A few years back, we told you about Zenni Optical, a cheap website where you can buy your prescription glasses. Â Last week, my boss/mentor/sorority sister, Joey, was commenting that she needed to order spectacles, and was dumbfounded when I told her she could order them online for less than $20 a pair.
Just last month I realized I needed new glasses, after the arm of my most recent pair broke (to be completely honest, I broke a pair that I ordered from Zenni a year ago). Â I logged online to Zenni, found my frame AND lenses for $9.95 – yes, that’s the total price – and then added anti-reflective coating to my lenses for an additional $4.95. Â With shipping, my glasses cost a whopping $19.95. Â And to answer your question, I am blind as a bat, so no matter how bad your eyes are, you can get cheap glasses.
I think Zenni is great especially if you want to get a backup pair in case your expensive pair breaks, or if you are a fashionista and want to have a different pair in black, brown, and red to match to your clothing. Check out the original review!
This review was originally posted on November 23, 2009.
I’ll be honest – the last time I purchased new prescription glasses was my senior year of college…because Dad was footing the bill (thanks, Andy).  A few years back, I got as far as actually purchasing glasses, but quickly returned them after seeing several hundred dollars appear on my credit card statement.
Fast forward to a few months ago when my roommate told me he purchased glasses over the Internet for a couple bucks and was waiting for them to arrive in the mail. I laughed and was envisioning a huge scam. Â I was wrong.
For as little as $13, including shipping and handling, you can purchase glasses from Zenni Optical – I’m talking frames and lenses.  The site offers hundreds of frames starting at just $8.  Even the “women’s fashion†frames were affordable, at just $12.95.  Once you find a pair you like, just type in your prescription and pay a shipping fee of $4.95.  If you need any extras, like bi-focals or anti-reflective coating, keep in mind you will be paying a little bit more as there is an additional charge.  Your glasses will arrive in a little less than a month.
If you plan on using Zenni Optical, there’s a couple things you should keep in mind.  You need to have the complete prescription, including the “PDâ€, aka the distance between your two pupils.  Your eye doctor will have this on file, so just ask that they include it when they send you your prescription or share it over the phone.  While buying glasses online can be intimidating since you can’t try them on, use your existing pair as a guide to make sure you don’t end up with glasses taking up your face (aka me in 4th grade).
If you are looking to purchase a back-up pair of glasses, prescription sunglasses or don’t want to financially commit to just one style of frames, I suggest you check out Zenni Optical.
