I was recently introduced to an online option for eyeglasses. I’d never considered it before because I couldn’t figure out if the frames would look good on me without actually trying them on, but I read some good reviews and it was referred by another Samaritan member. It’s Zenni Optical found at http://www.zennioptical.com It is the 21st century, maybe buying glasses online is doable now.
A couple of years ago my glasses broke and I’m just blind enough that going without glasses is beyond frustrating. Stops me in my tracks. Since I have no good backup pair, that led to an emergency visit to anywhere that could get me an appointment and a new pair. Unfortunately my regular eye doctor was out that day so I was forced to look elsewhere, and landed at Walmart. Ok, not the best idea, but they gave me a reasonably priced eye exam and a free set of disposable contacts while I waited for my new glasses to arrive. The new glasses were ok for a few months until the scratch resistant coating began to peel away. Walmart wouldn’t replace them under warranty so I wore them for 18 months until I finally couldn’t stand it anymore. I recently had them replaced at my regular eye doctor’s office and am much happier. Are they better quality? Absolutely! They also cost more.
I would love to have a backup pair with my current vision prescription instead of the really old pair I have which gives me a headache they’re so old. Enter Zenni Optical. For very little money I can get a stylish pair of glasses with my current prescription mailed right to my house! They have about 1800 women’s styles to choose from, as well as men’s and kids. Their website is pretty nifty with ways to “try on” the frames and guidelines for matching the frame style to the shape of your face. I think this is a GREAT option for a backup pair, or even your main pair if you fall in love with a style. They are SO affordable. I have no idea about the quality of their lenses and coatings so tread carefully if you give this a try. But for the option to save a serious amount of cash and get a great pair of glasses I think they’re worth a shot. You do need to know your current prescription which you can get from your eye doctor, or go get another exam if it’s been awhile. Walmart was good for the exam. Nice doctor, didn’t cost much, willing to give me the written script and I didn’t feel bad about it.
For the uber-frugal Zenni also has many styles (good ones, even!) for $6.95. Now THAT’s a low cost pair of glasses.
I forgot to mention, you can also get sunglasses.
Update: There are other online glasses sites that may be worth looking into. I haven’t done any research on them yet. http://www.glassesshop.com and http://www.framesdirect.com/