Name Brand eyeglasses or inexpensive eyeglasses?

[index]

Hi everyone,

I have an eye appointment because I seriously need some glasses. I was wondering if I should buy the cheaper glasses (like no more than $20.00) or the name brand glasses (like $100.00 and up)? I was told the name brand glasses last longer and have a warranty plus the lenses are scratch resistant. Any information you all can offer me would be great. I'm a first time buyer.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Halbleib1]

Last week I went to the vision center in Walmart and from what I found go with what you like as far as the frame is concerned. As for lenses they charge extra for the so called scratch resistant/glare resistant lenses like double the price. So not worth it. Which is the only way you get a warranty on the lenses. You are basically paying for two pairs of lenses up front. For frames you can pay seperate for the warranty. You do not have to get a certain frame in order to get the warranty. If you want the warranty you pay no matter what. It covers them for a year. My frames were originally priced at 69.00 but they were on clearance so I only had to pay 4.50 out of pocket after insurance. My insurance paid for my eye exam which out of pocket would have been 55.00. They also paid in full for my lenses since I went with the cheapest option and do not need bifocals. Out of pocket I would have had to pay about 30.00 for the basic and the anti-scratch etc. would have been over 60.00. My insurance also paid for the warranty on the frames which out of pocket would have been 22.00. Your frames are more likely to break than the lenses themselves.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Well there are alot of excellent frames out there. If you have ins to help you I would buy a better frame. I would love to be able to afford some really good ones but I have to pay on my own. They do have frames that the ear pieces are bendable so at least they wont break. Try on lots of frames and see which ones you like best. I have been wearing glasses since I was 3. You will look beautiful no matter what you get.

 

[Marionnette]

Hi everyone,

I have an eye appointment because I seriously need some glasses. I was wondering if I should buy the cheaper glasses (like no more than $20.00) or the name brand glasses (like $100.00 and up)? I was told the name brand glasses last longer and have a warranty plus the lenses are scratch resistant. Any information you all can offer me would be great. I'm a first time buyer.

Thanks again everyone.

You can get scratch coating on any lens if your willing to pay for it. If your insurance only allows for one pair every two years it might be worth paying for this. You dont want to spend a year peering thru a big scratch in the middle of your lens. As far as the frames, well I consider them to be a fashion accessory. If I have to wear them everyday then I want something that looks good and makes a statement. I would willingly pay the price for a quality designer frame if its going to sit on my nose every waking moment. On the other hand, if you dont have to wear your glasses all of the time and are pretty gentle on them you really dont need the expensive frames or upsells on the lenses.

 

[rock_doctor]

I get my glasses from $39 glasses online. Now, it still costs me a fortune because my script is so strong i need special high index lenses but it still only costs me a little over $150 and that is less then half what walmart or the doctors office wants. My current pair is the third set i have bought from them, my mom and brother also use them plus i have put several of my students on to them. Have never had a problem plus the scratch coating is standard. Give them a look and see what you think. The only hard part is finding your DB measurement. Which is the exact distance from the center of one pupal to the other (which i just measure with a centimeter ruler), otherwise the necessary information comes off the doctors prescription. I have listed two online companies, the one i use and one i have head good things about. Good luck.

http://www.39dollarglasses.com
http://www.zennioptical.com

 

[williamson_ja]

I never found a difference in the name brand frames to just regular ones. I've had both and they all lasted equally long. I would just go with what you like. I got sick of wearing glasses a little while ago and just started doing contacts. I like that much better.

 

[crazelion]

You can get a complete set eyeglass at Walmart for 40.00 dollars.

I paid 150.00 dollars for mind because I am blind as a bat. Mind is scratch resistant feather weight to have transition for 150.00 dollars to at Wal-mart. I glasses usually cost 300.00 dollars and up.

Also found out you can take any frames that want and they will put lens in them.

My glass is holding up well considering that I have drop a hundreds times. LOL

 

[marie1203]

You buy the frames and the lenses separate. If you want glare resistant, etc you pay extra. I have coach frames and I love them I been using them for years just change the lenses. It is really up to you how much you want to spend. With my sunglasses I can tell the difference between cheap and designer in the quality of the plastic but I don't have anything to compare to in glasses.

 

[Melynny]

After months of reading the comments here about Zenni, I could not resist any longer and ordered from them. I recently got 3 pairs of glasses for 35.00. For my test glasses I purchased 2 pairs of the 6.96 and one was 12.95 or 15.95 ?. I did not add any extras , such as scratch coating and I selected the lenses that are not an upcharge. I read somewhere that unless your prescription is strong, you don't need to select the thinner lenses and pay the upcharge. I also did not get bifocal or Progressives ( This pushes up the price too!)

