupil distance. I didn't and still was successful in my crude measurement at home. The above mentioned website is cheap.....worth experimenting in my opinion.

Tracy

 

[PaulX608]

As Leche says, contacts are a different beast, and once you've gotten an exam and fitting, you can order them online without issue until your Rx expires. As far as measuring your own PD for online spectacles, I'd be really interested to see how well it comes out. The tolerances for these measurements vary greatly with the lens power at the 180° meridian. In a -1.00 lens, 3mm is not an issue. In a -4.00 lens, 2mm is too much. One of the other measurements we use is OC height, or the height of the optical center of the lens in relation to the eyewire of the frame. As with PD, there are tolerances here that vary with lens power, this time in the 90° meridian. The OC height, or seg height on multifocals, varies with how you wear the frame. If this is not measured with the frame on your face, you could make fitting adjustments to change how the frame sits on your face to adapt wherever it's placed to your needs. Again, in a low power lens, it's not a huge issue. But in higher powers, or especially higher power differences eye to eye, this can cause problems. I'm certainly not trying to discourage people from saving money, and I'm intentionally not going to divulge my employer to promote my own services. Glasses are expensive. For me, I think the best way to save is your frame and a good knowlege of what you do or don't need in add-ons. We get a lot of people using their old frames or frames purchased online or elswhere. That can cut the total price almost in half. As far as add-ons, a lot of retail chains try to get you to purchase a lot of extra stuff. Like with anything else, don't buy more than you need. The best way to understand these things, IMHO, is to discuss them with your optometrist or ophthamologist. Generally, the doctors have less interest in selling you expensive A/R coatings and treatments and more interest in your overall eye health.


Edit: I just looked at a couple online sites. Their measurement methods seem a little iffy to me. Most notably in that they only specify binocular PD or the total PD. Most people's eyes are not equidistant from center, that is the monocular PDs are 1 or 2 mm different side to side. Again, this is a bigger issue the more power you have in the 180° meridian, and especially the bigger the difference between eyes. I've been discussing this with my wife as I read and respond here, and we agree that the best course is likely to ask your optometrist/ophthamologist to measure your PD and include it in your Rx. Since their focus is your total eye health and this information will get you a better product wherever you go for eyewear, they shouldn't have issue with doing it.

 

[benvh]

Before I had lasik, I went to one of those eyeglass stores in the mall, found frames I liked, had them measured and asked them for the stock number. I then ordered them on the internet and saved a bunch (got them for ~100 bucks, cost $250 in the store). It was actually cheaper to buy them online than to get them in the store w/ my vision insurance. It would have been even more expensive to get them from my doc.

 

[leighton]

Interesting points about the PD and other measurements. I was actually just looking for cheaper frames when I started searching, but found you could order entire eyeglasses online.

Wheres the best place to get frames?

 

[Bristlingbeardofodin]

Get your prescription measurements and go to zenni optical if you are truly looking for cheap. I order my "knock around" glasses from them and get my nicer glasses from my optometrist. The zennis are great for cheap glasses especially if involved in activities where glasses might get broken easily and if they do you are only out ten bucks or so.

 

[stobes21]

I've ordered from eyebuydirect and optical4less. Both times I got hingeless, rimless memory titanium frames with high index lenses and all the coatings and bells and whistles for well under $100. The same style frames with all the same features would have been about $400 from local places.

Unfortunately my first pair (from eyebuydirect) got stepped on and one of the lenses broke. I don't blame that on the manufacturer at all. They were nice and offered to replace them for me for free (less shipping), but by the time I put in the replacement order the lenses were out of stock and I didn't like their other offerings. So the refunded me the money, again less shipping.

So I ordered from optical4less. The glasses were exactly what I ordered. Turns out though that I'd screwed up entering my prescription for one eye, so they don't work for me. I tried to source a replacement lens locally, but a single replacement from my doctor would have cost more than an entirely new pair. So the company offered me 15% off a replacement, which is on its way now.

So overall I'm still a fan of online glasses. Though the process has been frustrating both pairs I've gotten so far are exactly what I ordered and the quality control has been better than what I used to get through my doctor (the lenses on the pair I'm replacing don't fit right in the frame and after 2 trips back to the doctor didn't fix it I gave up and started looking online). My advice to to be very careful when entering your prescription and don't drop them on the floor and fail to pick them up right away. I can order both regular glasses and dedicated prescription sunglasses for less than half of what I'd pay for just the glasses.

Now, I have single vision and so I've not had to deal with bifocals or trifocals or anything. It's certainly possible that your doctor would be better suited to handle those issues.

I recommend a site called Glassyeyes that has a lot of info about ordering glasses online. They do reviews of different sites and have coupon codes and advice and whatnot.

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

Anyone do it? Apparently its a lot cheaper than going to the brick & mortar stores, and honestly, I don't see what the difference would be other than I can't try on the frames in person.

Oh yeah, and got a reputable source?

http://www.framesdirect.com/

Great service from these folks. They also have those hard to find rimless frames with curly temples. I have ordered 4 frames from them with no problems.

Then I discovered they were here in Houston, so I visited in person with my prescription and let them do the lenses as well.

 

[NightLad]

Anyone do it? Apparently its a lot cheaper than going to the brick & mortar stores, and honestly, I don't see what the difference would be other than I can't try on the frames in person.

Oh yeah, and got a reputable source?

I don't know about in the US, but here in Canada the Dollar Store sells eye glasses. Seriously; the dollar store. Now, they don't have super-speciality varieties, but if you just need a regular type of adjustment then you are in luck.

True story: my uncle went to the optometrist and got a script for a new set of glasses. He asked where he should go to get it filled (sometimes the optometrist will send patients to a particular location that gives them discounts) and she told him, 'the dollar store.' For the script he needed the dollar stores glasses would be just as good as a $300 set.

He really likes the dollar store glasses, and he was able to buy a set for every room in the house.

 

[acke61]

I work in the eyewear industry as well...and one thing that absolutely frustrates me is people will come to my retail location to find what they like, then proceed to tell me they are going to order it online to save money.

I think what people don't always think about is the services provided by o brick and mortar stores. Also the fact that if everyone does this...the brick and mortars will eventually go out of business. When that happens where are all the online customers going to go to try on their glasses and / or get their glasses serviced / repaired.

I think a lot of people buy online and then assume that the brick and mortar stores are going to take care of adjustments / repairs / etc for free...when really that is a service that is included in the price of their product...but many people take advantage of it.

I'm not saying you shouldn't try to save money...but think about the personal attention you get from dealing with someone in your local community who cares about your needs before you go online to save a few dollars.