Discount Eyeglasses & Cheap Glasses

Buy Your Contact Lenses Direct and Save

2009-08-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

Ordering contact lenses direct can be very convenient; you can, with just a few clicks of your mouse, have your great new contacts shipped to your door. If you don't wish to get your contact lenses online, there are always optical stores, your eye doctor and mass merchants which sell the lenses. These options are often MUCH more expensive, and for that reasons it's often best to just order your contact lens direct from the manufacturer or wholesaler.

Contact lens sales are regulated by both the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This means that no matter where you choose to get your contacts, they are all selling the same quality of lenses. This rumor o online stores selling inferior products is often started by brick and mortar retailers who are feeling the pinch of budget conscious shoppers. Instead of cutting down their profit margin, they spread untruths to try and scare their customers into paying their markup. But you don't have to. With a valid contact lens prescription, it is possible to purchase your contact lenses from stores, the Internet, over the phone or by mail.

Buying your contact lenses direct either through the mail or online can save you a large amount of money. Just like anything else in your medicine cabinet, the recurring costs are what get you. With the advancements in disposable contacts, many wearers find themselves purchasing new lenses every few months. If you pay $20-30 more per box, this could be a very significant penalty. Additionally, you are required to have an eye exam (yearly in most states), although there isn't much that buying online can help with that. The combination of the two can really get out of hand. However, buying them direct is one way to save some money along the way. How do you do it? Here are a few simple ways that will help you to buy contact lenses direct and save money.

One of the best ways to find most anything anymore is by searching online. To start, you may want to just do a simple search through your favorite directory or search engine, and find stores offering contact lenses for direct purchase. This will probably give you quite a good list to start with. You should also end up with more than a few distributors or manufacturers of contact lenses that are willing to sell direct to the customer. Cutting out the eye doctors office or your local store will likely save you a bundle on each set of lenses. Make a note of the two or three top stores that are offering the best deals and then compare them.

Another way to find them is through talking to others you know who are savvy at finding deals. Talk to your friends and family that wear contact lenses and see where they get them. If they haven't already, suggest to them that you should all work together to try and find a reliable and cheap place to get contact lens direct. With more people looking or by checking to see if anyone already gets them, you increase your chance of finding a reliable supplier.

Lastly, keep your eyes open on consumer websites and in other consumer venues. These can be places like Consumer Reports, your local newspaper, or even this blog. Often times you will find reviews of the different online stores along with their ratings and comments from other savvy shoppers. This can save you a great deal of time when comparing discount contact lenses as you can see what sort of experience that other shoppers had.

Some of my current favorite places to get contacts are:

Lensmart.com

DiscountContactLenses.com
use code DCL5 for $5 off your order

Lens.com
: Get $25 off on all orders of $249 or more with code FIRST-09BK

Don't forget that it's also a good idea to have a backup plan if something ever happens to your contacts. You also need a pair or 2 of cheap prescription glasses; these come in very handy if you are traveling, or you just need a break from wearing your contacts.

As you can imagine, buying contact lenses direct can save you a lot of time and money. You will often pay lots less per box of contacts, but also a save yourself another trip across town to the eye doctor to pick them up. Buying direct gets the lenses delivered directly to your door. So no matter what type of contacts you wear, you should try buying your next contact lenses direct to save yourself money.

One Hour Eyeglasses: Save Your Money and Wait

2009-04-20T16:33:00.000-07:00

Shopping for glasses these days is enough to leave anyone in a daze. You have to navigate what seems like an unending labyrinth of choices. There are often thousands of different eye glass frames and a confusing list of different lens types and coatings. When you multiply this by all the places you can get your eyeglasses, it gets overwhelming fast. Many of these places even offer one hour eyeglasses for the time crunched shopper. But, is that really a luxury that you need to pay for? In our opinion it isn't, and we've found that many shoppers spend more than they should for this minor perk. In most cases, you will overpay for this service, and price is the number 1 complaint that most of our readers have voiced.

In fact, Consumer Reports recently surveyed over 90,000 glasses shoppers, and although two-thirds of shoppers were satisfied with there purchase, less than half were satisfied with the price they paid. This is a disturbing trend that has gotten worse in the past few years. With the recent increase in large stores offering eyeglasses in an hour, this satisfaction seems to be going down. All while the cost goes up of course.

