Glasses for CHEAP...My wife just got NEW glasses for $60 instead of the $420 Lenscrafters wanted...

[masmdu]

We were surprised by the cost at LensCrafters and Visonworks wasn't much better 360 so we tried ZenniOptical online and she got her glasses today...they look great and cost just $60 bucks and her prescription is on thick lenses so it cost more.

Anyway, if any DUers are looking to save some $ in this area the have glasses starting at 10 bucks!

[Juche]

1. Yep

You can get a decent pair for $20 there. Just make sure you are getting the frames you want, it is hard to tell what the frames will look like when they finally arrive.

[blondeatlast]

2. Thank you for the link! All of their lenses are polycarbonate (a requirement for me

for protection) and they are 300 bucks at Lenscrafters.

Thank you sooo much--I'm digging out my scrip now!

[masmdu]

4. You are very welcome...glad it was helpful for you...

:)

[EOTE]

3. Stay away from LensCrafters at all costs.

So I was tempted to get a pair from LensCrafters a bit ago because I had a coupon that promised me something like $150 for a really nice pair that I pretty much needed. By the time they were through with all the rigamarole, the price had ballooned up to almost $400. I couldn't believe it and my jaw just dropped. Needless to say, I walked out of there without glasses. What a total rip off. I think the bulk of the money they make there is just from people who don't comparison shop or from people who go in there, go through the huge ordeal they put you through, and then feel too embarrassed to leave without purchasing their glasses.

[masmdu]

7. Agreed...our experience was similar...we walked out

[Hekate]

32. I only went there because they promised to be fast & I was leaving the next day...

What with one thing and another I was not in the mood for BS, so when they tried to upsell me on the frames I told them to show me the $60 frames. It really irked me.

I have worn glasses since 4th grade, and ultimately ended up with extremely thick ones. Hard contact lenses at the age of 21 were a godsend, but I always needed my other glasses. I would pay for polycarbonate (they are much lighter on the nose) and I would pay for anti-scratch coating. I would not pay for $300+ designer-name frames. If you tell the seller to show you the case with the frames the insurance company will pay for, you will always be able to find something that looks good-enough and not dorky.

Being able to buy inexpensively online sounds great. I would only be concerned about being able to replace a pair that was for some reason defective -- bad optics can be a headache in more ways than one.

Hekate

[Hawkeye-X]

5. I'm still wearing my $350 glasses that I bought last month from LC

and I will buy my next one online!

Jesus - $60? is this for high index lenses as well?

Hawkeye-X

[masmdu]

8. Yes

[dchill]

6. Thanks for a greatly useful post.

Somewhat of a rarity these days...
:)

[CountAllVotes]

9. thank you!!

I just got a new RX last week. I have INSURANCE that will cover the cost of these! :D :D :D

:kick:

[The Straight Story]

10. cool, will check em out

Thanks for the tip!

[1]

11. zenni is great...

i have purchased several pairs of glasses from them.

i was about to start a big construction project and i always seem to manage to damage my glasses. on a lark i ordered two pair of their cheapest glasses ($8.95 each + the $5 shipping). not the most beautiful frames i've ever seen, but now when i work i can drop them, scratch them or sit on them with no more care than a pair of cheap sunglasses.

fast delivery too. usually within a week...

[mzmolly]

12. I've paid as little as $29 online and have been happy with the quality.

www.eyeglassfactoryoutlet.com

and

http://www.39dollarglasses.com/

are both companies I've ordered from.

Thanks for the tip on Zenni! I'll keep it in mind for the future. :hi:

[Neurotica]

13. And get your contact lenses from Costco

My son just started wearing contacts last year. I bought his first ones from the eye doctor at $45 for a box of six. Last week she suggested (!) that I go to Costco instead to fill the prescription and the savings were tremendous. A box of six lenses was only $14!

[CountAllVotes]

14. Costco's glasses tend to suck though

I have a few pairs I bought from them and no, they were not cheap either. I'll check this place out as I have nothing much to lose.

[dysfunctional press]

25. my wife just bought two pairs of glasses from costco- and she loves them...

:shrug:

[CountAllVotes]

28. they are ok at first

give them a year and look at them. I have a pair on right now and the paint is chipping off of the frames. I've had to have them repaired 3X already. *sigh*

I'm ordering a pair via this place the OP mentioned. Let's hope they are better and last a bit longer.

:dem:

[blondeatlast]

42. I got a great pair from Costco 2 years ago and my seriously stylish friends (no joke--

they are in the industry) think I paid much more.

Polycarbonate lenses (a requirement), all the goodies, no line-bigfocals--all for a whopping $149--including the exam.

