Comments on: Prescription sunglasses online retailer recommendations

Question: Prescription sunglasses online retailer recommendations

bytewrite — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:43:10 -0800

Has anyone bought prescription sunglasses online before? Any recommendations? Things I should look out for?

By: IndigoRain

IndigoRain — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:55:24 -0800

This blog is all about buying glasses online. They have a Google group for discussion, too.

By: fandango_matt

fandango_matt — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:55:52 -0800

If you're spending the money for prescription sunglasses, spend a little extra and get polarized lenses. You'll be glad you did.

By: artifarce

artifarce — Wed, 09 May 2007 16:16:46 -0800

Seconding using Glassy Eyes. I found the site I used through them (Optical 4 Less). The glasses arrived with a scratch, but after consulting with them for a bit, they sent back a new pair. Glassy Eyes also has a discussion board and flickr photo group where you can get a lot of tips.

By: yohko

yohko — Wed, 09 May 2007 16:44:49 -0800

As an alternative to prescription sunglasses (I would like some sunglasses of perception, myself), you might check out clip on sunglasses. After using prescription sunglasses for some years, I switched to clip ons and found them to be much more convienent. Clip ons are easier to carry with you and quicker to put on than swapping glasses, and can be replaced cheaply if they get damaged. The one disadvantage I found is that they do add some weight to the glasses, but I have only found this to be a problem on one or two occasions.

By: jourman2

jourman2 — Wed, 09 May 2007 16:47:59 -0800

related question from two days ago. Some online vendor recommendations there.

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Wed, 09 May 2007 17:00:13 -0800

I've bought from heavyglare.com before and am very happy with the results - they specialize in doing prescription lenses in high-curvature (e.g., wraparound) sunglasses - I have such a pair from them, and I don't have any of the blurring problems that people in the previous thread talk about.

(I didn't recommend heavyglare.com in the previous thread, though, because the OP there was looking for inexpensive sunglasses, which heavyglare.com decidedly is not.)

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Wed, 09 May 2007 17:09:27 -0800

Recently there was an ad in the lost and found of our local paper asking for the return of a pair of subscription glasses. I don't know why they even bothered--these things are delivered, what--once a week?

By: IndigoRain

IndigoRain — Wed, 09 May 2007 17:16:41 -0800

Wow, I completely missed that last thread from a couple of days ago.

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Wed, 09 May 2007 17:25:54 -0800

Oh, and for general advice, get either your optometrist or a brick-and-mortar glasses store to measure your pupillary distance (PD) - it may not otherwise be on your prescription, and you'll need it for the best possible match to your eyes. Best is to get a separate PD for each eye; less good, but still useful, is an overall PD.

By: mosk

mosk — Wed, 09 May 2007 17:40:07 -0800

FWIW, I've had excellent results with polarized shades ordered through Action Optics (link will take you to their Smith Optics retail store/RX sub-page). Prices were fair (~$200/pr), and they did require the pupillary distance measurement DevilsAdvocate mentioned above. I can't say enough good things about polarized lenses -- absolutely worth the extra money, IMO, especially if you spend any time near water. And Action Optics staff was very friendly and helpful.

By: Smilla's Sense of Snark

Smilla's Sense of Snark — Wed, 09 May 2007 19:24:20 -0800

As an alternative to prescription sunglasses (I would like some sunglasses of perception, myself), you might check out clip on sunglasses.

Or yet another alternative -- pay a little extras to get a photochromic tint on your regular glasses, so there's no need to carry about a clip-on or a separate pair of sunglasses. They may not be as good for serious sports use as separate sunglasses, but for everyday wear I love them, there's no fumbling with clip-ons and nothing extra to lug about.

(I'm currently using nice custom clip-ons with a new pair of glasses picked up earlier this month...but after having photochromics in most of my previous pairs, I'm pretty thoroughly spoiled and the clip-ons are just not making me happy; I'm seriously considering getting a second pair with my usual photochromes and relegating the current ones to strictly indoor wear.)

By: nita

nita — Wed, 09 May 2007 20:49:57 -0800

If you have very little prescription change, you can get an existing pair tinted. My local shop did this for me for free when I got my new pair.

By: loiseau

loiseau — Thu, 10 May 2007 11:12:43 -0800

I got mine from www.glassescrafter.co.uk. It took no time at all for them to ship -- like 24 hours? But it took almost 3 weeks to get to me in Canada; it turned out they came from Hong Kong.

The prescription is spot-on and the tint is excellent. You have to email them for the chart of tints -- mine is the darkest grey and it's pretty damn dark.

They come with a hard case and a cleaning cloth. Very well packaged, so there's no chance of breakage.

I also have two regular prescription pairs from them that I'm perfectly happy with. I'll probably never go get ripped off at an optometrist again.

The only down side is that they don't come adjusted, so you'll have to con a shop to adjust them for you if they don't fit your head right out of the box.

I agree it feels sketchy, ordering glasses without submitting the prescription and paying by Paypal, but my experience was entirely positive.

By: loiseau

loiseau — Thu, 10 May 2007 11:13:55 -0800

Oh -- also, I got the default lens thickness/index and they're totally fine. I have a -5.5 in both eyes and they are not too heavy. Don't bother forking over more for the super-high-index lenses unless you're way more blind than me.