Good place to buy glasses online?
June 16, 2015 7:12 AM Subscribe
Looking to buy some glasses online ...
But when I search on google I just end up with the online version of all the same stores I can find at the mall, so the prices aren't much cheaper. I once found a link on Metafilter to an online retailer in China (I think) that was way cheaper than anything you can get in North America (that post had hundreds of people adding it as favourite, but it seems to have vanished). Maybe that site doesn't exist anymore?
Anyways, any help finding a good place to buy online glasses would be appreciated.
But when I search on google I just end up with the online version of all the same stores I can find at the mall, so the prices aren't much cheaper. I once found a link on Metafilter to an online retailer in China (I think) that was way cheaper than anything you can get in North America (that post had hundreds of people adding it as favourite, but it seems to have vanished). Maybe that site doesn't exist anymore?
Anyways, any help finding a good place to buy online glasses would be appreciated.
I've purchased cheap backup eyeglasses from Zenni Optical and they're still online...was that the one?
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:16 AM on June 16, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:16 AM on June 16, 2015 [3 favorites]
Zenni? I quite like Zenni. They're hit and miss, but cheap enough that you can afford a little trial and error. My Zenni glasses are four or five years old and still in great condition.
posted by Metroid Baby at 7:16 AM on June 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Metroid Baby at 7:16 AM on June 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also, Zenni Optical, they are very inexpensive. I haven't tried them yet but I will the next time I have to buy new glasses.
posted by Grumpy old geek at 7:17 AM on June 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Grumpy old geek at 7:17 AM on June 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
This is the article that mathowie wrote way back when. My guy buys all his glasses from Zenni. Fast delivery and mostly good glasses.
posted by jessamyn at 7:19 AM on June 16, 2015
posted by jessamyn at 7:19 AM on June 16, 2015
Here is a Metatalk thread from January on the subject.
Zenni Optical works well for me but I haven't tried other online options yet.
posted by XMLicious at 7:22 AM on June 16, 2015
Zenni Optical works well for me but I haven't tried other online options yet.
posted by XMLicious at 7:22 AM on June 16, 2015
Family of fivefour, and we all wear glasses. Zenni Optical saved us from bankruptcy. Ok, not quite, but we no longer need to budget more for glasses than we do for car repairs and maintenance!
posted by nobeagle at 7:24 AM on June 16, 2015
posted by nobeagle at 7:24 AM on June 16, 2015
Zenni, yes. Those glasses have lasted 2 years or so, whereas the 39dollarglasses have broken within 6 months.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 7:36 AM on June 16, 2015
posted by Ms Vegetable at 7:36 AM on June 16, 2015
I've been buying mine from Goggles4u for a few years now and all the glasses have held up just fine for at least a year. My only complaint would be how long it takes for the glasses to be delivered. (I believe they're made in China and then shipped to their U.S. distributor.)
I used to buy from Zenni and was also happy with them until there was a problem logging in to my account. The support people were never able to figure out what the problem was and were rather obnoxious about it. So I moved on to another company.
posted by fuse theorem at 7:48 AM on June 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
I used to buy from Zenni and was also happy with them until there was a problem logging in to my account. The support people were never able to figure out what the problem was and were rather obnoxious about it. So I moved on to another company.
posted by fuse theorem at 7:48 AM on June 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
Another vote for Zenni. I have a horrible problem of sitting on my sunglasses, and I've ordered quite a few from Zenni without issue. In fact I have another order on it's way right now. The one's I don't break due to my own clumsiness have have held up better than expected, especially given the price.
posted by cgg at 7:57 AM on June 16, 2015
posted by cgg at 7:57 AM on June 16, 2015
I just bought from Zenni, Goggles4u and EyeBuyDirect.
EyeBuyDirect won by a landslide. Also, the only one with money-back guarantee if you don't like them.
posted by crankyrogalsky at 8:10 AM on June 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
EyeBuyDirect won by a landslide. Also, the only one with money-back guarantee if you don't like them.
posted by crankyrogalsky at 8:10 AM on June 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
How cheap *do* you want to get?