Lenscrafters charges $299 JUST FOR THE DAMN LENSES.

[truth2power]

18. I think you have to be a member at Costco to get contacts there. .

That's another, what?...45 or 50 dollars?

[Neurotica]

26. Well worth it -- we more than make up the annual membership fee

If you consider the contacts alone, we saved over $60.

And shopping there for other items on a regular basis saves us a lot more.

[blondeatlast]

43. Indeed--not to mention the lower fuel costs and grocery items.

Great place to work, too--and they are 100% blue.

[rwork]

15. How do you do the prescription?

Looking at their website I did'nt see anything mentioned.
Do you take it off of your old glasses?

[masmdu]

16. My wife went to get a new prescription from the doc next to LensCrafters...then you enter

your prescription info after you choose the glasses you like.....the only tricky part is the measurement from the center of pupil to center of pupil ( this is usually left off a prescription but if you ask for it I think they will do it) We did it with a ruler in mm's not difficult but it takes two people to do it.

[OwnedByFerrets]

17. Kicked so that...

more people can see this. Thank you for posting.

[cnk_clark]

19. Good tip

I have been wearing the same glasses for 10 years. They are scratched and I finally took some plastic polish and they look like brand new. But the frames are really old and need to be replaced.

I will give them a try.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. Link?

[MagickMuffin]

38. Here it is...

http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php

:hi:

[raccoon]

21. Good for you. I just ordered some glasses at LC last week.

Sunglasses. I will say, this time, the dude who helped me really knew his stuff.

However, I totally agree they are way too expensive. AARP gives you some discount.

But ordering them online, how do you know if the frames will fit? Also, is this suitable for those of us who have real strong prescriptions?

[1]

i took an old pair of frames that fit well...

and measured them. then i looked for a frame online that matched the measurements. they have a lot of frames to choose from.

they do charge extra for strong prescriptions ($5 i think) and other extras like super-thin lenses and tinting and the like, but i purchased a great pair of progressive, coated bi-focals with attached sunglasses for $65.

its worth a look.

[elfin]

22. Had my eye exam at LC and THEN

asked for the new prescription be put into my current frames - bought there two years ago.

No can do they said - the frames were not "strong enough" to change the lenses. I refused to buy new frames and went down the road to another local glasses place - no problem for them.

The only way to use LC if if you have terrific insurance - I have none for eyes.

[Bonhomme Richard]

23. My son and I both use Zenni.

[rndmprsn]

24. K&R thanks =]

[MelissaB]

27. A FatWallet thread for reference.

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=18&threadid=231255&start=0

[pacalo]

29. Thanks so much, masmdu!

[femrap]

30. WOW....thx.

And all the frames are made in China so I know their profit margins are outrageous. I'll check it out.

[SeattleGirl]

31. Thank you!

I need to get my eyes checked again, and I have a feeling I will need a new prescription. This is a great site.

[northzax]

33. makes you wonder who provides the labor

don't it?

[bean fidhleir]

40. yep, my first thought was "China again" (nt)

[northzax]

41. China? no, it's not worth it for this

you the fast shipping needed makes outsourcing the assembly of the frames and lenses to Asia too expensive. but who wants to bet on whether this is a union shop? think they have insurance? retirement?

yeah, me too.

[eppur_se_muova]

34. 135 mm temples only? No thanks. I'm barely getting by with 145's.

When I first got my frames (years and years ago) they came with 160 mm temples. The longest size available keeps dropping every few years. I'm not sure if anything over 140 mm is available anymore.

It's like a shoe store decided to stop selling any shoes over size 8 1/2 and just decided they could do without those customers who needed bigger sizes. All part of the race to the bottom.

[1]

35. why don't you go check out the site? your "135mm only" statement is wrong...

they have frames in a variety of sizes.

in fact, in the all the pages i checked out i could not find one frame as small as 135mm, everything is longer, most OVER 140mm...

[ShaneGR]

36. Gees, after reading through this thread I am really glad I have perfect eyesight....

What a pain in the ass.

[MagickMuffin]

37. What about frame adjustments?.?.?

How would one do adjustments?.?.?

I already looked around and found some frames I liked. Now if I could afford to go to the eye doctor.

[Bozita]

39. I was wondering the same thing.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

44. I need sturdy glasses.

I have a high minus (very nearsighted, thick lenses on the edges) and wear mine ALL the time, unless I'm in bed and horizontal. If I am in bed, they are witnin arm's reach on the nightstand.

I need the spring hinges so I am wary of the cheap glasses.

Where can I get Rodenstocks for cheap? They're extremely well made.