Eyewear Reviews

In this post, I will explore some of the differences between the following four major discount prescription eyewear retailers: Note that I am not including the discounted designer eyewear sites. I am also not including every possible configuration as this becomes prohibitive with half a dozen lens types plus half a dozen lens options for each type. This table provides a first look into the most common options with which you will be presented.

	Goggles4U.com	EyeBuyDirect.com	39DollarGlasses.com	Optical4Less.com
Base price §	$13	$15	$39	$15 ^
Thin lens (1.6)	+$12	+$42	NA	+$35
Thinner lens (1.67)	+$27	NA	+$50	+$35
Anti UV Coating	+$0	+$5	+$0	+$0
Anti Reflective Coating	+$0	+$7	+$25	+$0
Anti Scratch Coating	+$0	+$0	+$0	+$0
Photochromatic Lens %	+$8	+$36	+$50	+$59
Sunglass tinting	+$0	+$5	+$10	+$8
Bad eye penalty #	+$10	+$0	+$0	+$59
Priciest standard config @	$50	$74	$114	$109

§ For this exercise, I chose the cheapest frame available. Typically a basic alloy frame.
^ This low-cost frame is from their overstock section
% Photochromatic lenses are "transition" lenses -- they automatically darken in the sunlight
# Some retailers have a surcharge if your prescription is > +2.75 or < -2.75
@ Does not include photochromatic or sunglass tint options.

Conclusions? Goggles4U is the cheapest. EyeBuyDirect nickles and dimes the price up but has the best selection. 39DollarGlasses and EyeBuyDirect are good options if you have very bad eyes because they don't charge for extras. Your mileage may vary depending particularly on the type of frame you choose. I always recommend titanium. Another note, I recently posted a link at fark and one user commented that his glasses from 39DollarGlasses were a little wonky, so I don't enthusiastically recommend that company at the moment.

Designer eyewear is pricey. Though a pair of nice frames with lenses can cost well under $60 on sites like EyeBuyDirect.com or Goggles4u Eyeglasses, a pair of designer frames with lenses bought online will cost you three or four times this. In stores, designer frames with lenses tend to cost about twice what they cost online. Generally, someone shopping for designer frames isn't what might be called a bargain shopper. Despite this, why pay double for literally the exact same pair of glasses?

Choosing designer over regular eyewear gives you cutting-edge eyewear fashion. Or, if you bought designer frames in the past, you can probably find the exact same frame online for a portion of what you paid for the glasses you are wearing now. This is a good opportunity if your glasses have broken and you are looking for an identical replacement.

Here we have the Ray-Ban RX 5095 at BestBuyEyeglasses.com. An undeniably slick frame, this will cost $131 with basic lenses or $198 with polycarbonate lenses. $200 seems a lot for a pair of glasses, but this same frame runs well over $400 at any retail optometrist. It is available in three colors and in two frame sizes. The frame sizes are almost identical, though it can be configured with an extra two millimeters of width per lens. If you're confused about sizing your frame, check out this link.

Next up is a woman's frame, the Burberry BE 2001. A perfectly fashionable and lovely frame, fully configured it costs $174 with basic lenses or $242 with premium polycarbonate lenses. You can find it in two colors and two frame sizes. If you have a smaller face, go with the 52 - 17 - 31 - 135 sized frame, if you have a slightly larger face, go with the other. This frame is designed to have a large field of vision and is fairly large.

Happy surfing! If you find designer eyewear just isn't for you, or if you just can't afford it right now, check out EyeBuyDirect.com or Goggles4u to find great frames including lenses for well under $60, often for less than $30!

In my continuing effort to find great UK-based online eyeglasses merchants, I have found NuGlasses.co.uk

Their website is quite attractive and offers a fully integrated virtual try-on service, which I haven't seen at any other retailer. What I mean by "fully integrated" is that the page for any particular frame allows you to click "nuYou - Try Online" and you can virtually fit the frame to a self-portrait that you upload. The closest I have seen at any US-based online eyewear retailer is the virtual try on at EyeBuyDirect.com


Another premium service at NuGlasses.co.uk is the "Try at home service." For £2.50, you'll get a pair delivered to your door with a prepaid return-post envelope. While I was happy ordering my glasses sight-unseen, many people need the true look and feel provided by actually trying on the frames in person.

All told, a typically configured frame runs at about £70 - £100 on average. You're paying for quality glasses, no doubt, but you also pay for the premium service offered by NuGlasses.co.uk, which even includes UK-based phone support.



