Buying Eyeglasses Online

When I was in 2nd grade, they told me I needed glasses. Mortified, I refused to wear them. Once in a great while, I would wear them at home, or sneak them into the movies, so I could see. But for the most part, I pretended I didn’t need them. One day, when I was about 16 or 17, I put my glasses on and went to my bedroom window. I actually LOOKED around the back yard, and was in absolute AWE that I could all of a sudden see individual blades of grass!! So, I decided that I would start wearing my glasses. Ever since then, I’ve worn them constantly. I did try contacts for a while, but my eyes are really dry and the contacts were uncomfortable. Once, I got a really bad eye infection while wearing contacts, and temporarily lost vision in one eye, so I decided I was just going to be a Bespectacled Babe. I am now one of those people who refuses to take their glasses off in pictures, lol. I love my glasses! They’re a part of me.

I go to a nice optometrist’s office, and the ladies there always helped me find super cute frames. But of course, after my insurance paid their portion, I still owed hundreds of dollars. On an online forum, I saw someone mention they bought their frames from Zenni Optical. I was curious, so I looked them up. I placed my first order in December 2010, and haven’t looked back since!

Zenni’s frames start at $6.95. They go up to $59.95. Some of the $6.95 pairs ended up being my favorite pairs of glasses!

How to order glasses from Zenni:

• Get your Rx from your eye dr. Make sure to ask for your PD (pupillary distance). It’s not usually included on the Rx, but they always measure it. It’s how far apart your pupils are, so they know where to center your lenses.
  • Go to www.zennioptical.com
    
    You can search for frames several ways.
  • I usually go to Women’s Glasses, then put my PD in the filters, so that I don’t fall in love with a pair that won’t work for me. At that point, there are still too many to browse through, so I may look by frame shape, color, etc. I wear progressives, so I always check that box, too.
  • You can also search by frame size; click on the little ruler icon “Find my size”, and Zenni will help you find your frame size using your current pair of glasses. I usually get a Medium or Large frame.
  • As you are considering a pair of glasses, you can choose Try On to see how they look on your face. This works on your phone or on your laptop/computer. If you click on the pair of glasses, you can scroll down and read the full description, reviews, and it will also show you more glasses like that style in the You Might Also Like section.
    
• Once you’ve chosen a pair, entering in your Rx is very easy. Just make sure you enter it exactly like it is on the Rx (watch the +/-). If you’re using your phone, you can upload a photo of your prescription.
• Based on your Rx strength, they will recommend the lens index (thickness). I always try to get the polycarbonate lenses – it’s worth it to me to have lighter lenses. They also do high-index lenses.
• You can add the anti-reflective coating for $4.95. Their $4.95 option is better than the $75 “cheap” option at my optometrist’s office. You can also upgrade to the hydrophobic (water-repelling) coating or the oleophobic (fingerprint resistant) coating for just a bit more. If you want sunglasses, you can add tint for $7.95. They even do gradient tints and mirror tints. You can add blue blocker tint to your lenses or even a privacy tint to prevent facial recognition tracking (your Face ID on your phone won’t work with these on, though, lol) You can upgrade to polarized (reduces glare) sunglass lenses or photochromic lenses (that turn dark when exposed to UV light) if you like those features. I’ve done polarized sunglasses before and they were super clear. I did the photochromic too, and they changed from light to dark (and back) pretty quickly. They have the brand name Transitions also, but those are more expensive.
• Shipping time is about 7-10 days, for US. You will get your glasses in a poly mailer. Each pair of glasses is in a plastic case which is lined on one side to protect the lenses. Each pair of glasses also comes with a microfiber lens cleaning cloth. Zenni glasses always come with free anti-scratch coating, and free UV protection. You only pay $4.95 for US shipping, and it’s free if your order is over $89. International shipping can vary.

Some tips I have learned:

• Look up the measurements of the glasses you currently have. Try not to stray too far from those. It was definitely a trial-and-error for me at first. I got some that were too narrow/tight for my face. I got some with arms that were WAY too long. I got some with bridges too wide, and they would slip down my nose.
• Bridge – this is the part that sits on your nose. If you order one that is too narrow, it will hurt, and if you order one that is too wide, they will slip down your nose. If you order glasses with nose pads, you can adjust them a bit to fit better. (Most of my glasses are plastic though) I won’t go below 16 or above 18 – except for metal frames with nose pads that I can adjust.
• Lens width is the width of each lens.
• Frame width is the width of the entire frame. If you order a too-narrow frame, it will hurt. I learned this lesson early on, lol. I can do a 132 or 133 if the frames have spring hinges, but I don’t go above a 140.
• Temple length – this is the “arm” part of the glasses. There’s a bit of leeway here. A teensy bit shorter probably won’t make much of a difference, and neither will a teensy bit longer. I have glasses that range from 137 to 144.
• Lens height – this is how tall the lens is. I like all sorts of shapes and sizes of glasses, so feel free to experiment here. Of course for sunnies, you’ll probably want a bigger lens to block out more light.
• Frame weight – this tells how much the frames weigh. I have only had an issue with weight of the glasses one time. I bought a pair of metal glasses, and they were super cute! They were half rims with a magnetic sun shade. But I should have paid extra to get the polycarbonate lens so they would be lighter – because with the weight of the frame, plus the weight of my lens, it was kind of heavy. I could wear them most of the day, but the nose pads were digging into my nose after a few hours.
• Because the glasses are so inexpensive, I never thought about returning the pairs that didn’t fit right, lol. But I did return one pair last year, and Zenni was super awesome about it. I had to send the glasses back, and once they received them, they gave me store credit.
• When I realized I could order using my Flexible Spending Account, I went a little crazy!
• Zenni has a lot of info on their website, here’s a link to their Help page, they have articles and FAQs on everything! If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the Home page, there are links to infographics, videos, and more.

If you want to try Zenni out, here’s a link to get $15 off your first order!

Also, I know there are other places online to buy glasses, but I’ve never bought from any place other than Zenni. If you have, feel free to share your experiences in the comments below!