The mission? A fully configured, daily pair of prescription glasses for less than $35. This isn't fantasy, this is the world of online eyewear. A world free of brick and mortar overhead, free of monopolistic frame companies, and a world free of "industry norms" regarding price. I promise to dig up a number of extremely wearable glasses for less than $35, including shipping. I'm going to scour some of the top discount sites and show you what a measly $35 will buy.
Our first stop? The MA085 frame at optical4less.com. Shown in the picture below, it looks pretty good. A modern look, suitable for everyday wear and appropriate in any setting, from casual to business. Fully configured, it runs $37 including shipping. Too bad, this one doesn't count, we're off by $2. Another caveat, be careful if you have really bad eyes, as all prescriptions over 2.75 have a $59 surcharge at this website. Plus, at $37, it doesn't include any anti-scratch or UV coating. Inexpensive, to be sure, but can we do better?
Well, optical4less didn't quite cut the biscuit. Goggles4u.com, known for being a low-cost leader, offers the semi-rimless frame 21319 (exciting name, huh?) for $25.99. Again, this frame is shown below. That is truly an all-inclusive price. We're talking lenses, frame, UV coating, anti-glare coating, anti-scratch coating, and shipping! Great news for folks with really bad eyes, too, as the maximum surcharge for very strong prescriptions is $10.
$26, shipped from Goggles4u.com. I think we're going to have a hard time beating that. But we'll try. How about $39DollarGlasses.com? Well, as the name suggests, $39 isn't under $35. After $5 shipping, the out-the-door price for many frames will be $44. This includes UV coating, etc, but I'm not going to talk about it much more, since the price is above my $35 limit.
Moving on, let's check out EyeBuyDirect.com. The website says glasses start at $14.95. Let's see what we can find for under $35, including shipping. For $34.90, including shipping, you can even upgrade the frame material from basic alloy to flexlite. This allows for a lighter weight and more durable pair of glasses. The attractive unisex "Sand" frame is shown below. You can use the coupon "eyebuyfreeshipping" to get free shipping, knocking your order total down to $29.95 for a complete pair of glasses. Pretty sweet deal!
And it can get even cheaper. The attractive plastic women's frame, titled "Ancona," is a scant $17.95. Using the free shipping coupon above, this price includes shipping, a basic lens, and a UV coating. At eyebuydirect, anti-scratch and anti-glare coatings do cost extra.
So what is the final verdict? For finding a complete pair of glasses under $35, including shipping, the top choices are Goggles4U.com and EyeBuyDirect.com. Though fully configured frames at Goggle4U.com ring up closer to our $35 limit, this price includes anti-scratch, anti-glare, and UV coatings. On the other hand, if you choose EyeBuyDirect.com, you can upgrade to a flexlite frame and still come in under $35. If you want to spend the absolute least amount of money possible on prescription glasses, EyeBuyDirect.com is for you. Choose a basic plastic or metal frame (such as the Ancona shown above) and use the "eyebuyfreeshipping" coupon, and you'll be out the door for less than $18.
If you're like my wife and like glasses for fashion purposes only, any of the frames available above can be purchased without a prescription at the same cost.
So give it a try. It works. It's cheap. Don't know where to start? See my post, "From Square One: How to Buy your Next Pair of Glasses Online."
I always thought of prescription glasses as this extremely expensive unavoidable purchase. Now buying glasses has become a pleasure!
http://25dollareyeglasses.net/home.html
I bought these for my daughter wit all the frills and it came to 54.90. That is EVERYTHING they had. They are reliable, and nice. Your page seemed confusing. Plus I did see $100 glasses there that my daughter would have had to have. Her vision is very poor.
I've been wanting a pair of transition sunglasses (that go from dark outside to light inside) for some time, and the above site has those for under $40, so I might pick up a pair soon.
Ordered couple glasses from them before and they works great! I love them!
No more $200+ walk-in optical shop!!