The last time I bought glasses – in 2001 – I think it cost me about $200 for the eye exam and the glasses. I only wear them when I drive or watch a movie, so they don’t get a lot of wear and tear. But I could tell that the prescription wasn’t quite right anymore, so I spent $59 on an updated eye exam a few weeks ago. Then I ordered my glasses online, and spent $28 for a sweet new pair of glasses with anti reflective coating and super stylish frames. Twenty eight dollars.
I bought my glasses from Zenni Optical (and no, they aren’t paying me to write this). My mother had tried them earlier this fall, and was very pleased with the results. She wears bifocals, and got a new pair for $32 (compared with about $200 if she had bought them at her eye doctor’s office). She was so happy with that pair that she decided to order another pair just for reading. They arrived this week, but had been caught in a post office machine and smashed. When my mother called Zenni Optical to see about a replacement pair, they offered to start making a new pair immediately, and within 24 hours she had received three emails from the company, detailing the status of her replacement order (and there is no charge for the new glasses). So not only do they provide good glasses for rock bottom prices (as low as eight dollars a pair), but they also have great customer service.
My new glasses arrived today (not smashed!) and I love them. At my current every-eight-years rate of replacement, the $200 that I would have spent on an exam and glasses will last me until I need bifocals of my own.
One thing to note, you’ll need to know the distance between your pupils in order to place an order online for glasses. Eye doctors measure this distance, but often don’t write it on the prescription. I didn’t find this out until after I had my exam, and sure enough, that space on my prescription form (listed as PD) was blank. My husband measured it for me (the website gives detailed instructions for how to do this if you need to), and it worked out just fine. But if you want to get an eye exam and then order your glasses online, it’s probably easiest to just ask the doctor to make sure that space is filled in on the prescription.
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