In our research though, we've found that it doesn't have to be that way. It is possible to get a great deal on your glasses if your willing to stay out of the mall chain eyeglasses in an hour places. This will also cut down on some of the sales pressure you're likely to encounter as you can go shopping armed with what you want (and more importantly, what you need) already decided. Before heading out to your eye doctor's office, it would be a good idea to at least be familiar with some of the different lenses, coatings, and edge treatments so you aren't bowled over with the many choices.

This information will also give you a starting point for asking your what you should look for to ensure that you aren't sold extra upgrades that you don't need. For example, many shops will recommend that all eyeglasses wearers opt for additional UV protective coatings or high index polycarbonate lenses, which in many cases aren't necessary. These options do provide a nice markup for the store though.

Many of the shady chains will also prey on uninformed shoppers pushing them toward much more expensive options such as progressive or "no line" bifocals even if there are other, high quality alternatives that may be less costly. The best way to combat this is to speak with your optometrist before shopping to find out what you actually need. This small step can save you lots of money and frustration. If your eye doctors office includes an eyeglasses store, feel free to browse, but don't feel as though you have to purchase there. By Federal law, you are allowed to have your eyeglasses prescription filled anywhere.

On our glasses shopping trips, we've found that the cost of prescription varies dramatically. For example, shopping at a local LensCrafters and Eye Glass World store had us seeing about double for options available elsewhere. For example, a simple polycarbonate (CR-39) lens cost approximately $120 before any discounts. This is several times more costly than the same frame at a local Costco store or online from a dealer such as Zenni Optical. We found similar pricing differences more most options and coatings too. For example, if we wanted to upgrade to an anti-reflective coating LensCrafters required us to upgrade to their FeatherWates polycarbonate lens for a shocking $240! As a comparison, a similar lens at online retailer Zenni Optical is a $41.95 upgrade and $80 at our local Costco. This is an over 300% price difference that the average shopper is paying just to get their one hour eyeglasses. This seems a bit ridiculous for such a small convenience.

This pricing difference is only multiplied if you are interested in fashion glasses. This can push your costs up by hundreds of dollars. Many of these frames are all made by the same companies though, and the designers just license the frame and put their names on. This means that look alike frames are available at several other stores for significantly less money. Many of the top manufacturers (like Charmont and Luxottica) have several options that are just like their fashion counterparts for much less money. This is also a situation where the Internet can save you a ton money. These shops carry all the same manufacturers lines, but at much discounted prices. Many retailers routinely have specials offering inexpensive acetate eyeglasses frames for $20 or less. In fact, Internet retailer Eye Buy Direct offers glasses starting at only $7.95! This is an absolute steal for what you get, and a great way to test the waters or get an extra set of glasses to keep as a spare pair. It takes a few days to get your order, but who wouldn't wait a few days to save $350? We sure would. These are some of the savings available on cheap prescription glasses if you don't need eyeglasses in an hour.

Eye Glass World: Scam or Saviour?

2009-04-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

Eye Glass World is an American eyewear retailer. Eyeglass World was founded in 1988. The company is considered by some to be one of the top eyewear retailers in the US. Eye Glass world provides a large selection of frames, sunglasses, contact lenses and related accessories. They also offer frames and sunglasses of all shapes and colors, made of a variety of materials ranging from titanium to "memory metal" and in a number of styles. In addition, at Eyeglass World stores the customers can get a complete eye exam. The company offers all the products at what seem to be affordable prices. This all seems good if you are in the hunt for some cheap glasses, but is it really all it's cracked up to be?

According to our research, it isn't and many customers feel ripped off by this company and not satisfied with the purchases that they've made. Here are a few of the horror stories we've encountered while researching this article.

Steve from Salt Lake City, Utah writes:

Dec 13, 2008 went to the Eye Glass World Salt Lake City, Utah store and purchased the two for one deal. The person helping me claimed to be the regional manager up from Phoenix to help. After all of the "add ons" the price was very expensive (after checking around - more expensive than other places). The company also failed meet the promised time of delivery for the glasses. On Friday, 1-9-09 I called AGAIN and was told the glasses had just come in that afternoon. I immediately went to the store to pick them up. The only trouble was that only one of the two pair of glasses was actually delivered. No one could give me a time for delivery of the second pair. Upon attemping to use the new glasses, I found the left lens was so blurry I could not see anything out of it. The quality control was horrible. I noted that a sliver of polycarbinate was stuck in my finger. Upon closer examination of the eyeglass lenses I noted "pieces of polycarbonate along the edges of the lenses. The lenses did not have the edges ground off NOR were the edges buffed. No management help at all. There was no manager at the store (a new manager apparently was in Las Vegas being trained this week). The assistant manager was new and could do nothing for me. I asked for a refund and was told to come back on Monday or call customer service. I was given a card with the number. NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. I called the customer number upon arrival home (5:20 PM MDT). I got a recording asking me to leave my name, and phone number and someone would call me back.