Anyway, since this was just a test, I chose these frames based on the measurements of my old glasses that I liked, based on the shape, and sizes. The ordering process was easy, I watched them when they sized me for my other glasses and knew that my PD, pupillary distance was 57 and that's the number I put on my order.

I received my order in exactly 2 weeks. Zenni also sent me 2 emails to tell me when my glasses were ready to be shipped, and were in transit. I was able to track the shipment with a tracking number.

The glasses came in a white padded envelope, with each pair packaged in a hard plastic case, inside that each pair was wrapped in a nice cleaning cloth. The prescription is perfect! Overall, I am pleased. Mostly, I am pleased with the weight of the glasses. I get migraines, and I absolutely hate heavy glasses. All 3 pairs of these are very light, possibly from them being lesser quality, but a the price I paid, I really don't care! I can definatly see a difference in the quality between the 6. 96 and the higher priced pair, but that won't deter me from buying them again! As for style, I like 2 of the 3 styles. One will be come a spare pair. Overall, I think this was a good test.

I do have a prescritpion for progressives, and I think next time, I'll make the jump and try a pair of them, the only problem with them, is that they are not nearly as stylish as all the other pairs. They only have specific frames that work with bifocals or progressives.

 

[Halbleib1]

You can get a complete set eyeglass at Walmart for 40.00 dollars.

I paid 150.00 dollars for mind because I am blind as a bat. Mind is scratch resistant feather weight to have transition for 150.00 dollars to at Wal-mart. I glasses usually cost 300.00 dollars and up.

Also found out you can take any frames that want and they will put lens in them.

My glass is holding up well considering that I have drop a hundreds times. LOL

Just be aware that if you bring in frames from elsewhere they will charge you to put the lenses in even if you get everything else done there. It was around 10.00 when I asked. I was going to buy my frames at Sams because they were cheaper but with the 10.00 fee I was back up to what the frames were at Walmart. So be aware it may just be cheaper to buy your frames direct from them. Turned out in my case it was even cheaper than Sams as I was able to find a nice pair on the clearance rack for 50% off.

You can get glasses at Walmart for 40.00 if you want all plastic frames. They are 9.00. Than the lenses if you do not require anything special are 30.00. The exam at least around here is 55.00. I would at least upgrade the 9.00 frame to one on clearance. The 9.00 ones will hold up just as well I think but they just don't look as nice.

 

[Halbleib1]

After months of reading the comments here about Zenni, I could not resist any longer and ordered from them. I recently got 3 pairs of glasses for 35.00. For my test glasses I purchased 2 pairs of the 6.96 and one was 12.95 or 15.95 ?. I did not add any extras , such as scratch coating and I selected the lenses that are not an upcharge. I read somewhere that unless your prescription is strong, you don't need to select the thinner lenses and pay the upcharge. I also did not get bifocal or Progressives ( This pushes up the price too!) Anyway, since this was just a test, I chose these frames based on the measurements of my old glasses that I liked, based on the shape, and sizes. The ordering process was easy, I watched them when they sized me for my other glasses and knew that my PD, pupillary distance was 57 and that's the number I put on my order.

I received my order in exactly 2 weeks. Zenni also sent me 2 emails to tell me when my glasses were ready to be shipped, and were in transit. I was able to track the shipment with a tracking number.

The glasses came in a white padded envelope, with each pair packaged in a hard plastic case, inside that each pair was wrapped in a nice cleaning cloth. The prescription is perfect! Overall, I am pleased. Mostly, I am pleased with the weight of the glasses. I get migraines, and I absolutely hate heavy glasses. All 3 pairs of these are very light, possibly from them being lesser quality, but a the price I paid, I really don't care! I can definatly see a difference in the quality between the 6. 96 and the higher priced pair, but that won't deter me from buying them again! As for style, I like 2 of the 3 styles. One will be come a spare pair. Overall, I think this was a good test.

I do have a prescritpion for progressives, and I think next time, I'll make the jump and try a pair of them, the only problem with them, is that they are not nearly as stylish as all the other pairs. They only have specific frames that work with bifocals or progressives.

I was told this when I got my glasses as well. If your prescription is really strong and you go with the cheaper lenses they will be really thick and not look as nice. If you do not care about this than go with the cheap lenses.

 

[Halbleib1]

You can get scratch coating on any lens if your willing to pay for it. If your insurance only allows for one pair every two years it might be worth paying for this. You dont want to spend a year peering thru a big scratch in the middle of your lens. As far as the frames, well I consider them to be a fashion accessory. If I have to wear them everyday then I want something that looks good and makes a statement. I would willingly pay the price for a quality designer frame if its going to sit on my nose every waking moment. On the other hand, if you dont have to wear your glasses all of the time and are pretty gentle on them you really dont need the expensive frames or upsells on the lenses.

Actually at Walmart the only way you could get scratch resistiant lenses was to go with the upper end lense. Which went from around 30.00 to over 60.00 for you basic lense. It also included the anti-glare.

