News By Tom Brownsword

I received my new glasses today. I ordered them over the Internet. I placed the order on January 6 and they arrived today (February 15). They took almost six weeks to get here.

But I’m not complaining. I ordered a pair of glasses with anti-reflective coating and photochromic / progressive lenses and I knew before I ordered them that it would take some extra time. Besides, the price — which I’ll tell you in a moment — was incredible.

If you wear glasses, you know that “photochromic / progressive lenses” sounds expensive. I purchased just such a pair at a local mall about a year and a half ago; they cost me over $600 — and that pair didn’t have the photochromic lens. I had to get this new pair because the fancy carbon designer frame broke on my expensive mall glasses (By the way, this time I went with the el-cheapo steel frames… my discriminating tastes can’t tell the difference!).

So what did this all cost me? A grand total of $76.90, including shipping and insurance.

The glasses came in a plastic bubble wrap envelope and in a hard plastic case. The lenses were wrapped in a soft cloth and placed inside a plastic bag inside the case. There was absolutely no damage in spite of signs of significant wear, tear, and handling on the package (I’ll post a picture later).

Having had progressive lenses in the past (they are basically bifocals without the line between the two lenses), I wish that I would have ordered a lens that was slightly larger. The lenses I ordered are only 35 centimeters from top to bottom; my old ones were probably at least 40 centimeters. As a result, it is a bit uncomfortable at the “progressive” point (where the lenses change). But I’ve only worn them for four hours and I’m pretty sure that I’ll get used to them with no problem.

So where did I get these glasses? I got them from Zenni Optical (http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php).

I heard about them from this blog: http://glassyeyes.blogspot.com/

That blog has some other options for purchasing inexpensive eyeglasses that you may want to try.

You can get a pair of single lens glasses from them for $8.00 (plus shipping).

I purchased insurance for my shipment; if you’re only ordering single lens glasses, you may decide that you can afford to risk $8.00 and skip the insurance.

Just one word of caution: If you decide to purchase your corrective lenses online, make sure that you have your most recent prescription on-hand before ordering. I recommend that you print out the order form and take it to your optometrist to ensure that you have the information you need when you order (you may want to cut off the website URL first… at these prices, a lot of optometrists and retail stores stand to lose their cash cow…).

I’ll be ordering another pair after my next eye exam (I’m going to try to get an appointment next week) and will also be ordering a pair for my mother-in-law; she always seems to be breaking her glasses (besides, I want her to see just how handsome her son-in-law really is!).

Thanks for listening,
Tom