Brenda from Mascotte, Florida says:

I needed to find a fast replacement for my glasses that had been destroyed in an accident so I choose EyeGlass World because I was read the advertisement of 1 hour service and also saw an ad w/coupon for buy 1 get 1 free, (and a disclaimer that I could cancel order with in 72 hours)which was in my hand upon arrival.

I ordered 2 pair of glasses, paid by check $343. The magager 'Hanna Kim' said she would call tomorrow when I glasses were ready. The next day a lady in my office took a message from Hanna that it would be 7-10 days for my glasses(I can get glasses anywhere in 7-10 days)I immediately called Hanna and told her to cancel my order and she said since I did not have the sale ad with the disclaimer in my hand (it was in my purse at that time)it did not apply to my situation. After several phone calls, Hanna said she would deliver my glasses on the following day and I said fine.

Then Hanna called me back and said she did not feel she should have to go out of her way to deliver them and after all my eyeglass prescription was not that bad. I said if they were not delivered I did not want them and she said she would make them anyways. We played phone tag and on the day they were to be delivered.

I called again to stress that I had stopped payment on my check and not to make the glasses. She said that TeleCheck would come after me for stopping payment on the check and she was having the glasses made anyways. I told her she and Eyeglass World would be hearing from my attorney. After having this problem, A web site produced many complaints similar to mine, so I am not alone.

Terri from Las Vegas, Nevada told us:

On August 13, 2008, I took my daughter to Eye Glass World on East Tropicana. My daughter had the exam, and we bought her glasses there, also. When we went to pick them up 10 days later, the nose piece fell off of the frames she had picked. They gave her a temporary pair of frames and told us they would call when the correct color frames came in. When I checked back about a week later, they hadn't even ordered them. They told me to check back in about a week. I did. Still no frames. I decided the temporary frames were OK and that I would wait the 6 months that I had paid for for the VIP service where you get a free pair of frames at the end of six months. I called them today, explained about the damaged frames she had received and the temporary frames she had been given and that I had never received the phone call. The gentleman on the phone insisted that because she had been given the temporary frames, she had received the frames that I had paid for, when in reality, it was not what I ordered. So I then asked him if they had the same frame in stock, since I would then use my VIP service to have the lenses transferred into the new frames. No such luck. They, of course, do not carry that style anymore, and I would have to pay for a new pair of lenses. So, now my daughter has to wait, with a pair of broken frames before we can afford to buy her a new pair. I will never, ever, use these people again! Someone should do something about this.

Walt from Evansville, Indiana wrote in with:

Husband purchased a pair of glass at Eye Glass World in Evansville, IN in December, 2008. Paid for the glasses before leaving and filed a claim with our insurance. Our insurance company paid Eye Glass World instead of us. I called the day they received the check and they claimed they had to forward it to their home office where they would issue a refund. After calling their home office (Vision Care Holdings) every week since then, I have been transferred to 4 different numbers. They have been bought out by National Vision and they are about as consumer friendly as Vision Care Holding. Two months of frustration and still no check.

The stories about Eye Glass World weren't all bad though. We did hear from Brittany in West Lafayette Indiana and she said:

Although the selection is somewhat limited, this is a great place to get glasses. They have a doctor on staff to do the eye exams and you get an extra set of glasses for free. This is really nice if you want to keep a pair in the car, and one in the house (or if you are really good at breaking glasses). Also, if you go online you can find extra coupons for an even better deal.

This looks a bit more positive than the others, but in this retailers case there seemed to be many more negative experiences than positive ones. For this reason readers I must caution you to avoid Eye Glass World in your search for discount eyeglasses. While price is certainly important, service is even more so and it doesn't seem like the service at EyeGlass World is up to par. There are several mail order shops and small independent shops that can match (or beat) their prices and I think you would be much better off exploring those options.

