Eyeglasses help

June 27, 2022 1:09 PM

Where can I find an eyeglasses store or nonprofit that will sell me frames to fit existing lenses?

My only 2-year-old plastic frames broke and are not mendable. They broke in two places surrounding the lenses. I went to a frame mending service and they refused to take on the job. I am not handy and any attempt to mend them myself will look worse and risk damaging the lenses.

I still have the lenses, which are current, and I don't want to pay for a whole new pair of glasses with new lenses (hundreds of dollars because I have severe astigmatism and a strong prescription).

I'm taking the frames and lenses to the optical store where I had them made two years ago, but I suspect they will want me to buy new lenses because that's how they make their money.

Is there a service that can replace the frames with any plastic frames (including secondhand) that will fit? Several years ago, there was a place in Glendale, California (Los Angeles area) that did this when my young nephew grabbed at my frames and broke them. I can't locate this place and I would be happier sending or taking my lenses to a closer place in the Washington, DC metro area.

I'm currently using an old pair of glasses with my previous prescription. They are actually computer glasses and turn everything more than 20 ft away into a bad Impressionist painting. But they are better than nothing.

posted by bad grammar to Health & Fitness (13 answers total)

In my experience nearly any optician will sell you frames. They may not make as much profit as on lenses, but they do make a profit on them. Once on a vacation, a Walmart optical department replaced my broken frames for free with frames they had that people were discarding - I was amazed and grateful.
posted by TimHare at 1:34 PM on June 27, 2022 [5 favorites]

Your best bet is definitely going to be trying to get your lenses put into a new set of the same frames. The lens blanks have been cut to that frame's shape. There are no standard lens shapes, to my understanding, which means it's purest luck if you can find another frame that has the same hole shape. For that reason, your original optician is your best bet.

I'm presuming you've shopped around for the frame+lens option at the cheapy cheapy places - typically Walmart, Costco (no membership required, and I thought they had lenses at a fixed price regardless of strength; I have bad astigmatism myself and I just went there a month ago) and online places like Zenni? I would specifically do in-person if you have a progressive prescription because of the extra measurements, but I've had success buying single-focus pairs online.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 1:36 PM on June 27, 2022

Yeah, the issue may be that lenses aren't necessarily standardized. The last time I got new lenses, they still had my old frame prescription (or whatever they call it) around at the time, but they said usually they won't have that around. You may literally have to start from scratch if the frame is no longer around to get.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:38 PM on June 27, 2022

Lenses are more-or-less bespoke items made to fit the particular frame. Unless you are having the lenses fitted into the exact same model and size of frames they were originally made for, there’s really no way to do this.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:55 PM on June 27, 2022 [2 favorites]

If it hasn't worn off, your broken frames should have some identifying info somewhere. Probably on the inside of the arm. You might be able to find the same ones at one of the online stores, or even eBay. Most opticians would pop your old lenses into a frame if you have one.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 1:57 PM on June 27, 2022 [4 favorites]

The cost of lenses is almost negligible unless you have super-exotic material like those high refractive glass and so on. Most places make money on the frames, which is why online opticals like Zenni, Goggles4U, and so on can offer prescription glasses for as low as $10. You pick the frame, THEN the lenses are ground to fit the frame.

Hypothetically, you can find a frame that's slightly smaller, then ground the lenses to fit that, but then you still have to make sure the PD (pupillary distance) is correct and all that. I doubt many opticals would even consider doing that for you, muchless find you a cheap frame. Unless they happen to have the exact same frame in stock. If you can find the exact same frame (not just same model, but same SIZE) somewhere else, THEN maybe someone can put the lenses back in for you for a small fee.
posted by kschang at 2:00 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

When this happened to me with a pair of plastic frames I called every place in town that was supposed to be a dealer for that brand and nobody said they had or could get them. So I copied the model and size off the broken frame and ordered a replacement frame on eBay. I took them to the most convenient optician to get the lenses installed and they wouldn’t let me pay them for doing it. Try googling for the brand and model and go from there.

You may find an optician who’ll be willing to grind your old lenses to fit new frames, but not with a two year old prescription. If you get an eye exam and your prescription really hasn’t changed, they may do it. Pretty sure my eye doctor grinds and polishes lenses in house so if you can’t just get exact replacement frames and need a recommendation for a doctor, MeMail me.
posted by fedward at 2:19 PM on June 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

Spend your effort finding the same frames, I think it would be very, very difficult to get those lenses to work in a different frame. Even if, like, the nose bridge distance is ½mm different, that's something you can notice, and that's assuming they can even figure out how to align them at all. I see the attraction in pursuing this as a challenge, but I think the likelihood of satisfaction in the long term is pretty low. :)
posted by rhizome at 2:25 PM on June 27, 2022 [2 favorites]

I think it's certainly worth investigating whether your current frame is still being manufactured. And if it is, ask the eyeglass shop you've been going to if you can get a new frame ordered.

I'm reasonably (but not entirely) certain that I've had this conversation at the opticians that yes, they will try to help me find a replacement frame for the lenses (with the caveat that the lenses must be same shape/size or smaller). This was at an independent store, not a chain.

It's probably also worth investigating what options are available via CostCo (you don't need a membership to shop at the optical department).
posted by oceano at 2:46 PM on June 27, 2022

Oh, and you might ask whether a "rimless" frame might work.
posted by oceano at 3:08 PM on June 27, 2022

The rimless frame suggestion was what I was thinking of in the worst case. Those generally attach to lenses through holes drilled into the edges, so at least in theory it should be possible to do that with old lenses - though it might depend on the shape of the lens.
posted by trig at 3:44 PM on June 27, 2022

You'll have to shop around and experiment. I once succeeded in swapping broken frames with a completely different style of frames that happened to fit. Just lucky.
posted by ovvl at 8:15 AM on June 28, 2022

Used to be an optician in training and what you want is unlikely to be possible. One can shape lenses for frames, but not the other way around. We were able to fit new lenses into existing frames to help save money, but as others have said, there is not standardization for frame sizes and most places make their money on frames which are often marked up by 2-3 times.

It will also depend on the type of lenses. If they were in wire frames or plastic or wireless frames they will have different grooves etc.

Sorry.
posted by terrapin at 9:47 AM on June 28, 2022 [1 favorite]