Get Better Glasses!

My employer has a rather generous vision plan that covers $155 towards new eyeglass frames and 100% of the lenses through insurance provider VSP. With the new insurance, I was thinking I might actually be able to get away with simply paying the co-pay of $25. I was so excited! I may actually get to try on some glasses, in person, and see what they’d look like on my face. Wow, what a privilege!

My excitement quickly faded before my appointment as I started trying on glasses and looking at the little price tags on each of them. $300, $350, $400… things were not looking good. Sure, there were a few cheap, outdated frames that I could get for around $200, but the quality of these frames were not even close to being as good as the quality of the frameless memory titanium, anti-reflective coated glasses that I had purchased online about 3 years earlier for under $40. Equivalent glasses were actually 10 times more at the local optometrist!

Read more at 20somethingfinance...

So let your optometrist measure your vision, but don't let them sell you a pair of glasses.

Note that these folks my daily wearers and I'm still loving the specs.

$10 off selected frames: code "Selected10"
$25 off glasses with Transitions lenses. : code "Trans25"
15% off RX sunglasses: code "Springsun15"

Or if none of those suit you, click here and use coupon code GUSA10 for 10% off

Well, thankfully you can buy these same designer frames online for $82 plus the cost of lenses (an additional $75-$135, depending on the type of lens). A savings of 40% or so. Here's the 507 model, a horn-rimmed, semi-rimless look:

High School Musical HSM 507

$81.99 (Retail $143.99)

High School Musical HSM 514

$81.99 (Retail $143.99)

As always, if you're not sure about buying glasses online, check out the archives (links on the right), shoot me an email or post a comment.

It starts MONDAY, July 20th and ends SUNDAY, July 26th.

This is probably the best sale in the whole online eyewear industry. If you miss the sale this week, another one will (probably) come along in six months or so. If you're reading this too late and you di missed the sale, don't forget about my exclusive coupon for 12% off (see code in the right-hand column of this web page).

Click above to visit Eyebuydirect.com and enjoy the sale! Sorry about the ugly and loud banner, but I think that I need to post it to give you a link to the sale.

One of the lesser-known companies out there, GlassesUSA.com (click, new window) claims to deliver a superior quality product at a reasonable (but not dirt cheap) price. I have been impressed with their communication and apparently high level of customer service, but never had experienced their product first-hand.

The folks at GlassesUSA were confident enough with their glasses to provide me with a free pair, knowing that I was in no way obligated to return the favor with a favorable review. I received the glasses several weeks ago and have, to better judge the product, worn them exclusively since. My vision is such that I wear glasses from the second I wake up in the morning until the minute I go to bed. I have strong astigmatism and wear single-vision glasses and don’t require bifocals or trifocals; I have a current prescription (less than 12 months old).

All right, to the brass tacks. The company representative asked me to choose a pair from their website. I quickly navigated the website (good layout, simple search feature) and found the right pair for me. Having wanted to try out rimless eyeglasses for some time, I chose the “Philadelphia” frame (a simple search will find it). I chose this frame because it looked like it had good proportions and it has a 140mm temple length. For whatever reason, many of the online eyewear stores force me into a 135mm temple length. In reality, 135mm is somewhat short on most men’s heads, including my average-sized gourd. It works, but 140mm is more comfortable, so I was pleased that GlassesUSA had several options with the 140mm temple. The price on this pair is $59.95 with no extras and not including shipping. Widely-available coupons knock the price down 10% or so or take care of the shipping. So the actual cost is right around $60 out the door. You also need to fax, scan, or key in your prescription information (make sure to see your optometrist for an updated prescription if you don’t have one already).

About two weeks went by, and the glasses arrived. Excited, I ripped open the envelope and checked out my new specs (all pictures at bottom of this post). I looked over the included case and lens cloth (an appreciated extra, but ultimately destined for my sock drawer) and then went straight to trying on the eyeglasses. I immediately noticed the prescription was dead-on. Great lens grinding with no odd effects at the peripheral vision (it has been commented that some of the cheaper online eyewear stores struggle to grind out a perfect and consistent lens), the frame seems of great quality, and the look and proportions of the eyeglasses are dead on. By all accounts, a very high quality pair of eyeglasses. Certainly there are no noticeable differences in quality between this pair and the pairs I’ve paid $300 or $400 for over the years (naturally, the $300 or $400 pairs were bought at brick and mortar stores, not over the internet). The quality is noticeably better than my $30 pair from zenni optical -- specifically, the alloy frame seems immediately more dense and less fragile.

