Buying Glasses Online - the customer experience

After picking over the frames available from our eye doctor, my wife and I decided that there must be a better way to get our prescriptions filled.  I decided to do a little research and found a couple of websites where online eyeglass vendors were reviewed.  Glassy Eyes was the first site that I found and it was loaded with helpful information from a guy who decided, as we did, that the mall eyeglass stores and optometrist offices were simply way too expensive for what you are getting.  The author of that website seems to focus on the more conspiratorial issues around why prices are so high, but he also provides a thorough review of many of the leading Internet eyeglass vendors so it is worth a look (http://glassyeyes.blogspot.com/). The other site, Eyeglass Retailers Reviews, seemed to be a bit more objective in their reviews of the Internet vendors.  In fact, the "old site" that is archived at http://www.eyeglassretailerreviews.com/ was the most helpful in making apples-to-apples comparisons amongst the main players.  I did not see ads or coupons on Eyeglass Retailer Reviews and I appreciated the reader forums where many disgruntled customers were helping me understand the challenges I would face ordering online.  Glassy Eyes reviewed far fewer retailers and every review includes a coupon code that reads something like "glassyeyes".  That always raises a red flag for me.

Between my wife and I we had several eyeglass prescriptions that we could fill.  We both had our regular eye checkup with an optometrist and associated prescriptions, but we also had special visits to ophthalmologists for further screening and received another prescription from there.  Finally, I was given a separate prescription for reading glasses.  With five prescriptions in hand, and a bit of online advice, we set out to find the best online retailer.  Of course, these experiences are based solely on only one or two transactions with each vendor.  Your actual experience may vary considerably (as you can read on the Eyeglass Retailer Reviews forums).

First, we needed to know our papillary distance.  That was not written on our prescriptions and the bricks and mortar eyeglass retailers are not willing to tell you what it is.  They are becoming more concerned about the online stores and don't want to make it easy for you to defect.  We found several techniques listed on the online retailer sites and tried all of them.  The results were fairly consistent so we were comfortable that we were fine with the final numbers that we submitted.  We know now to always ask for papillary distance to be included on our prescription.  The optometrist did not object when we asked for that number this year.

At a glance, here are the glasses we ended up ordering online:

Vendor	Date ordered	Date arrived	Prescription	Total Price (includes shipping)
Discount-Eyeglasses.net	01/26/09	02/14/09 19 days	Normal Glasses Right: -1.00, -2.00 x 092 Left: -0.75, -1.25 x 072	US$25.99
BestPriceGlasses.com (aka Shultz Optical)	01/26/09	02/09/09 14 days	Progressives Right: -3.25, +2.50 x 003 +2.25 Left: -2.00, +1.25 x 160 +2.25	US$52.40
SpecsOnTheNet.com	02/21/09	03/09/09 16 days	Reading Glasses Right: -1.00, -2.00 x 092 +1.25 Left: -0.75, -1.25 x 072 +1.25	£3.99
Optical4Less.com	02/21/09	03/13/09 20 days	Reading Glasses Right: -3.25, +2.50 x 003 +2.25 Left: -2.00, +1.25 x 160 +2.25	US$33.30
BestPriceGlasses.com (aka Shultz Optical)	02/24/09	03/12/09 16 days	Normal Glasses Right: -3.25, +2.50 x 003 Left: -2.00, +1.25 x 160	US$13.90
EyeBuyDirect.com	01/26/09	02/06/09 11 days	Strong Prescription Glasses* Right: +2.50, -2.75 x 003 Left: +3.25, -4.25 x 173	US$59.66
Goggles4U.com	02/21/09	03/07/09 14 days	Strong Prescription Glasses* Right: +2.50, -2.75 x 003 Left: +3.25, -4.25 x 173	US$55.09
EyeBuyDirect.com	03/01/09	03/12/09 11 days	Strong Prescription Sunglasses* Right: +2.50, -2.75 x 003 Left: +3.25, -4.25 x 173	US$32.39

* My wife's prescription is very strong and many online retailers do not offer lenses with her prescription.  Those that do charged extra for high index lenses.  For example, I filled out the order form at SelectSpecs.com for my wife's glasses and they sent me an email asking if I wanted to continue with the order for an additional US$45.00 for 1.67 lenses.  I was able to easily cancel the order via email.  So even if the online form allows you to enter a strong prescription, you may be asked to spend more.  That is why her glasses were much more expensive than mine.