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Decided to give online prescription eyeglasses a go for the first time (ordered from Zenni), and they just arrived today. I have to say, I'm quite pleased. 3 pair (sunglasses, no-line bifocals, and computer glasses) for a little over a hundred bucks total. I've paid more (substantially more in the case of the bifocals) for just a single pair at traditional B&M places.

Not sure how durable Zenni's frames are, but at least replacing them when they break won't cost an arm and a leg.

Oh to be so lucky.

Online retailers can't handle my prescription (it's bad, like bad bad) so I inevitably spend an arm and a leg on eye stuff (glasses, contacts, etc) every year. Oh well. Rather see well-ish than have that money in my pocket tbh.

That's really cheap though JBI. Here's to hoping they are worth a dang.

DancinJack wrote:

Oh to be so lucky.

Online retailers can't handle my prescription (it's bad, like bad bad) so I inevitably spend an arm and a leg on eye stuff (glasses, contacts, etc) every year. Oh well. Rather see well-ish than have that money in my pocket tbh.

How bad? My right eye (the worse of the two) is sphere -6.50, cylinder -1.0. FWIW they claim they can handle sphere -20 to +12, +/-6 on cylinder, and prism up to 5.

DancinJack wrote:

That's really cheap though JBI. Here's to hoping they are worth a dang.

The lenses seem fine, though I should've probably upgraded to the better anti-reflective coating (I cheaped out on the add-ons since I was just trying them out to see if they seem to have a clue).

I suspect that the last pair of distance lenses I got at a B&M place were subtly "off" somehow (possibly incorrect PD). They just never seemed quite right. The distance part of these bifocals is noticeably better than my previous distance pair.

This is also a return to bifocals for me, after trying them for a few months about 10 years ago and hating them. My range of focus has gotten bad enough now that I really need the bifocals, otherwise I need to constantly switch back and forth between distance and near pairs of glasses, which gets really old.

My main concern is durability of the frames. But now that I'm convinced that they seem to have a clue on the lenses, I could upgrade to better frames when I reorder (I basically went with the cheapest ones that had spring hinges and accommodated my PD).

just brew it! wrote:

How bad? My right eye (the worse of the two) is sphere -6.50, cylinder -1.0. FWIW they claim they can handle sphere -20 to +12, +/-6 on cylinder, and prism up to 5.

Well, It's not really fair. I'm legally blind (the closest thing to describe my eye condition is Retinitis Pigmentosa). I'm one of the "lucky" few (along with my two siblings) to have my cones (rather than rods) affected first. So the main issues we all suffer from are reduced central vision (legal blindness since birth), color blindness (more like the inability to distinguish some colors rather than not seeing them at all), and light sensitivity (I wore special sunglasses growing up). We don't have RP exactly, but it's pretty close. I also have a pretty bad astigmatism.

drumroll.....

My glasses (I have contacts too, but they're obviously different values) are -12 S(both eyes) -3/-3.5 C(L/R) and my axis is goofy due to the astigmatism. My eyes used to be better, but obviously with "RP" my eyes have progressively got worse over time. Here's to hoping science can help me out one day. (I wouldn't really benefit from LASIK (or variations) due to the main issues being located on my retina rather than cornea.

OK, so you weren't kidding when you said it was bad!

Still within the range they claim to be able to handle though. Might be worth trying a single-prescription pair with some cheap frames, just to see if it's an option; you might be pleasantly surprised. And even if it sucks, you're probably out less than $20. OK, maybe a little more since you'll need to go for one of the high index lens materials with that prescription...

I can also sympathize on the color vision issue. I've got pretty severe red/green color blindness myself (as in, most shades of red and green look more like varying intensities of muddy brown). Could never read resistor color codes worth a damn...

Edit: FWIW I downgraded a notch from their "recommended" lens material for my prescription to save some $ (went with 1.59 Polycarbonate), and it seems fine. A little thick at the outside edge on my right eye, but nothing I haven't dealt with before.

My wife ordered a pair from Coastal and they didn’t match the prescription well. They Customers Sevice was great and they return was easy, so Inwouldnt not recommend them for standard persdcription stuff.
We then ordered two pairs from Zenni, the same frame on both and one pair with sunglass tinting. Both pairs were $32 combined. They work wonderfully. 10/10 would recommend.

My wife has gotten replacement glasses from Zenni a couple times and has been happy with them. They don't take my insurance, though, or maybe the insurance (EyeMed) doesn't take them. Either way.

Glasses Dot Com is considered in-network, though, and it's been working out well.

derFunkenstein wrote:

My wife has gotten replacement glasses from Zenni a couple times and has been happy with them. They don't take my insurance, though, or maybe the insurance (EyeMed) doesn't take them. Either way.

Glasses Dot Com is considered in-network, though, and it's been working out well.

Ahh, I guess I should see what my vision plan covers (if anything) for online purchases. In the past, it has seemed that the only thing it was actually good for was getting discounts on eye exams.

just brew it! wrote:

Decided to give online prescription eyeglasses a go for the first time (ordered from Zenni), and they just arrived today. I have to say, I'm quite pleased.

Thanks for posting your experience. I have trouble finding frames at the optometrist that fit my face, and I am always galled by how much I end up paying *after* insurance! I'll have to give online glasses a try.

Thanks for sharing. I paid $600 for my last 2 pairs and I "saved" a bunch. My problem is buying frames is like clothes, it's best if you can try them on. I have a rather small head and it's hard to find frames. I hate contacts, though, because my eyes dry out in the winter and on the motorcycle. But at a $500 savings I'm willing to give this online thing a try.

DragonDaddyBear wrote:

Thanks for sharing. I paid $600 for my last 2 pairs and I "saved" a bunch.

Yup, I know the feeling. That's what got me to try online. $64 for hypo allergenic stainless frames with progressive lenses (distance/computer) sounded too good to be true.

DragonDaddyBear wrote:

My problem is buying frames is like clothes, it's best if you can try them on. I have a rather small head and it's hard to find frames. I hate contacts, though, because my eyes dry out in the winter and on the motorcycle. But at a $500 savings I'm willing to give this online thing a try.

Yeah, there's some risk since you can't try the frames on. They're pretty clear about the frame specs on the site though. Mine seem to fit well, and if you get frames with spring hinges they will comfortably accommodate a wider range of head sizes.

Hardest part of ordering was figuring out my PD (I guess most prescriptions don't include that for some reason).

I believe Zenni recommends you go to a glasses store (or the Walmart front store thingy) to try some on. On the inside of the arms, there is a code which corresponds to the dimensions. You can plug in that code online and it’ll sho you what frames they have which are those same dimensuons roughly.

Usacomp2k3 wrote:

I believe Zenni recommends you go to a glasses store (or the Walmart front store thingy) to try some on. On the inside of the arms, there is a code which corresponds to the dimensions. You can plug in that code online and it’ll sho you what frames they have which are those same dimensuons roughly.

It's YYxZZ, where YY is the lens width in mm and ZZ is the bridge width in mm.

What about temple length?