I can't wait to hear how they are! I saw some very similar to the ones I have now. Wonder how recent the prescription has to be. I have one that is about a year old. Local places will not use them if they are over two years old.

DD got her eye exam and asked for the perscription and got charged I think $60 for it. That was over and above the eye exam charge. She was so po'd.

I've ordered from them and was very happy they came to me in a nice hard case also.
I'm having a new exam locally for $99 which includes two pair of single vision but intend to get more at Zenni when I get my new prescription
Be sure to double check all info submitted. I realized I made a mistake after I sent the order off but a phone call fixed it right away.

Good to know Minnie....I like to hear other opinions as well. The prices are amazing!

In California, when you get your eyes examined for a new prescription, if you ask for it, the doc has to give you a written copy of the prescription at no charge.

Wow--those prices are amazing! I wear progressives, and I noticed the Zenni progressive frames are wider than the glases I wear now. It took me a while to get used to the three levels being so compressed, but I'm happy with them now. I wouldn't mind wider for sunglasses, though. My present sunglasses are for distance only; it would be nice to have a progressive pair for not a lot of money. Thanks for posting!

DD got her eye exam and asked for the prescription and got charged I think $60 for it. That was over and above the eye exam charge.
hmmm...good to know there 'might' be an additional charge. I think I will call and verify with my eye doctor the cost b4 seeing him...making note of exactly who said what so I can then dispute any 'extra' charges should they happen to try and charge them the day of the exam. I hate surprise charges that impact the pocketbook.

Sue

How can you order glasses over the internet? The optician has to measure the width of the bridge of your nose and width of your face so that the glasses will fit properly. More importantly, they have to measure your pupils so that they line up the lenses so you get the best vistion correction and so your eyes aren't damaged by the lenses being improperly positioned. And once your glasses are made, they need to be correctly fitted to your own head.

Not to mention the intangibles--that the optician generally can help you find a flattering style, and the one that is most likely to be best for your prescription (not all frames are good for all kinds of correction).

And I have some serious questions about those prices--dd is an optician, and those prices are way, way below cost. I truly don't see how it's possible to get good quality at those prices.

I'd strongly recommend that anyone who orders anything from that website, take the glasses to your opthalmologist to have them checked after you receive them.

Just a bit of info--I recently heard of a customer who had ordered cheap glasses and worn them with no problem. Until they needed a new pair. Come to find out, the old lenses had been improperly positioned and it's going to take MONTHS of of frequent visits to the dr's office to fix the damage. I doubt he thinks those glasses were such a bargain now.

Thanks for the heads up! I think I will be ordering soon, and will let you know my experience.

Trin

Lindsey Is it the same for contacts? I should have said that she wanted to get them from 1-800Contacts. She didn't tell the eye drs office that though.

I'm wondering the same thing about measuring...especially with bifocals and progressives.

They might well be okay for people who are just a little nearsighted.

FWIW: I was in the mood for a super fancy designer pair, and nothing at the local chains did anything for me. I went to several eyeglass websites, and many of them give explicit directions on how to know your size.

First, you can see your size (and model name or number,and color) on a pair you currently own that you find comfortable. There is always measurements on either: the inside arm of the temples, or on the nose bridge, or inside the nose pads if they are one with the frame. For instance, I'm comfortable with the measurements of 54/15, with a temple length of 130 or 135. These are all millimeters.

I found a real cool pair on Siteforsight website...check Roberto Cavalli Selli 346. It was so pretty. They showed the measurements for that frame to be similar if not exact to what I'm comfortable with. So, I knew it should work!

I got my prescription for a progressive from my eye doc, had them do my pupillary measurement for me, and write it on the prescription. Usually it is around 65 or so mm's, and they will do individual measurements for progressives, like one pupil is 32.5, and the other is 33.

Anyhow, I plugged in all the necessary info into their website, ordered them, and then I had to fax in the actual RX with the doc's contact info.

Long story short, they arrived perfectly! My gorgeous, fun, Italian eyeglasses!!!

Subsequently I took them to my local Lenscrafters, where my consultant there made a fine tune adjustment to the nose pads and even she loves them! (They get enough of my business!)

She did wonder how the got they progressive right, but they did.

Also, it is my understanding that ANY eye doctor ANYWHERE has to provide you your written RX if you want it AT NO CHARGE!!! After all, you may want glasses or frames from another store. If you were charged for the Rx, you may want to check if that is legal in your state. Everything I've read says you can have it free.

Anyhow, my next investment is on a cheap glasses site, where I will be sending in an old, but comfy frame to have just new lenses put in cheaply for a computer distance...LC wants $175 to do this for me, but I think I saw where $39 bucks will get new lenses in my own pair of old frames!!!!

So, it worked for me, is all I can say.

My last pair of glasses cost me about $400, not including the eye exam/prescription. About $200 for frames, the same for the lenses. I didn't get polarization or scratch-resistant lenses,that was extra. My husband's retirement plan includeds eyeglasses for me every two year, the kids got cut off at age 18. Luckily, my youngest dtr (18) still has 20-20 vision. The older one wears contacts and buys her own.she's needed glasses ince kindergarten.

There made in China but then my $300 ones probably are too.