[Technorati Tags: Glasses Online, , Discount Eyewear, UK Glasses, , Eyewear, Eyeglasses]

Don't poke your eye out! Ensuring that never happens seems to be the mission of Safety Glasses USA. Every pair of eyewear available serves one purpose: to protect your eyes. This isn't about seeing, prescriptions, or anything of that nature. It's all about keeping those precious little eyeballs inside your head. Simply the range of safety glasses available at the site is astounding. Here is a short list of some of the safety eyewear they specialize in: Anti-Fog, Bifocal & Reading, CE Certified - Europe, CSA Certified - Canada, Driving Glasses, Economy Safety Glasses, Fit Over Rx, and Imprinting Safety Glasses.

That's far less than half of the product categories on their website. And then if, for example, you click on sports eyewear, you'll see they have safety eyewear for every sport around, even fishing and field hockey.

Safety Glasses USA has protective goggles for people working in manufacturing or construction, they have goggles for skiiers, they have shooting glasses, welding goggles, military-approved goggles and eyewear, I could go on--honestly they have everything--to the point of almost being comical.

A fair chunk of their business involves bulk orders. It is a great website if you are looking for employee goggles or eye-protecting helmets for an entire softball, baseball, or hockey team. Need anti-fog goggles or some other esoteric eyewear? This is your place.

Prices range dramatically. Simple goggles start at $2-$5, while brand-name special use glasses and sunglasses range beyond $100. They do not fill prescriptions (that is, you can't get rx prescription goggles here), but they do provide lenses that can given a prescription by your local optometrist and then fitted directly into a given product.

Do any of my readers use any of this exotic eyewear on a regular basis? I'm extremely curious to hear about people's experience with, or the importance of, say, non-fogging shooting glasses. Honestly, I have no idea. I can, of course, understand regular safety goggles, and those that fit over my glasses would be useful for woodworking and the like.

Based on the sheer range of and specificality of many of their products, I give Safety Glasses USA a rating of, "Who knew?"

Retailer Link: Safety Glasses USA

[Technorati Tags: Safety Goggles, , Protective Eyewear, Eyewear, , Glasses Online, Discount Goggles]

Are you looking exclusively for designer frames or sunglasses, either with or without a prescription? I haven't been exactly thrilled with the selection of designer prescription frames online, but then today I found BestBuyEyeglasses.com, which claims you can "save 40% on designer eyeglasses." Their claim rings true, if the benchmark is the suggested retail price. I'm not gonna list all the brands, but they have Prada and Shuron, which are two of my favorite designer eyewear makers.

I'm a huge fan of the Shuron frames, such as the one shown on the far right. I haven't seen a similar non-designer offering anywhere. This site is definitely the place for designer eyeglasses or sunglasses, which are available with or without a prescription. I found that most fully configured glasses with all the needed coatings (UV, anti-scratch, etc.) ranged between $130-$200. This is about the same as a non-designer pair at your local optometrist (maybe somewhat less) and about half off what you'd expect to pay for designer eyewear. If you're looking for more typical low-cost glasses under $50, go with any of the other sites listed on the right column of the page.

[Technorati Tags:EyeGlasses,Designer ,Eyewear,Glasses Online]

The first in a series of reviews I'll be doing is for the online retailer EyeBuyDirect.com. EyeBuyDirect's website is very easy to navigate and, for the most part, a pleasure to use. Their product offering is strong, with well over 100 frames to choose from--in fact, five new frames are added each Monday. Perhaps my favorite feature on the website is the "virtual try-on" (I talk about and try that service in this earlier posting) service. Using this service, you can upload a self-portrait and then place images of some available frames over your face. While the service isn't perfect, it will give you a good idea of whether or not a particular frame works with your face shape. Like most retailers, EyeBuyDirect offers Plastic, Metal, Titanium, and Rimless Frames. They also have several unique offerings, such as prescription sport goggles ("RecSpecs") and "Grandma and Grandpa" glasses. EyeBuyDirect is also one of a few online retailers offering discount designer frames. First, the plastic frames. These range in price from $14.95 - $29.95, including a basic prescription and an anti-scratch lens coating. The least expensive plastic frame is the "Patch" model while the"Trader" model is one of several at the $29.95 price point. With a total of 33 frames, the retailer's selection in this category is admirable.

Next are the metal frames. This basically means stainless steel. There are only a few offerings in this category and they are basic, if a little bland. The price range in this category is narrow, from $14.95-$17.95. The "Scent" frame is an example of a frame at the lower price point and the "Sting" is an example of a frame at the higher price. Third, and this is the category from which I suspect most will order, are the titanium frames. Twenty frames are offered within the $34.95-$39.95 price range. Oval, rectangle, squarish, and half-rimmed versions are available in gold, silver, black, and even pink! I'm a fan of the "Shore" frame, which looks just like the glasses I am wearing right now.