Two weeks later, I haven’t experienced any problems or noticed any manufacturing defects whatsoever. The glasses are comfortable, lightweight, and not leaving any pressure marks or sores around my ears or on the sides of my nose. I’ve actually received compliments on my eyes since wearing these glasses. Usually, I would receive comments on the glasses themselves when I would buy a new pair, but with a rimless pair, people seem to be noticing my eyes underneath! I don’t see switching back to one of my other pairs any time soon (other options include what’s left of my zenni optical pair (the nose paid mount broke off) and a nice-quality designer Izod frame (which retails for about $200 for the frame alone)). So yes, the eyeglasses at GlassesUSA.com are high quality and I would recommend them to anyone. What’s more, they are 50 to 70% cheaper than what you can buy from your optometrist. No, GlassesUSA isn’t as cheap as eyebuydirect, goggles4u, or some of the other china-based online eyewear companies, but the initial quality of product does seems superior. What was meant to be a sample pair has ended up as my 18-hour-a-day daily wearer. I’ll probably still go with the other guys for a dirt cheap pair of RX sunglasses, but I will definitely stick with GlassesUSA for my daily pair that will log the most use.

Some current coupons (see right panel if these have expired)
Celebrate independence with GlassesUSA! Take 20% off your final order of eyeglasses or sunglasses. Use Code: July20
Celebrate independence with GlassesUSA and enjoy free shipping on any order over $50! Use code:USASHIP

What comes in the mail (this is inside a non-pictured envelope)

The complete product -- glasses, the nicest case I've seen, and a cleaning cloth.

Another view -- I ordered the "Philadelphia" frame

Me, wearing the glasses.

I always thought parsley was a plant. And only a plant. In fact, the parsley for my kitchen garden just bolted to seed. But "parsley" is what EyeBuyDirect named the frame shown above.

But the point is, EyeBuyDirect has been offering certain frames at half off or even better for a very limited time. This week's deal is the frame shown above, named "Parsley" with lenses for $8.95. That's seriously cheap. What do you have to lose?

In case you can't tell, those are girl's glasses. And they're cute.

Visit EyeBuyDirect.com for this week's Deal of the Week.

BestBuyEyeglasses

Until now, I haven't seen a company online offering a middle ground -- glasses that aren't as pricey as designer frames but not as inexpensive as those on EyeBuyDirect . GlassesUSA.com seems to be taking on this market -- reasonably priced, high quality frames. I had a chance to send a couple emails back and forth with their marketing director:

All of our glasses are manufactured according to US guidelines- we actually surpass US guidelines during our manufacturing process...we are a group of people who are fed up with high priced eyeglasses made horribly. You can go to Target and WalMart to buy a pair of frames and the glasses are just barely up to industry standards.

We want to change the way Americans buy glasses...I went to America's Best to purchase my 2 frames for $69.95. I still have headaches when I wear those glasses. Yet, my glasses from GlassesUSA cause me no problems, no double vision- no headaches...I'm out to change. I believe in the company. Have you ever worked somewhere that you honestly believed in the work you do? That is how I feel about GlassesUSA. I love my job!

-Hillary Rubin, Creative Marketing Director, GlassesUSA.com

The site has user reviews for many of their frames. I'm impressed with the "Columbus Black" rimless frames, these are pictured below. They have 2 4 star+ reviews and run $60 including a basic lens.

For women, the Hilarie Black reminds me of the glasses Tina Fey wears. $32 including a basic lens.

As a fairly new retailer, GlassesUSA.com has some decent promos going on. Use code: 2gusa15 for 15% off any two pairs. Use code GUSA10 for 10% off any order. Click here to go to GlassesUSA.com

Designer Carrie Mundane in vintage frames.

Simon Chilvers considers the comeback of glasses in this 2009 article from the Guardian:

With the overload of pretty celebrities in 2009, the power of glasses to cut through the chaff is even greater. Alexa Chung, whose look revolves around an offbeat boyishness rather than high-octane glamour, is the ideal pin-up for the specs revival. Actor Jaime Winstone was clearly gunning for extra cool points when she chose to rock a hefty tortoiseshell pair recently. Hip-hop royalty are getting stuck in too. Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z have all been swapping statement pap-proof shades for quirky nerd-like specs instead. Meanwhile, at a cinema near you, Gus Van Sant's Milk, set in the 70s, features Cleve Jones, a young gay activist (played by Emile Hirsch) whose square specs fit brilliantly with this current revival.

Click for the rest of the article and some great photos

If you buy your pair online at bestbuyeyeglasses.com (click here), you'll enjoy paying about half what you would at the downtown boutique. Use the coupon the right for an additional 5% savings and free shipping.