Eye Glass Frames: Don't Get Ripped Off

2008-12-29T21:46:00.000-08:00

If you are new to this site and thinking of buying your eye glass frames online this post is for you. Buying glasses on line can provide you with a huge selection of quality frames, lenses, and sunglasses for not a lot of money. All this power comes with a few caveats though. You must be sure of what you are buying so you can be sure that you're getting a quality product for your money.

With the price of a pair of eyeglasses, you may be thinking about getting your next pair of glasses on line instead of going with the full price. But many of you are worried that you may be sacrificing quality by doing this. Let me assure you that this isn't so. There are plenty of places that sell cheap eye glasses and all the ones featured on this site will have same quality that you would find at your local optometrist or mall store.

Before you go online to buy your next set of eye glass frames, you need some measurements to ensure your glasses will fit. The only thing worse than an expensive pair of eyeglasses is an uncomfortable pair of cheap eyeglasses, so don't skimp on this step. In addition to your regular prescription, ask your optometrist for your pupil distance measurement. The pupil distance, or PD, is the space between the lines of sight leading directly ahead from your pupils. This can be difficult to measure, so ask a friend or your local professional opticians to measure it for you. The measurement will be taken in millimeters. The PD is the most important measurement as it will determine precisely where the lenses will fit in the frames.

Buying cheap prescription glasses online provides you with a much larger selection than you would have at your local mall. In fact, most websites have over 200 styles available so it can take some time to find the right eye glass frame for you. If you have detailed measurement from your current glasses however, it will save you time as you only need to look at the eye glass frames that fit. You can use a tape measure and record the various lengths of your current set of eyeglasses. The arms, the lens width, the bridge width (space between the lenses). Take these measurements in millimeters, as that is what all the online sites have their measurements listed in. Since you will not have the luxury of a professional (commissioned salesman) to "assist you" in your selection, the more information you can collect to describe your ideal pair of glasses the more likely you will be satisfied with your purchase.

The lenses you choose for your eye glass frames are also very important. They can make or break your new glasses, so choose carefully. Lenses were originally made from glass, but many are now made from various types of plastic, including CR-39 or polycarbonate. These materials reduce the danger of breakage and weigh less than glass lenses. Some plastics also have more advantageous optical properties than glass, such as better transmission of visible light and greater absorption of ultraviolet light. Some plastics have a greater index of refraction than most types of glass; this is useful in the making of corrective lenses as it allows thinner lenses for a given prescription. These lenses are known as high index, and when in doubt it is always a good lens option to choose.

Scratch-resistant coatings can be applied to most plastic lenses giving them similar scratch resistance to glass. Hydrophobic coatings designed to ease cleaning are also available, as are anti-reflective coatings intended to improve night vision and make the wearer's eyes more visible.

Hopefully, these tips will be useful in your quest to buy glasses online. Remember that many of the online retailers have huge stocks of eye glass frames, so be sure that you take your time when deciding. Your measurements can save huge amounts of time here, so have them handy. Also remember that this is your chance to experiment with many styles of eye glass frames so don't get too caught up in your traditional style.

The Secret of Cheap Prescription Glasses

2008-12-18T19:46:00.000-08:00

Millions of people all around the world are required to wear prescription eye glasses. Until now, purchasing eyeglasses was a real drag, and not to mention a huge strain on the budget. You have to make an appointment with your optometrist, wait in line at the office, fight your way into the store (mall crowds yuck!), deal with a high pressure salesman, and finally plunk down lots of your hard earned money to get glasses that you kinda like. Like many of you, I fought this battle for a long time. I've been wearing glasses since kindergarten (about 30 years now), so I've tried almost everything to get cheap prescription glasses. Big box stores, mall shops, clearance bins at the boutique shops, you name it. Thankfully, the growing popularity of the Internet has changed all of that. More and more people are turning to it in order to buy glasses online, finding retailers who can offer items at a fraction of the cost of the same item at a brick and mortar store simply because online retailers do not have the overhead that brick and mortar stores have. These savings are passed on to the consumer, and thousands of people take advantage of these deals every day.