EyeBuyDirect.com also has a separate "rimless" category. Honestly, these probably belong in the titanium category because each frame has titanium bows (the part from the lens to the ear). Each of the thirteen rimless frames are $49.95. The black "Hyde" frame is your basic rimless. It is a distinguished look and similar to what Stephen Colbert wears. For those looking for more fashion-forward frames, EyeBuyDirect offers 80 fashion frames priced at $39.95 or $49.95 and 40 designer frames, which are priced at $79.95 or $99.95. In the fashion category, I really like the "Kitsch" frame. I'm not crazy about any of their designer looks, but this Christian Dior Frame would look really great on the ladies. Other designer names to choose from are Morgan, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Gant, and Dolce and Gabana.

















Another available product category I'll touch on briefly are the Flexlite Frames. There isn't much to say, really. The styling is similar to the metal or titanium frames. The price point is in-between the two at $29.95. Flexlite is a combination metal made of stainless steel and titanium. The most unique offering are the sport eyewear. These specs are great prescription goggles or glasses for skiing, cycling, and, well, sports. They also work great as outdoor safety goggles. The look is rather stylish and the pricing great at just under $50. Finally, let's talk pricing. The prices I mention above are for frames and a basic lens with an anti-scratch coating. The standard laundry-list of options are available, including anti-reflective coating (+ $4.95), UV protective coating (+ $4.95), Brown/Green/Gray color tint (+ $4.95), and photo-chromatic "transition" lenses (+ $35.95). Other available lens upgrades include thin and light ($25) or super-thin lenses($42). Bifocals ($19) and progressive, line-free, bifocals ($39) are also available.

So how much will you spend? Of course, it depends. If you are looking for a daily-wearer, you'll probably want titanium or a lightweight plastic. You'll want all the coatings and probably the medium-thickness lens. That combination is what I wear every day. So we're looking at $37 in upgrades. Therefore, if you go for an average titanium frame, your out the door price is about $75. Of course, if you are on a tight budget, you can bring your out-the-door price to as low as $15 for a basic metal or plastic frame with no lens upgrades (use the coupon below for Free Shipping). In fact, I went this route for my prescription sunglasses. I chose a basic aviator frame with no lens upgrades other than the free anti-scratch coating and an 80% gray tint. Out-the-door, a nice pair of prescription aviator sunglasses for right around $25. Overall, EyeBuyDirect has a very competitive product offering. They aren't part of a race-to-the-bottom in terms of pricing, but instead offer a good product at a very good price and many value-added services, such as the virtual try-on application.
Coupons: Available coupons for EyeBuyDirect are as follows: 5% Off: "EyeBuyPromo" Free Shipping: "EyeBuyFreeShipping" Free Gift: "EyeBuyGift" (As always, don't include the ") Direct Link to the EyeBuyDirect.com [Technorati Tags: Reviews, Glasses]

Several places online offer designer sunglasses or eyeglass frames from Prada, Christian Dior, Gucci, etc. for quite a bit less than retail. However, even half off retail is still a couple hundred dollars. If you are thinking of getting some designer eyeglasses, take a look at these options.

These Prada Frames (Model PR 06HV) look great and retail at $249 (not including lenses). They are available through the link above for "just" $166. Add lenses online and you're looking at a couple hundred bucks. As in, that's still a lot of money to throw around, but if you insist on a name like Prada, you might as well save $100.

The frame shown on the left costs $12.99 at Goggles4U not including lenses. I think they look pretty darn close to the Prada frames that cost more than ten-times as much. They are frame number 18600. Add lenses and you are spending well under $60. Certainly a reasonable alternative for those on a budget or just looking for something a little more practical.

The bottom line is this: designer frames are cheaper online, but those without that kind of money can still get a designer-esque frame for a fraction of the price of a designer frame.

If you're looking for discount designer frames, FramesDirect is a good choice (click for pop-up of that site). If you're not looking to go designer, but still want something that looks fashionable and/or edgy, check out the Fashion Eyeglasses over at EyeBuyDirect.com. I'm partial to the Avon Frame myself (click for a pop-up link). That frame comes in at $40, give or take.

Often when I'm considering a purchase...be it a video game, a lawnmower, or a new computer, I do a google search for something like "best new lawn mower forum." This seems to be a good way to avoid getting too many ads and ending up with real feedback from real people. Along these lines, a recent google search brought up this thread located on a Mac forum, of all places. Basically the guy wants glasses, thinks lenscrafters is too expensive, ends up buying designer frames online and having the lenses installed at lenscrafters. Or something like that. Honestly, why not just do the whole thing online like some other forum members mentioned? Return and breakage policies for online eyeglass retailers are typically excellent. A final poster reminds us to not stop getting eye exams, because perscriptions will change. I posted a few weeks ago about finding a good price on an eye exam (hint: don't go to a suburban eye clinic).