If you already have your prescription, I'd go Zenni or Goggles4U . Yes, they can do some pairs for like $10. Of course, they'll nickel and dime you after. Anti-glare coating this, case that... but I ordered my mom a pair of bifocals from back when... under $20 and took them less than two weeks to deliver. Works fine.
posted by kschang at 8:18 AM on June 16, 2015
If you already have your prescription, I'd go Zenni or Goggles4U . Yes, they can do some pairs for like $10. Of course, they'll nickel and dime you after. Anti-glare coating this, case that... but I ordered my mom a pair of bifocals from back when... under $20 and took them less than two weeks to deliver. Works fine.
posted by kschang at 8:18 AM on June 16, 2015
I've been happy with my 39dollarglasses glasses and sunglasses. They also have a money-back guarantee.
posted by raspberrE at 8:23 AM on June 16, 2015
posted by raspberrE at 8:23 AM on June 16, 2015
The great thing about Zenni is that at their price range you can experiment with color and fashion more, so it's not SO SERIOUS when you need new glasses. I have a great pair of red Ray-Ban style sunglasses that I love, and a cute pair of green glasses that I get compliments on all the time. I have progressive lenses, so my Zennis run around $55 to 65$ US. Takes about eight days to receive them after ordering. I was a little nervous at first about the measuring, but my Zennis fit much better than the last $250 pair from the mall store, the very same ones that sent me running to Zenni in the first place.
posted by raisingsand at 8:32 AM on June 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by raisingsand at 8:32 AM on June 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
I just ordered sunglasses from Zenni and progressive bifocals from EyeBuyDirect. This will be my second pair from EBD as I've been very satisfied with the first pair from them, but they didn't have a good selection of sunglasses so I went with Zenni for those based on reviewing previous mefi posts.
posted by pappy at 8:45 AM on June 16, 2015
posted by pappy at 8:45 AM on June 16, 2015
I have Zenni glasses all over my house, my car, my office. Since they are so cheap, I always buy multiple pairs so I don't have to worry about losing or breaking them.
My only problem is that I like wire frames, and the Zenni wire frames bend inward at the earpiece. After several years of wearing them, I now have ridges behind my ears and my head was starting to hurt. For my last pair of glasses, I got some from the optical shop at my doctor's office and paid tons for them - way too expensive, but the endpieces don't bend in and they fit better.
Not sure what I'm going to do for my next pair.
posted by CathyG at 9:00 AM on June 16, 2015
My only problem is that I like wire frames, and the Zenni wire frames bend inward at the earpiece. After several years of wearing them, I now have ridges behind my ears and my head was starting to hurt. For my last pair of glasses, I got some from the optical shop at my doctor's office and paid tons for them - way too expensive, but the endpieces don't bend in and they fit better.
Not sure what I'm going to do for my next pair.
posted by CathyG at 9:00 AM on June 16, 2015
Nthing Zenni for all of the reasons previously mentioned. I've bought numerous pairs with the no-frills options (IE, no lens material upgrades or coatings, etc) and they've been great for the money. A couple of months ago I splurged and got a pair higher index lens material and added the oil/water resistant coating. Both are both worthwhile upgrades and the glasses still came in under $75.
The only issue I've had was with one pair of their rock-bottom $6.95 frames; either the temples fit funny, or I was allergic to the plastic material coating them because the tops of my ears got really irritated. But overall I've been really happy with everything else I've bought from Zenni.
I bought one pair from 39dollarglasses.com (they run 50% off promos from time to time) and the frames were great but there was some kind of coating on the lenses that began to chip and flake off after a year or so of daily wear.
posted by usonian at 9:25 AM on June 16, 2015
The only issue I've had was with one pair of their rock-bottom $6.95 frames; either the temples fit funny, or I was allergic to the plastic material coating them because the tops of my ears got really irritated. But overall I've been really happy with everything else I've bought from Zenni.
