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. I was wrong.
For as little as $13, inc
luding 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 “PD”, 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.



Whoa, I would have thought this was a scam too. Do the lenses work? This is one of those things that I can’t help but think “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Lenses work, my roommate can see perfectly. Even the New York Times mentioned the site in an article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/health/policy/23patient.html