Get Better Glasses!

Tax-free prescription eyewear with your flex account

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:11:41 -0400

Does your workplace offer a flexible spending account? Why not use that money to buy some inexpensive prescription glasses?

Some time ago, I blogged about using your health savings account to purchase prescription eyewear online. The same concepts apply to the flex plan. Basically, you contribute money tax-free off the top of your paycheck to a flexible spending account. Then that money you can use for qualifying health expenses.

What are qualifying expenses? Well, eyeglasses and contact lenses are a qualifying expense (See this link at the irs for a complete list) Simply purchase your eyeglasses from one of the online retailers and save your receipt in your files (helpful links: comparing the top online eyewear retailers and why I like GlassesUSA.com )

Of course, it is important to remember that your flexible spending account money (FSA) needs to be cleared out at the end of every year. So plan accordingly.

Kids' eyeglasses

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 10:33:28 -0400

Here is a shocker: children will break their glasses. It is mostly a matter of time. What happens when your little one comes home with his expensive eyeglasses in two or three pieces? If you get a sinking feeling in your stomach about having to shell out $200 for another pair that will probably end up the same way, consider what online eyewear stores have to offer.

If you buy your child glasses online, you can buy a pair and one or two backups for the same or less than you would spend at wal-mart. If you have a prescription that is less than a year old, you'll simply provide that information to the website and you'll have the new glasses in a few weeks. If you don't have a prescription, it is time to visit the optometrist for a new one. Just pay for the eye exam and ask for the prescription when you leave. They will try to sell you glasses, but just say no thank you. Eye doctors are required by law to provide the prescription, but it might not hurt to ask beforehand so you don't end up with some kind of confrontation.

So how much will you save? Decent quality kids' glasses online will cost between $40 and $70 including a single vision (standard) lens. If your child wears bifocals, the costs will be somewhat higher.

Not all online retailers have kids glasses. I'd recommend checking out the selection at 39DollarGlasses.com. To see the choices in kids glasses, mouse over "Shop Eyeglasses" and choose "kids eyeglasses" from the drop-down menu. Like the name suggests, most of their glasses are $39 including UV and anti-scratch coatings. If you click the url above or the small graphic link below AND USE THE CODE "10YEARS", you'll get a 10% discount.

Buy-one-get-one-free extended through March 28th

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 09:23:00 -0400

Eyebuydirect extended their sale. They are in an almost constant buy-one-get-one mode these days

Click the banner below to enjoy buy-one-get-one savings at eyebuydirect. This is a great opportunity to get a pair of prescription sunglasses on the side. If you haven't done so, get your eyes examined! Ask for the script and don't let the eye doctor sell you overpriced glasses!

Click here: to take advantage of the sale

Exclusive 15% off coupon at GlassesUSA.com

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:44:50 -0400

As my regular readers know, my prescription glasses come from GlassesUSA.com. I have had this pair for about a year now, and they are easily the best I've bought online (my zenni optical glasses broke after about 4 months). Read my post about my experience with GlassesUSA.

GetBetterGlasses readers now enjoy an exclusive 15% off coupon with GlassesUSA. Just click this link and enter the code "GetBetterGlasses" at checkout to enjoy your savings.

In case you havent been around internet eyewear before, read my posts about and why glasses and regular stores are so expensive.

I'm canning Goggles4u.com

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:16:55 -0400

Since I began this site almost three years ago, I have learned a lot about the different retailers. I am indebted to my readers who submit comments or emails with their experiences. After too many negative reviews about the product from Goggles4U, I am officially canning them from my link list and not recommending your glasses online from them. Therefore, with this post, I hereby, henceforth, and thusly suggest that you buy your eyewear from a retailer that is not this one.

The comments I receive about Goggles4U are that they provide, plain and simply, cheap glasses inferior to what you can buy either at a B&M store or from some of the bigger names online. Since the name of my website is getBETTERglasses.com NO getCHEAPERglasses.com, I just can't recommend these guys anymore.

