Save a small fortune on prescription eyeglasses
If you're willing to order online, you can score prescription eyeglasses for peanuts.
(Credit: Goggles4U)If you have the courage to look closely at my photo, you'll notice I wear glasses. The pair in that pic cost me a few hundred dollars--fairly typical, right? Maybe not: The pair I'm wearing right now set me back $21.85--frames, lenses, and shipping.
Yes, they're prescription. Yes, they have the all-important antiglare coating. And, no, they're not ugly plastic "cheaters" like they sell at the dollar store. In fact, they're stylish metal-alloy frames with a blue coating (to match my eyes, ahem).
I scored this deal from Zenni Optical, one of several Web outlets that sells prescription eyeglasses on the cheap--the really, really cheap.
Other popular stores for four-eyes include 39 Dollar Glasses, Goggles4U, and Optical4Less. Although ordering glasses online has its pitfalls, I think the savings greatly outweigh the risks.
Zenni, the only company I've tried thus far, offers a wide selection of frames, with prices ranging from $8-19, lenses included. All you need is your current prescription, which you can get from your optometrist.
You can add antiglare coating and lens tinting for $4.95 apiece, and even get a clip-on "sunshade" for just $3.95 (though I wouldn't order this again, as the clips block my vision). Shipping adds another $4.95.
Speaking of which, it took about a month for my order to arrive, during which time I received no updates or tracking number from the company. When I requested them, I got vague replies. (The most recent one said my order had been delayed overseas and was being remade--a week after I'd received the glasses.)
The glasses themselves look nice and seem perfect from a prescription standpoint. However, they pinch the heck out of one side of my nose, and I don't know how to make the proper adjustments. That's one point in favor of sticking with an optometrist: you get help with fit, repair, and so on.
What's more, ordering glasses online means you don't get to try on the frames until they show up at your door. If you end up hating them--well, at least you're only out $20-40. And you can always use a backup pair, right?
The flipside is you end up with some terrific glasses for a fraction of what you'd pay locally.
What do you think? Are online eyeglasses the way to go, or should you trust your eyes only to the professionals? I look forward to hearing your feedback. In the meantime, I'm thinking it's time to see how I look in a pair of Danny Gokey frames. Good singer, great eyewear.
Rick Broida, a technology writer for nearly 20 years, is the author of more than a dozen books. In addition to writing CNET's The Cheapskate blog, he oversees BNET's Business Hacks. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. Disclosure. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers. Follow Rick on Twitter at cheapskateblog. 
First, whether you can adjust them or not will depend on metal or plastic frames and whether the nose pieces are part of the frame or on wires. Second, a disclaimer: It's always best to get a professional in an eyeglass shop to do this. If you break them, they're broken and no one else is responsible. Be especially careful around welds & joints, these tend to break easily. If you have rims that are drilled through the lenses (drill mounts), then don't even try this. (Helpful tip: Never get drill mounts with plain plastic lenses. Get Polycarbonate lenses or they will probably crack the lense eventually.) I spent (5+) years in an optometry lab & still occasionally broke frames. If you?re still game to try this, then read on.
Metal frames are the easiest. You can use pliers to bend the bridge (between the eyes), the nose pieces, and the temples (the ear pieces). Optometry shops use special pliers with no ridges and/or silicon/plastic pads so that they don't leave marks on the glasses. Most are also specially shaped to grip better. (Hence the $50-$300 price tags.) You can fake some basic tools though by wrapping a set of needle nose or wide nose pliers (1-2mm & 3-5mm) pliers in a couple layers of cloth or tape. A pair will let you hold fine wires better for adjustment without having to stress welds.
Plastic frames take heat to make them pliable. Again, optometry shops use special tools: a hot bath of salt water or silicon beads. You can also use a hot air blower (heat gun or hair dryer). You have to be very careful not to get too hot though or all you have is melted plastic. If your hand can't take the heat, then your glasses probably can't either. Heat slowly & test pliability as you go. Also, use your hands for adjustments, pliers will probably leave indentations.
There are three basic adjustments you can do. The first is to level & straighten the temples. Set your glasses upside down on a flat surface, so that the top of the temples are against the surface & lying parallel to it. If one temple sticks up off the surface, make small adjustments by CAFEFULLY bending the glasses at the bridge or near the joint of the temple until both are level and most of the temple, joint to the start of the ear curve, is straight. Be especially careful with rimless glasses. (The ones with cords around the bottom of the lenses). Also look at the angle made between the eyeglasses & temples and adjust them so that both temples form about the same angle. (Probably about 80-100 degrees off from the lenses. Wider for wider heads.) Finally, your lenses should also be at the same angle, if one lenses is twisted off from another you need to adjust the bridge twist.