I have had both glasses over the years with the scratch resistance and without it and did not find any difference with having it. I think paying for the scratch resistance is a big rip off.

 

[Sadie22]

Hi everyone,

I have an eye appointment because I seriously need some glasses. I was wondering if I should buy the cheaper glasses (like no more than $20.00) or the name brand glasses (like $100.00 and up)? I was told the name brand glasses last longer and have a warranty plus the lenses are scratch resistant. Any information you all can offer me would be great. I'm a first time buyer.

Thanks again everyone.

Talk with your optometrist or opthalmologist about what is right for you, and go from there. Some variation in price may be due to designer frames. Lense quality is the most important part. Lowest cost is probably not the best thing to look for with medical equipment. Correctness of prescription and availabilty and quality of service are very important.

My entire family uses one shop. We all have vision insurance which provides exams every year, and frames and lenses every two years for DH and I. (Our adult sons have their own coverage now which provides glasses every year and their prescriptions are such that their glasses are free of any additional cost.) DH and I wear progressive lenses and go for a little more style so we do need to pay something.

Anti-glare coating is necessary and is provided free by our shop. Anti-scratch coating is necessary as far as we are concerned since we all wear glasses all the time. It is reapplied under warranty if needed. If any part of the frames break within the warranty it's replaced on the spot and the shop gets a replacement from the manufacturer. Because we always go to the same place we've had some free replacements outside of warranty, too. One DS was especially hard on his frames.

I wear progressive lenses all day long. I need the thin plastic lenses to reduce weight. One lense is thicker than the other. My glasses would tilt to that side if they were glass lenses. I can't be bothered with changing between several pairs of glasses. There's more chance of loss, of not having the right pair when needed, and of scratching them. I work at a computer yet also need to be able to look down and read what's on the desk from time to time, and to look out the window, so there's the three fields of vision of my glasses. I would have a lot of lost productivity if I had to change glasses for each of those.

We have clip-on sunglasses but I also have some wrap-around non-prescription sunglasses that fit over my regular eyeglasses.

 

[Hannathy]

I think you mean do you need to get prescription glasses or just the $3.99 reading glasses.

What they told my sister was after she had her eyes examined and the DR told her this, was if all she needed was the correction to read and the off the rack ones worked the go for it and use them. when they quit working then get and use a prescription. You should have your eyes examined and make sure there is no other correction needed like for an astigmatism but if the simple off the rack work use them. She used just those for several years and only recently needed to move into something stronger. She loved them cause she could have like a dozen pairs in all colors, shapes!

I and my DD and DH were unfortunately blessed with nearsightedness and need prescription and we us Zenni. My DD loves them cause she can get a couple pair at a time and we have all had good luck with them. her last pair was 12.95 and she has received a lot of compliments on them.

 

[3boymthr]

I wear high index lenses, but that's only because otherwise my glasses would be the stero-typical coke bottles (I can only see about 6 inches in front of my face clearly). I don't recommend them unless you need them. They are very, very, very expensive - my last pair of lenses cost $350 That's aside from the cost of the frames which were also expensive. I have found that when you get into the high index lenses there is a difference in quality when you go with a discount retailer vs. the eye doctor or someplace like Lenscrafters so I tend to go with the higher quality vs. lower price. I went with discount pair of lenses once and ended up hating them because they just didn't have the consistency of vision (there were blurry spots). I've been told it has to do with how precise they need to be with the cutting of the high index lens.

 

[index]

Some online retailers:

Zenni Optical – http://zennioptical.com/

+Informative help boxes for lens options, prescriptions, and other fields.
+Very inexpensive factory-direct frames and lenses.
+Cheapest lens costs for moderately high index plastics with a variety of free treatments
+Informative and streamlined website

-Only Zenni frames
-No prism correction for lenses
-No high-index lens (1.7 or 1.74 index of refraction) offered by many competitors

EyeBuyDirect – http://www.eyebuydirect.com/

+Inexpensive frames from a large variety of brands
+Name brand frames
+Abundance of frame information and help boxes

-Lens power (sphere) can only reach +/- 10.00
-Fewer included lens treatments (bevel and polish, anti-reflective, etc.)
-Moderately expensive lenses (offers high-index lenses up to 1.74, though)

GlassesShop – http://www.glassesshop.com/

+Large variety of inexpensive frames
+Useful search function allows searching according to width and length
+Virtual Try-On allows visitors to view the aesthetic appeal of frames (but not whether they fit)

-Requires an account to access lens pricing information.
-Useful guides for finding measurements.

 

[eduk8r26]

FWIW, Costco was judged to be the best place for glasses based on price and satisfaction. Lens Crafters and J.C. Penney and Sears Optical were down at the bottom. I think Walmart was on top, too.