Im thinking of ordering a spare set of glasses and/or sunglasses from one of the many online vendors of such things. The prices are are too tempting. Obviously there is a bit of risk taking because you cant actually try them on, but it seems if I keep the style similar to what I have I should be ok.
Has anybody in the hive ordered glasses online? Good stories? Horror stories? Recommendations?
I've ordered two pair of prescription ones from Zenni. They have a feature on the website where you can upload your face and try glasses on that way.
One recommendation is take a pair you like and measure them. The first pair I got are really too small for my face. The next pair were way too big. Both were the in the cheapest frame category. Not a big deal for me because i just wear them when I don't have my contacts in.
Wife ordered a pair and had issues with them, but she has a bad stigmatism and often takes glasses back in the brick and mortar stores.
Quality seems as good as anywhere else.
-Rob
Ive bought several from eyebuydirect with great results
I've gotten few pairs from eyebuydirect and one from zenni.
I wasn't satisfied with zenni's customer service, after sending a pair of bifocals back. I had to turn my head, to read. They denied there was a problem with the lenses, and wouldn't accept any wrongdoing.
Do it. I paid just under $100 for four pairs of glasses from Zenni. Measuring to make sure your pupil distance is right probably makes a difference. I've been really happy with mine. I got on only new glasses, but matching prescription sunglasses as well. I just keep the prescription sunglasses in the car.
I went to Sam's Club and got my eyes checked, then walked out with my prescription. My wife measured my pupil distance and that was all I needed to order from Zenni. Well worth it, but I have a fairly simple prescription.
Our local radio cheapskate Clark Howard has advice for Zenni orders, don't bother returning or trying to get anything fixed. There is pretty much no customer service, but at such cheap prices you can just order another pair and still be ahead.
I had two pairs with Zenni. Had to send them back since they berked up the script. berkeleyed up both the exact same way, but still.
Still gotta order another pair with the credit. I’ve heard better results with eyebuydirect.
Oh, also, be sure to get your PD with your script.
I've probably ordered 25 pairs from Zenni and never had any issues. When you can get polarized lens prescription sunglasses for under $30 how can you go wrong?
I ordered from Glasses USA, they got the Rx just a little off. There was no option to tell them how far apart my pupils are, the optician usually marks little dots on the lenses of new frames to get that measurement. It's my assumption that this was at least part of the reason they were wrong.
Their return process was fine though, I had to call, couldn't do it online, but they did refund my purchase when I shipped the glasses back.
Zenni. That's all I buy glasses from now. Last prescription change, I got 2 computer glasses, bifocals, reading, bifocal sunglasses, sunglasses for Dr.L, regular glasses for Dr.L. $175. TOTAL, not each like a Brick and Mortar. They have directions on how to measure your PD.
My last 8-10 sets of glasses have come from Zenni. I haven't had any issues with them so far. They are cheap enough I can keep several sets around and don't have to worry too much about destroying them. I usually pay a little extra for polycarbonate lenses for extra impact protection. Their polarized sunglasses are pretty awesome as well.
If you want actual safety glasses, I'd recommend Rx-Safety.com.
I only need reading glasses so just buy them at the dollar store ,
But I have heard Zenni is pretty good , and I would buy from them if needed ,
PD is a very important number to have to make it go right
Another happy Zenni customer here. Myself and both my kids have been in Zenni glasses for several years now. Scripts have always been dead-on, and the frames seem to be as good as any others. In any case, I replace them once a year anyhow. Granted, I'm a contact lens user, but honestly I've been just wearing my glasses more and more as my closeup vision goes to crap. With bifocals, it's just easier, especially if I'm not going to be driving or anything.
I actually measured my own PD by holding a ruler up to my face and looking in a mirror.
My head is too fat to try ordering online.
In reply to Brian :
You might be surprised. If you currently wear glasses, there is usually a size on the temple that gives you the frame width and the temple arm length. Pick frames that are similarly sized and you can't go too far wrong. On Zenni's website, you can upload a picture of your face so you can see what the frames look like before you buy them.
Thanks for the feedback everybody! Im gonna poke around the Zenni and eyebuydirect websites. With my prescription I can never get the cheapest of cheap (looks like even Zenni adds a surcharge) and I always get the thinner lenses which adds a few bucks. I have a nickle allergy so I have to do titanium or plastic. At a brick and mortar store I am lucky to find 2-3 frames that meet my fat head and material restraints so even if I find 10 to choose from online its a bonus!
Another vote for Zenni here. Also, for checking your head width. I'e got one pair that is too narrow for long usage but perfect for a beside the bed pair
I order a lot of Zenni glasses, and my #1 tip for a good fit is to measure the width, bridge, and lense width and height of a pair of glasses you love. All the glasses on zenni have those measurements, and if you stay withing 2-3mm of a pair you like the new ones will fit great.
rob_lewis said:One recommendation is take a pair you like and measure them. The first pair I got are really too small for my face. The next pair were way too big.
I second this. I'm wearing a pair of Zennis right now and I can confirm that measuring your current favorite glasses and paying attention to the sizes of the frames on the website makes a huge difference. I've made the mistake before of ordering Rx sunglasses from them that were unwearably big because I was more focused on the style than the size. My current Zenni glasses (chosen based on measurements of my previous favorites) are the perfect width for my face, they just need some minor adjustments on the arms, which I'll probably ask my optometrist to do at my next appointment so I don't ruin them.
Overall, price is hard to beat. I do the fancy upgrades like blue light blocking and transitions, and they're still 1/5 the price of my last pair of brick-and-mortar-bought glasses.
In reply to Toyman01 :
I noticed on my most recent Zenni shopping spree that they actually sell safety glasses and protective goggles now. I thought that was pretty neat.
I just ordered some prescription sunglasses for the 1st time, and I ordered them online, also for the 1st time. I did some research and the best price I could find on the ones I wanted was through Glasses USA. It wasn't too hard; basically put your prescription into their tool, pick out your frames and options, and pay. Took them around a week to build them and another few days to ship out, which is on par with the local place I go.
The strangest thing is that I have eye insurance, and at the places that accepted my eye insurance were at least $200 MORE out-of-pocket than me going to Glasses USA without the insurance. I am guessing it's probably something to do with the lens quality, since they don't have the factory lenses in them, but the ones I got are fine and do the job. They also shipped the original non-prescription lenses in the box with them in case I wanted them.
On the not being able to try them on thing... I found a pair of glasses I currently have that I like, looked up the frame specs, and found something comparable. Ended up working out perfectly.
BTW, prescription sunglasses are a game-changer. How did I live without these?
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