The second adjustment is to the piece of the temple that wraps around the ear. Most temples are metal wires with plastic covers. Heat the plastic enough to be slightly pliable before bending, otherwise it will crack or break. Basically you need to wing this. You can adjust the bends back & forth the temple for ears that are more forward or back of the head. You can make the bend more or less rounded to match the curve of the ears or the depressions around them. In the end you want the glasses to fit comfortable without pressure, but you also want the glasses to be held tight to the nose so that there is little give when sliding them forward & back, and so that they do not slip further down the nose/face.
The last adjustment is to the nose pieces. This only works for nose pieces on wires. If the nose piece is part of the frame you can take up space with those stick on pads but only an optometry lab can spread it further. Wires though can be CAREFULLY bent using needle nose pliers. These are fine wires on welds, too much force & they will snap off. You can increase or decrease the width by bending them in & out. You can make them site higher or lower by increasing or decreasing the curl. You can change the angle by twisting & bending the wire near the nose piece. Most people want the top of the nose piece to sit on a level with the inner corner (tear duct) of their eye. The nose piece should be bent to fit the contour of the nose, matching the angle of the valley & the slope of the nose into the face. Pressure should be light. If you are creating divots in your nose, or it feels like the pads are pinching, then you have them adjusted too tight.
Owner of 2 pair. The only anomaly in ordering is that Zenni requires your Pupillary Distance (PD) - the distance between the centers of the pupils in each eye in mm which won't be on your prescription. . The only place you will probably find the PD is on the order form for her last pair of spectacles. The order form is NOT part of the clinical record, Call your optometrist's office for that number. Tell them you are ordering prescription safety glasses or a scuba mask.
In regards to the PD, when ordering- 62 is the average. When we place our mass orders with them we always fill it in with 62 (the optometrist who helps out with these projects said about 90% of people fall in the 62 range).
Anyways, my wife is the proud owner of a pair of $500 D & G prescriptions glasses (yeah... I almost pooped myself when she came home with those). I on the other hand am the proud owner of two pairs of $20 glasses. The difference- I won't have anxiety attacks or heart palpitations if I loose mine or sit on them.
Opticians in those areas worked in the U.S. They note that the only differences between there and here are U.S. rents and much higher U.S. margins.
Second, I own 2 pairs of glasses from Zenni. I paid $45 for the first pair and $19.95 (that price INCLUDES shipping) for the second pair. For comparison, my last pair of glasses bought at Lenscrafters cost close to $250.
There are many other VERY economical online options out there that don't require a trip across the ocean and through customs.
Good luck!
The only problems I have had was one pair needs adjusting to put the proper focal length on my lenses, and another pair was not as dark a tint as I thought it would be.
In all I probably saved over a thousand dollars on all these glasses.
I highly recommend Zenni Optical!
I went to the optical department and priced a pair. $360 for budget frames glasses. I told her I'd think about it and started shopping online. I heard about $40 glasses, but I figured it wouldn't work for me. However, for glasses I only intended to serve as a backup pair, I decided to take a chance.
My glasses arrived in less than the two-week promise window. I was AMAZED!!! I could not believe that these glasses could be that cheap and work just as well as my primary pair! I will never, ever pay full price again!
Cecelia T.
By the way, I see several people mentioned having to get a copy of their prescription. I recommend everyone who wears glasses get and keep a copy. If you ever break or lose your glasses and need replacements in a hurry, such as when travelling, you can take the prescription to a one-hour place without having to wait to get a copy from your optometrist. I always ask for a copy to keep for that reason and my optometrist has never refused. He agrees everyone should have a copy of theirs.
Jeff
There are many places to order online. If you do your homework, you'll never again darken the doorway of another mall eyeglasses store. Think what you'll be able to do with that extra $300 in your pocket.
- by foureyes09 August 17, 2009 9:49 PM PDT
- The GlassyEyes blog is a good primer to get started on the online eyeglass purchasing adventure. I've bought glasses from Clearly Lenz and was impressed by the prices, quality and shipping times. Their customer service was great to. I would like to try out other shops as well. The amount you save is unbelievable.
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