I bought one pair from 39dollarglasses.com (they run 50% off promos from time to time) and the frames were great but there was some kind of coating on the lenses that began to chip and flake off after a year or so of daily wear.
posted by usonian at 9:25 AM on June 16, 2015
Another vote for Zenni! I receive an endless stream of compliments on my current tortoiseshell cat-eye frames (photos on my Instagram, link in profile) that I've been wearing for over two years with zero complaints, bought and shipped with prescription lenses for around $30. I also recently bought prescription sunglasses from them, and they've been a godsend for driving in Florida. They have this cool feature (that admittedly I think lots of sites have at this point) where you can upload a photo of your face without glasses and virtually "try on" the glasses. I would pay attention to the sizing guidelines - I'm a small person and I'm always careful to keep the frame width within a reasonable range of the frames I've always worn.
posted by Devika at 9:43 AM on June 16, 2015
posted by Devika at 9:43 AM on June 16, 2015
Some of Zenni's frames look really cheap, but not all of them. There are some gems in there. I've also had great luck with Coastal (4 pairs).
posted by quince at 10:17 AM on June 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by quince at 10:17 AM on June 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have been completely pleased with my purchases from Coastal, mostly pleased with my purchases from 39dollarglasses, and Zenni has been hit or miss but cheap.
posted by houseofdanie at 10:44 AM on June 16, 2015
posted by houseofdanie at 10:44 AM on June 16, 2015
Fourthing Coastal. I got an extra pair from them and they are good.
Make sure you have your interpupillary distance on your prescription noted.
Also, if you are getting something complicated like no-line bifocals, photogray lenses etc. you are better off going to a actual store and getting this taken care of. You don't want the hassle of going back and forth with a net based business for this.
posted by indianbadger1 at 1:28 PM on June 16, 2015
Make sure you have your interpupillary distance on your prescription noted.
Also, if you are getting something complicated like no-line bifocals, photogray lenses etc. you are better off going to a actual store and getting this taken care of. You don't want the hassle of going back and forth with a net based business for this.
posted by indianbadger1 at 1:28 PM on June 16, 2015
I have 4 pairs from EyeBuyDirect and they are all great. Zenni would just give me an error whenever I put in my prescription and ask me to enter a "valid prescription."
posted by magnetsphere at 1:45 PM on June 16, 2015
posted by magnetsphere at 1:45 PM on June 16, 2015
I've been buying from Zenni exclusively for the past 4 and a half years. Their new-ish website is not as manageable as the old one IMO, but I love Zenni. I kind of consider them life-changing! I recommend them to everyone. In fact, the pair I'm wearing now get compliments every time I wear them. I never had a pair break.
THE BEST. I heart them.
posted by firei at 1:58 PM on June 17, 2015
THE BEST. I heart them.
posted by firei at 1:58 PM on June 17, 2015
Piggybacking: Has anyone tried firmoo? I'm looking for really big lenses (to put into goggles later) and I'm having a hard time finding them at zenni, WP, or coastal.
posted by small_ruminant at 7:07 PM on June 17, 2015
posted by small_ruminant at 7:07 PM on June 17, 2015
Actually, firmoo's glasses are the same size as everyone else's- not sure why they're calling them extra large.
posted by small_ruminant at 7:16 PM on June 17, 2015
posted by small_ruminant at 7:16 PM on June 17, 2015
Zenni's has a house brand Photochromic coating (auto-darkens in the sun) that is 1/3 the price of other online services, worked fine for several years. Slightly slower transition than the name brand but that could be a positive.
posted by sammyo at 8:03 AM on July 5, 2015
posted by sammyo at 8:03 AM on July 5, 2015
« Older Cooking Class or Course, Not Cooking Lesson | Internalised misogyny, Makeup/Clothing filter Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by the_blizz at 7:14 AM on June 16, 2015