Where Can You Get Great Prescription Eyewear on the Cheap? is a post originally published on: Everything Finance - Everything Finance - Its all about Money!
When I first had to get Glasses in my early 20’s, I thought that I was doomed to nerdom. On top of that, I was going to have to regularly spend a hefty sum of money on new eyewear. This was not a prospect that I was excited about, to say the least. But, after wearing them for almost half of my life now, I know that neither of these have to be true. I can actually get prescription eyewear for cheap and here are a few ways how.
Firmoo
Firmoo is a great website to use to get prescription eyewear for cheap. Firmoo has a buy one get one sale with glasses starting as low as $19 per pair. So two for $20, doesn’t get much better than that. Kids or adults glasses are eligible for the sale. Firmoo also has a referral program in place. $10 in PayPal cash for each new referral!
Solution
I didn’t start out the savvy eyewear consumer that I am today. After all, my first pair of glasses were basic wireframes, which were very boring and plain. And, they cost me over $500!
Because of how expensive they were, I only had one pair and cherished them like gold. After this pair, though, I became enlightened to another, better way, by my brother.
He had been wearing glasses for a few years prior to myself. Which meant that he had more time under his belt to do the research for cheaper, yet still good quality, options. The best option he had found on the market was a company called Zenni Optical.
Zenni Optical
Their website is extremely easy to navigate and has styles for men, women and children. Which is fantastic, because we are all shaped differently and have different desires for our eyewear.
The two basic things you need to know are:
- Their glasses start at $6.95 a pair
- Shipping is only $4.95 for the entire order, no matter how many pairs you purchase at one time
While they do have a lot of choices in the $6.95 a pair range, the majority of the glasses I have purchased have been a little bit higher.
Most of the glasses I have purchased, since finding them, fall into the $9.95 – $12.95 per pair range. And the most expensive pair of eyewear I have ever purchased from them was $27.95. This doesn’t include the regular add on that I put on all of my glasses, but even that wasn’t much more expensive.
The gist of it is that Zenni has new styles, designs and colors on a regular basis, so there is always a ton to choose from. That is the biggest issue I have found with shopping for eyewear on this site so far, too many choices and not enough days to wear them all!
Add On’s
As if the price alone wasn’t enough, all of their glasses come with:
- a hard eyeglasses case
- decorative cleaning cloth
- standard UV Protection
- Anti-Scratch Coating
- Single Lens
But, if you want to add on any extra features, they have those too!
My favorite is the generic photochromic lens. These darken in the sunlight to turn your prescription glasses into sunglasses. And, they start as low as $19.00 per pair, which is pretty phenomenal.
If you prefer the name brand version of their photochromic lenses, they carry those too. The Transitions brand starts at $69.00 per pair.
Adding the photochromic lenses to each of my glasses has been well worth the $19.00 for me. I am simply not interested in trying to keep track of a separate set of sunglasses or clip on’s. So having one pair of glasses that serves all purposes is important to me, and my lifestyle, so it is worth the extra money.
Some of their other great add-on’s include:
- Anti-reflective coating
- Bi-focals
- Blue blocking lenses
- Different colored lenses
- Gradient lens tint
- High-index single vision
- Mid-index single vision
- Oleophobic anti-reflective coating (keeps fingerprints and oil from sticking to lenses)
- Polarized lenses
- Polycarbonate single vision
- Progressive lenses
- Standard lens tint
- Super hydrophobic anti-reflective coating (water resistant)
- Tri-focals
- Trivex single vision
With as many options as they have, I have only used the photochromic and oleophobic anti-reflective coating on my glasses. I have loved both options and believe they are certainly worth the additional cost, even though it is really pretty minimal overall.
Finding prescription eyeglasses doesn't have to be expensive.
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Proper Measurements
Before you get started, please keep in mind one thing you must have before you make your first purchase. On top of having your correct prescription, you will need your PD (pupillary distance) measured. This is really easy to do and the website can walk you through it.
Once you have all of that, then you can put in your prescription and PD into your profile. They suggest uploading a picture of yourself so that the program can “try” the glasses on your face. That way, you can see what they would look like before you buy them. This is a great option for those who are unsure of which styles they may want to try out.
Although, I have never used this option personally. I began with them prior to this being an option, so what I have always done is to use a pair of glasses that I already have. I use that pair and take the measurements so that I know what I should be looking for to fit my face. Usually, I can get away with straying a few millimeter’s one way or the other and still have them work just fine.
Longevity
To date, I have only ever had one pair of glasses that I strayed too far from with the measurements. I knew because they kept falling off of my face every time I leaned down. I loved the look of them, and they were so cost efficient, so I just kept trying. But, they just never worked out well for me so I eventually broke down and ordered a new pair of eyewear. These were in the same color family, but different style, and worked much better.
Since I found them, I have purchased all of my glasses from Zenni Optical. So far, I have only broken one pair and had to get rid of the other aforementioned other pair. The others are all still part of my regular rotation. Which means that right now, I currently have 14 pairs of completely different glasses to switch things up.
That may sound crazy, but I love having different types of glasses for different activities or outfits to match. And since they don’t cost a ton of money, I am okay with that.
Since I have to wear glasses, I need to get prescription eyewear for cheap. They might as well be cool and not kill my wallet, at the same time!
Have you tried Zenni Optical yet? If so, what has been your experience?
Where Can You Get Great Prescription Eyewear on the Cheap? is a post originally published on: Everything Finance - Everything Finance - Its all about Money!