EyeBuyDirect's "Plasma" Titanium Frame

So why not pick up a pair of titanium eyeglasses -- like the "plasma" -- for about a quarter of what you'd pay at the eye doctor?

The one-day sale is Monday, February 9th ONLY. So start lining up at the door.

Click here to visit EyeBuyDirect.com

If you're new to this (online rx eyewear) game, be sure to check out the posts shown in the right hand column to help get you started.

Spending $400 on regular eyeglasses? We can do better than that.

Save $380:
How: Head over to Goggles4u Eyeglasses and pick out a pair of glasses from the $12.99 section
Pros: Cost: $20 shipped. That's cheap. Great for your kids who destroy their glasses anyways.
Cons: The frames would be alloy metal, not titanium or rimless. If you want thinner lenses or special coatings, you'll have to ad another $15 or so.

Save $300:
How: Choose a pair of rimless glasses at eyebuydirect. Add a superthin polycarbonate lens, anti-reflective and anti-scratch coatings
Pros: $100 gets you a fully configured pair of glasses using superlight materials and with the lightest lens available. The coatings help your glasses stay like new for a long time.
Cons: Although the glasses will probably be great, you can't do an apples-to-apples comparison with most of the frames you'd find at your optometrist. This is because Eyebuydirect uses "house brand" glasses as opposed to Prada, Izod, or some other designer.

Save $100-$200:
How: Buy an exact replacement for your existing designer frames or purchase new designer glasses at BestBuyEyeglases.com
Pros: If you know exactly what you want, or if you are replacing your existing frames, you can key in the information from your current glasses and purchase literally the exact same pair for 2/3 or even 1/2 the price of what you usually pay. If you're after new glasses, you'll find the best designs from the most reputable designers in the industry.
Cons: You'll be spending two to five times as much for designer prescription glasses at BestBuyEyeglasses compared to with what you would spend at the online discounters.

No matter how you slice it, you'll save a bunch of money buying online. You're in control of your choice in prescription glasses, not a pushy salesman at the optometrist office. Better yet, if you use your health savings account, you could pay even less out-of-pocket.

1. Prescription eyeglasses with trifocal lenses can be bought over the internet
2. Online generic discount shops such as eyebuydirect and goggles4u do not sell trifocals.

So where can you buy them? At the higher-end of the online eyewear world is one shop that sells designer frames way cheaper than the store - but still more expensive than no-name glasses sold by "discount" online eyewear shops. Bestbuyeyeglasses.com offers polycarbonate trifocal lenses for about $115, depending somewhat on your prescription. This price does not include the frame, which will run from $70 to $200 or so, depending on your choice. So, the bottom line is you can purchase a fully outfitted pair of trifocals online from about $200.

So after you've decided whether or not you want to purchase your next pair online, the next step is to choose a frame. Trifocal wearers should choose a frame that can hold a fairly large lens - after all, you have three slightly different prescriptions going on in a single pair of glasses. If you have a pair of glasses that you really like, but it broke or simply needs replaced, you can look at your existing pair for manufacture information.

Check on the inside of the arms of your frame. Typically the brand name is on the inside of one arm and the model information is on the inside of the other. On my glasses, for example, if I look at the inside of the left arm (or "bow) of my frame and then at the right arm, I find the following information.

L135mm CV IZOD (left)
Frame Korea X58 Gunmetal L135MM (right)

So what did I learn? I have an IZOD frame that has 135mm arms. The model of the frame is "X58" and the color is Gunmetal. If I take this information and head over to Bestbuyeyeglasses.com, were I roll the mouse of "Eyeglasses" and select "Show all designers." I find IZOD in the list, click, and then find my frame model. Alternatively, I could simply search for the frame model. If your glasses are several years old, you might find that either your frame no longer exists or it has been "updated" to something with a very similar model number.

If you are going for a new look entirely, simply browse the frame selection.

Above, the Capri Optics 7705 is a large, practical frame, and costs just $62.

Above, the Ralph Lauren RL 5019 is a stylish and modern full-rimmed pair of glasses. $146.

The hip Brooks Brothers 713 (above) looks great, is durable, and is less than a hundred bucks.

Click on any of the images above to go directly to the product page. Or simply browse around at Bestbuyeyeglasses.com until you find a pair that you like. You'll likely spend $200-$300 for a fully outfitted pair of designer glasses with trifocals. Saving a couple hundred bucks this way is a no-brainer.

Finally, use coupon code WINTER5 for free shipping and 5% off your orderg. This coupon probably expires in March 2009.