Have you bought eyeglasses lately? Have you paid the high cost for those purchased through an optometrist’s office? I don’t need designer frames or tinted and decorated lenses. I just want serviceable glasses that help me see better far and near ( yes I’m in the age range that benefits from bifocals.)
I don’t need or get glasses often, only every 7 to 10 years.
The glasses I just got replacements for, although I’ll still use them for gardening and working in my shop, were purchased in 2000. The best price I could get at the time was at Costco. The exam was $39.00 and the bifocal glasses were $88.00. Total bill $127.00 plus tax.
I accidentally sat on them, broken beyond repair, so I got a replacement pair for $83.00 less than two years later. Lucky for me the prescription was still good (they have a two year limit.) If it had been a day over two years they would have required a new exam in order to get replacements ( I guess they don’t trust me to know if I can still see out of my own glasses.)
So now it’s 2007 and I feel my sight has changed enough that I need a new prescription, funny how I was able to figure that out all on my own.
With no Costco within driving distance I opted for the Walmart optical exam. Cost the same, $39.00. And by the way my vision had changed very little.
But now comes the surprise. Frames similar to the ones I got in 2000 are costing at a minimum $84.00 and the bifocal lenses $60.00. That’s $144.00 plus exam $39.00. Total $183.00 plus higher taxes.
So I hit the Internet to see what’s going on.
Professional advice, get an exam every two years get all sort of beneficial coatings on the plastic lenses, anti-glare, anti-scratch, UV blocking. And then there are the designer frames to enhance your appearance and self confidence. I had determined years ago that glasses will not change my appearance to that of a movie star or fashion model and I have all the self confidence I need. I don’t want to get a new mortgage on the house to pay for these glasses. I can still see pretty well without glasses things are just a little fuzzy. I just want something that will take the fuzz off and stay up on my nose.
So I came across Zenni Optical. These people seem to be a bit better attuned to what the cost of two half dollar size pieces of plastic with wire wrapped around them should be.
For $8.00 I can get a pair of cheap frames with single focal lenses in them and for just $17.00 more I can get bifocal lenses. That’s a total of $25.00 plus shipping for a pair of bifocal glasses.
Granted the frames may be of a slightly lower quality than other more expensive ones but I can buy four more replacement pairs if needed for about the same price as I would otherwise pay for a single pair. And if I break them 13 days after my 2 year prescription expires I can get replacements because they don’t require a prescription.
The glasses were ordered over the Internet and received by mail in about two weeks and they work just fine.
More about the specifics, mysteries and, vagaries of buying eyeglasses in the future.
Originally posted: January 13th, 2008