The great thing about finding glasses at an online retailer is that you don't have to give up quality or style. Shopping at an online retailer for your prescription eye glasses allows you to get the exact same styles that you would pay hundreds of dollars for in a brick and mortar store for a fraction on the cost, and also allows you the ability to move at your own pace when deciding. No high pressure sales at all. This means you means you can get cheap prescription glasses that you'll love for years to come. Of course, you will need a prescription from a local optometrist, but that's easy enough. When choosing your new prescription eye glasses, it is important to choose a frame that fits your face. The three main things to consider when selecting eye glass frames are that the shape of the frame should compliment with the shape of your face, the size of the frame should be in scale with the size of your face, and the lens color should work to enhance the color of your eyes and work well with the color of your hair. Since your new eyeglasses will become a large part of how you look, you should choose frames that enhance your beauty rather than detracting from it.

Sizing of the eye glass frames is quite simple. All of the major online retailers offer all the necessary measurements to ensure that you know what you're buying. Simply measure your existing glasses (many even have the measurements on the temple) so you have a baseline to start from. Try not to worry so much about the style or color of frame. Try something fun or something that catches your eye. You are after all buying cheap prescription glasses, not spending your entire paycheck. Now is the time to think outside the box. With several stores offering prescription eye glasses starting at less than $30 (frames AND lenses), you can afford to experiment. Black and dark red frames are very popular now. In some circles, Gray is the new black, and tweeds & animal prints are getting really popular.

For many people, wearing prescription eye glasses is just a fact of life. Just because it's necessary though, don't think that you are required to give up on fashion or break your budget shopping at the mall stores. Thanks to a new wave of online retailers, you can get the best prices for the exact same products that you can find in brick and mortar stores and, more often than not, get an even wider variety of cheap prescription glasses to choose from.

Buy Cheap Eye Glasses Online: Smart or Not?

2008-11-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

Many of you are harnessing the power of the Internet to buy cheap eye glasses online. I've got 3 pair so far, and hope to order a couple more before the upcoming holiday. With that in mind, is is wise to buy discount eyeglasses? As all of you know, comparison shopping and buying online is now a HUGE trend, and you can get anything from clothing, medicine, vet pet insurance, cars and now, even eye glasses. But is it smart to compromise the health and condition of your eyes, for a pair of cheap eyeglasses?

It is very safe to buy cheap prescription glasses online, as long as you do your homework and buy from a reputable dealer.

One of the most important measurements for your eye glasses is your pupillary distance (or PD). This is to locate the optical center of your lenses and is one of the parts that helps give you clear vision. This number is very challenging to get yourself, and ideally you need experience to measure it, so most are better off getting it from their optometrist. If you spend time surfing the cheap eye glasses websites you will discover that they all need this measurement to properly make your lenses. This will be the easiest thing on your prescription to mess up, so be sure it's correct.

Many of you may end up selecting the wrong style frame for your face and all because the eye glasses are so cheap. That's fine, and you have nothing to really worry about. I really took a chance with one pair of mine because I wanted to try something outside the box. At the absolute worst, I was out the $25 I spent on that pair (see, cheap eye glasses) and had a spare set to stick in the back of the drawer. Just make sure that the frame you chose will physically fit your face (all the shops have full measurements available), and have fun picking out your new style.

Choosing frames that are too large may mean that your new glasses will fall of your nose. If they are too small, you’ll feel uncomfortable, as they may pinch the bridge of your nose. Either way, if they aren’t the right size for you, you’ll end up owning a useless pair of discount eyeglasses. When choosing my cheap glasses, I started with the measurements of my old frames to give myself a baseline. Several of the online shops even have rulers you can print if you don't have one of your own.

Another factor you should consider (although minor), is how can you determine if you look good in a pair of cheap eye glasses that you buy online? Isn’t it more satisfying to be able to try on any pair of eyeglasses you see in the optometrists clinic and immediately know if this pair suits you? While you can't do this when buying glasses online, many online shops can now approximate is with new graphics programs. You simply upload a picture and they scale it to size and impose your new glasses on it.

If you check all of your options, you will see that getting glasses online isn't as scary as you thought. Follow the steps we've outlined above (remember pupillary distance) it will all turn out fine. There is nothing better than choosing outside the box when getting your new cheap eyeglasses and getting that first compliment when wearing them out. You can even mix and match them to go with your current wardrobe. This is the power that buying cheap eye glasses online gives you.