Wow I can see getting Syds and Dylans there next time! Thanks Stacy

I think I know what the problem is with the cost for the prescription. I go to the eye dr. every 4 months, because of an eye health issue. Now and then I need a new prescription, most times I don't. The EXAM is different. If you go to the eye dr. and can easily read the chart, that's the end of that part of the exam. However, if you do need a new prescription, they generally use a very expensive piece of equipment to read what prescription you need, then they verify it with the "Which is better this or that?" routine. You're not paying for the piece of paper you get, but the exam itself--which involves extra extra time and equipment. Since I go so often, I can assure you, the price varies by what you have done. If I just go for a quick exam, it's less, if I have my eyes dilated (about once a year), that's a little extra; if I need 'the works'--including the exam for new glasses--that costs the most.

You do realize, that taking a pair of glasses you bought new elsewhere to your neighborhood optician to have them fitted is about the same as carrying a cup into McD's with you and going over to the soda machine and filling it, right? Opticians don't appreciate that sort of thing. Many do simple repairs and adjustments for free, no matter where you bought your glasses, but that sort of thing is exactly why many of them are now starting to CHARGE all their customers for those things that used to be just a part of customer service. Opticians, in most states, anyway, are medical professionals who have had to go to school for years, and put a lot of time and effort into learning their specialty. As the mother of one--I can assure you that your gal at LC may have fitted your glasses with a smile on her face while you were in the store, but she wasn't happy about it. After all, she lost time she could have been using to help a paying customer, and she didn't get the commission on the pair of glasses she fitted to your face. Opticians really do consider that kind of thing very rude. They are generally much too professional to tell you that to your face, but they're just working people like you and I, trying to make it, and they can't really afford to give their work away for free--although a lot of people think they should.

Nodak! "DD got her eye exam and asked for the perscription and got charged I think $60 for it. That was over and above the eye exam charge"

was that for the glasses prescription? or for contacts. Our Dr. Charges that much extra for the contacts.... what a pita! lol It's not like he has to do anything different, been doing the same old thing, year in and year out!

Azzalea, Acey here, and I beg to differ on my LC gal not being happy about her fitting my nose pads. You see, together, we had already determined that she could not order the frames I liked...they don't contract with the brand or whatever. Furthermore, she told me in advance that they can NOT do the drilling through the actual lenses as this frame requires, otherwise I would have just purchased the frames and let LC do the lenses. I must admit to having trepidations about that part of doing business via the internet, but the internet company does have a guarantee.

Anyhow, I've received excellent customer service for several pairs from my local optician and LC in the past, and the rest of my family too. It was just this particular frame, and I'm pleased that they were happy for me, despite not being able to help me with this particular request! Natch, I'll use them again. Nevertheless, it does make me want to ponder the experiment with the lens only purchase using my old frames.

Maybe if the local optometrists would take a chance and get some funky/cool/unique frames in, consumer choice could be redirected back to the locals??

acey...do you know that LC gives a 30% discount on lenses and frames if you have an AAA card?

Kat~ That was for the contact perscription that she needed to order from 1800CONTACTS. Not glasses perscription.

Monica.....Acey here, sure do know that on the AAA!

I used AARP !!! (I'm an old fartette!)

LOL,

Acey

Old fartette ... being a bit more genteel than just plain, "old fart", I suppose?

Or is it a bit like the relationship of quart ... to quartette?
o j

You do realize, that taking a pair of glasses you bought new elsewhere to your neighborhood optician to have them fitted is about the same as carrying a cup into McD's with you and going over to the soda machine and filling it, right? Opticians don't appreciate that sort of thing.

HERE is what I don't appreciate. I don't appreciate the fact that I ordered my last pair of glasses from my local optician (at almost $500). This was NOT a national chain; it was a local business. The glasses lasted just over a year. When I took them off one day and they came apart, I took them in and was told they couldn't be repaired. I brought them home and glued them back together -- still wearing them -- but vowed NOT to do business there again.

OK, you probably made the right decision there. Most opticians absolutely WILL repair glasses if they possibly can. DD always keeps a box of spare pieces, glue, clear nail polishe, etc, on hand for just such things. Sometimes, it is something they cannot do--sometimes DD gives her customers the name of a local jewelry replair place that will do some soldering of frames, if that will fix the problem. Now, obviously, some things can be fixed, some can't. Some opticians are better at that than others (it's not really something they study--more of a skill the handy ones pick up on the job). If you were dealing with an optician who refused to try to help you, or to offer any reasonable alternatives, then I, too, would find someone I had a better rapport with.

I have to say I appreciate what your saying azzalea and I do understand that they work for their money just like everyone else, but for people on tight budgets and on fixed incomes, or no insurance to cover these things they have no choice but to go elsewhere to save money or go without. I expect to pay for my exam, that's normal, but I should also have the right to pay for the exam and take my prescription elsewhere. I then would expect to pay for a proper fitting by my optometrist, he is doing me a service by adjusting the fit for me if needed. I don't see how I am ripping anyone off. The mark up on frames and most likely lenses too is probaby horrendous and we have to pay it. I can't blame people for looking somewhere else to get what they need at the price they can afford. I had an edlerly aunt that many times went without her important meds because she couldn't afford them. We found out when she'd end up in the hospital quite a few times in a few short months that she hadn't been taking them for this reason. I don't expect something for nothing....just have to protect my $$ as I'm sure most people do these days. I would imagine the cost of the exam and then an adjustment on the glasses would still be way less than getting the glasses locally still.