I ordered my glasses with photochromic coating, and they arrived without it. The company processed a refund since I decided I didn't want it. In the last two months, the glasses have randomly started to turn gray, and not completely across the entire lens. There is also a foggy spot in the center of each lens. The company refuses to replace the lenses, and is even asking me to pay them for the coating since it's on there now. I won't order from them again.
for source and more reviews click here

I like your website a lot, but I was pretty surprised when I saw your recommended top vendors? I have only used two vendors for glasses,the first being Goggles4U, and I had a really bad experience. I thought the glasses looked cheap, and not nearly the quality I was looking for....

I would not recommend Goggles4U -- I ordered a pair of glasses from them and they were ground to the wrong prescription such that I got dizzy. I informed them and they replaced the glasses -- with another pair with the wrong prescription that gave me a headache.... (click for more, source: glassyeyes reader)

Eyebuydirect - Buy one get one (today only) and half-off gift vouchers

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:32:52 -0500

Even I was only notified of this sale about five minutes ago. Now through the end of the day (Monday, December 21st), buy a pair of glasses and get a second pair free at eyebuydirect. Follow the link below to take advantage of this sale.

EyeBuyDirect Buy One, Get One Sale

In case you don't have a prescription in-hand to take advantage of this offer, maybe pick up one of the 50% off gift vouchers and spend it once you do. For a half-off eyebuydirect.com gift voucher, click here.

Holiday specials at GlassesUSA.com

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:28:42 -0500

GlassesUSA is running a few holiday specials, which I've posted below. As my readers know, my daily glasses come from this company. The quality is top-notch.

Buy two pairs of eyeglasses and take 16% off your total order! Use code: 2Holiday16

Happy Hanukkah! Take 12% off any order of eyeglasses. Use code: Dreidle Offer expires December 31st, 2009!

Get FREE holiday shipping on any order over $70! Use code: HolidayShip Offer expires December 31st, 2009

Eyebuydirect: Buy one get one free through November 15th

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:17:56 -0500

Here they go again:

Eyebuydirect is having a buy-one-get-one-free sale through November 15th.

Click here to go to theEyeBuyDirect.com Homepage and take advantage of the sale.

Insurance doesn't even help when eyeglasses cost $400

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:47:41 -0400

I ran across this today:

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...

I have this exact same setup with my employer: a decent vision plan, but the outrageous prices at the optometrist quickly wiped away every dollar the insurance would cover and required several hundred out of my own pocket. Six, seven, even ten times more compared to the nice frames you can get online? Sorry, I don't think so.

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

Buy one get one free: Now through midnight on Sunday (9/27)

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:46:56 -0400

Been waiting for a good deal? Here you go: EyeBuyDirect.com is offering a free pair of specs with every pair you buy (over $14.95, excluding sunglasses and designer frames). Tough to beat.

Save a little dough at GlassesUSA

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:21:42 -0400

What has quickly become my favorite online RX retailer, GlassesUSA, has three coupons. This brings their price point closer to the "big guys" like EyeBuyDirect and 39 Dollar Eyeglasses.

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

EyeBuyDirect deal of the week

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:52:41 -0400

They call this frame "Thompson." It's on sale for $30, including prescription lenses. Click the image below if you want to buy it.

High School Musical Glasses: For smaller faces (at smaller prices)

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:27:45 -0400

If you've got kids, you know about High School Musical (okay, I'm almost thirty, no kids, and even I know of Zac Efron). For kids and teenagers with a fashion sense, High School Musical designer eyeglasses have hit the scene. If you've seen them at the mall, you know you'll need to fork over $350 or more for the privilege of your near-sighted daughter being able to see right while looking cool.

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)

Or the 514, a less flashy alternative:

High School Musical HSM 514

$81.99 (Retail $143.99)

Want more choices? There are over a dozen HSM frames to chose from, simply click one of the above links and click the button for "high school musical" towards the top of the page.

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.

Eyebuydirect's get-one-free sale starts tomorrow!

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:51:00 -0400

Well, once or twice a year EyeBuyDirect does a buy one get one free sale. This time, it is for a whole week! (usually it is just one day)

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.

Glasses USA (.com): The maker of my everyday eyeglasses

nospam@example.com (Adam Zekmueller) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:56:31 -0400

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.

Click here to visit GlassesUSA

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.