Cheap Glasses: How to Get Them & Care for Them

2008-11-21T12:26:00.000-08:00

Getting cheap glasses online is getting easier everyday. With new sites popping up all the time, it's becoming easier and easier to find a style you love at a very fair price. While there can be a few pitfalls to buying cheap glasses online, if you follow our tips you'll be fine. To get your glasses online, just follow these simple steps:

Find a licensed optometrist and have your eyes tested.
Pay for your eye exam either out of pocket or present your insurance card if you are lucky enough to have vision insurance.
Once the exam is over, ask for a copy of your prescription. Your optometrist cannot refuse to give you this as you, as you have paid them for this test and you are entitled to a copy of the results of this test.
Take your pick of places to order your glasses; use our links for help with this. Contact one of the online companies who supplies cheap glasses and they will take you through the ordering process. They all have huge online catalogs with the frame styles pictured and you should be able to find something you love an perhaps even use their website to look at a picture of yourself with different frame styles superimposed onto your face.

A good tip to remember is to have someone at the optometrists office measure the distance between your eyes, or more accurately, your pupils, and get the number (in millimeters) that they write down before you leave. This is your pupillary distance or PD. Give this number to the online company you choose to manufacture your cheap eyeglasses, as they will need it to make your lenses properly. Some people may not feel comfortable about paying for their prescription and leaving. There is no need to worry about this though as most optometrists will be comfortable with this practice. You might find that your new cheap glasses need some minor adjustments to be comfortable on your face. If this is the case, just go to any optician and you will find they will be happy to do this for you. We will also have a series of articles coming soon to help you do this on your own.

Now that you've got your discount eyeglasses, it's time to learn how to care for them. This info pertains to all eyeglasses, not just the cheap ones. Taking proper care of your glasses will ensure that they last a long time, and the the lenses stay in perfect shape. This will help you always see clearly.

Always take your eyeglasses off using two hands, instead of one. This keeps the earpieces straight and in the correct alignment. Taking them off one-handed risks stretching them out and making them loose.
Don't put your glasses on the top of your head. This will distort the shape of your eye glass frames, and there's a greater chance of them falling off and getting damaged that way.
Try not to push them up on your nose by sticking your finger on the bridge (right between your eyes) if they're wire-framed. This causes stress on the nose pads, and if they're any color but silver, it can wear off the finish. Instead, grasp the lenses by putting your thumb at the bottom and fingers at the top, and them move them to where you want them to sit on your face.
Purchase a microfiber optical cleaning cloth. These are generally available at optometrists, chemists and supermarkets for a few dollars. They will also be included for free if you buy glasses online. To clean them, hold your glasses firmly in one hand. Take the cloth in your preferred hand and gently rub both sides of each lenses until you can see no smudges. Breathe on them gently so that you can see any spots you missed in the fog, and wipe them quickly, before it evaporates. Never use the following to clean your glasses:
1. clothing - dirt trapped in the fibers can scratch the lenses
2. paper towels or tissues - these fibers scratch lenses
3. a dirty microfiber cloth
Keep in mind that when you're not using the microfiber cloth, put it in the eyeglass case; if it collects dust, it'll scratch the lenses, rather than cleaning them.
Always use the proper solution to dissolve any spots. No harsh cleaners needed. More often than not, a little hot water will do it. Still not happy? Buy some lens cleaning spray and spray a small amount on both sides of each lens, and repeat the above.
Buy an eyeglass repair kit. These are available at the counter of some markets, at big drugstores, and at eyeglass vendors and optometrists' offices. Sometimes the screws that hold the arms on can come loose, which makes the arms not able to 'grip' the sides of your head as well. This happens to all glasses, it isn't just for those of us that buy cheap glasses. You can either get a tiny screwdriver and tighten them yourself, or visit your optometrist and have them do it for you.
Always keep your glasses in a case when you aren't wearing them. You should get one free from your optician, or where you bought your new cheap glasses. When you take your glasses off, putting them in the case will help keep them from getting scratched. The best ones are the ones that open and close, rather than the ones you slide the glasses into. Even the act of slipping them in can rub against the lenses and cause minute scratches, which your eyes perceive as haze. Any particles, scratches, or tiny hairline fissures will make it harder for you to see perfectly through your glasses, especially at night or in darkened rooms (light will travel along those scratches, creating halos and prisms). If you aren't putting them in a case, at least make sure the lenses are up, away from any hard surfaces.
Don't leave your glasses anywhere that you could step on them.
Take off your glasses before you spritz hairspray, perfume, or cologne. Not only can it damage the lenses, but it can also dirty the lenses and nose pads.

Hopefully, these tips will help you keep your new cheap glasses in tiptop shape. Most are common sense, but if you are new to wearing glasses they will be invaluable.

Buying Discount Glasses Online

2008-11-12T20:52:00.000-08:00

It seems like everyday that goes buy brings a new ecommerce site to the Internet. From hot sauce to custom furniture, you can buy just about anything online. Now, thanks to a few enterprising companies, high quality prescription eyeglasses are now on that list. There is no doubt in my mind most of you shop online for the same reasons I do; to save money. The cool thing about these new optical sites is that you can save some serious cash buying discount glasses online. And, with the way the economy is looking saving money is one of the best things you can do.

Many online glasses retailers are publicly flogging brick-and-mortar shops for huge mark ups, and that is how they are attracting customers to their online stores. While I don't necessarily agree with their approach, there are pros and cons no matter which option you choose. It is also very important to understand that a brick-and-mortar shop will never be able to compete on the basis of price with an online store selling discount glasses. It's really simple: First, a local shop has a HUGE overhead with the costs of staffing, rent, utilities, insurance, etc. They are also very by their customer base, as they can only sell in their local area.

However, buying at a local store also has some advantages. You get personalized service; you walk into a brick-and-mortar store, and get to interact with a real live human being. Another plus is being able to touch/feel/try on the frames before you purchase them. The last plus for a local store is the convenience of getting your prescription and the glasses at the same spot.

When shopping for discount glasses online however, you will have obtained your prescription in advance from your local optometrist. Always remember that your eyeglasses prescription is only valid for two years, and after this period you need to have your vision checked and obtain new prescription. The main concern people face when they buy their cheap glasses online is the size of the frame and how it will fit or look on their face. The online stores are making great strides against this problem. There are some solutions to this issue already, like a virtual try on system where you can upload your photo on to the website and then drag the image of a selected frame over it to see how it will look on your face. The simplest and most foolproof method is to know your current frame measurements (usually written on the frame) so you can order your new frame with the same dimensions. All the online shops provide the key measurements for the frames they sell. Temple length, bridge width, lens height, overall width, and lens width. This covers all dimensions of your glasses.

Many online stores selling cheap glasses even offer a complete money back refund policy. So, if you don't like your new discount glasses (for any reason), they will refund you 100% of the amount you have paid, and your are only out the time you spent picking them out. With a deal like that, how could you lose? If the average cost of a pair of glasses at a brick-and-mortar store is over $200, and you can get the exact same glasses online for $40, the right choice seems obvious to me.

I have to say that the current highly competitive global market, in nearly every industry you can think of, is very beneficial for consumers. More competition means more choice, more options and ability to save some money. So keep your eyes and minds open and you can get the best deal possible for anything you buy, and of course that includes your prescription discount glasses. I hope my inaugural article has answered some of your questions about buying glasses online.

Privacy Policy

2008-11-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

I respect your privacy and I am committed to safeguarding your privacy while your are online at discount eyeglasses. The following discloses how I gather and disseminate information for this Blog.

RSS Feeds and Email Updates
If a user wishes to subscribe to my RSS Feeds or Email Updates (powered by Feedburner), I ask for contact information such as name and email address. Users may opt-out of these communications at any time. Your personal information will never be sold or given to a third party. (You will never be spammed by me - ever)

Log Files and Stats
Like most blogging platforms I use log files to see who is visiting. This stores information such as internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring, exit and visited pages, platform used, date/time stamp, track user’s movement in the whole, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses etc. are not linked to personally identifiable information.

Cookies
A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. This blog doesn't use cookies. However, some of my business partners use cookies on this site (for example - advertisers). I can't access or control these cookies once the advertisers have set them.

Links
This Blog contains links to other sites. Please be aware that I am not responsible for the privacy practices of these other sites. I suggest my users to be aware of this when they leave this blog and to read the privacy statements of each and every site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Blog.

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I use outside ad companies to display ads on this blog. These ads may contain cookies and are collected by the advertising companies and I do not have access to this information. I work with the following advertising companies: Google Adsense, ClickBank, and PetCareRX. Please check the advertisers websites for respective privacy policies.

Contact Information
If you have any questions or concerns please contact me at greg.danes (remove all this and replace with @) gmail.com. This privacy policy updated November 2008