-- UPDATE -- My glasses finally arrived today. Let's see... ordered Apr 7, 2009 - arrived May 19, 2009 - That's 42 days total. If you subtract weekends, that's 31 week days. Is this longer than normal? About right? I sent an email to check the status on April 22 - they replied on April 23, apologizing and to say they received the lenses from the lab with a scratch, so they would have to remake them and they would ship the following Monday. I received a shipping notice email on April 30, the shipping envelope was date stamped April 29, San Francisco, CA. The international bulk mail USPS shipping label is valued at $3.00. I paid $11.95 for shipping.
It's important to note that I live in Italy, and there was bound to be a delay on this side of the shipping transmission. It's clear from the package that the Italian authorities had opened the envelope and resealed it - without a date stamp or note. Ok, what about the glasses? Well, after a couple hours of testing, I can report the following: This pair was a test for me. My correction is about +4.50 with astigmatism in one eye of -2.00. Since nearly all online shops charge extra for corrections above +4.00, I decided to drop a full diopter from my full correction for sunglasses - both to avoid the extra $10 upcharge and to experiment with a lower correction for outdoor activities. My toughest decision was to choose the lenses. I knew that a +3.50 lens would be thick, but I needed to balance cost for this experiment, so went with Polycarbonate Lenses, for $9.95. At 1.59 index, they're thinner than the standard 1.56 index, even though I wanted the 1.67 index, the extra $40 was too much. FYI: I have posted some pictures on my Flickr site here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtw2004/sets/72157618488969622/ In these photos, I have compared a pair of Ray Ban rimless frames bought at a B&M store last autumn - those cost $285 with polycarbonate lenses. Quality: Unlike some on this forum, I don't feel the online discount shops offer the same level of quality as I've previously received at B&M stores. This pair is no exception. The metal is thin, not heat tempered, the edges have no relief and the ear pieces are of low grade polyethylene. The lenses are a dark purple when they were supposed to be dark gray. They're not as dark as sunglasses, which are usually around 85% - I would guess these are somewhere around 75% or less. The lenses still have some very fine scratches that you can't see when wearing. With my prescription, lens thickness is a big concern/problem. With my digital calipers, I get the following dimensions: Lens Width: 48.0mm Lens Height: 28.5mm Bridge: 17.8mm Total Width: 128.8mm *center of hinge to center of hinge) Thickest Edge: 4.32mm Thinnest Edge: 2.55mm Thickest Center: 5.02mm For comparison, my wife's Ray Bans Lenses are 1.55mm at the thinnest and 2.58mm thick at the thickest - note that the RB's lenses are 50mm wide versus 48mm of my LBW's. Scores: (out of 10) Frame quality: 4 Fit and Finish: 5 Lens Labwork: 5 Lens Tinting: 3 Value: 6 Fabrication Time: 3 Communication: 8 Final Comments: The lenses are the biggest disappointment. They're very heavy and thick. Their lab made no effort to thin the edges, they should have taken at least another millimeter off the overall thickness saving weight in the process. My B&M stores lab always did this. The tinting color is purple, when it is supposed to be gray. The lenses are not as dark as sunglasses and they look nothing like my polycarbonate non prescription lenses. The wire frame bends easily and 'springs' much more than my 4 year old titanium rimless frames - they're just not very solid. I can say now after my fifth pair of online discount eyeglasses that I do feel you get what you pay for. $60 for a decent and wearable pair of prescription sunglasses is quite acceptable - these are the 'generic' equivalent of toilet paper or breakfast cereal - still get the job done but it's not the same as the original. My last pair of prescription sunglasses cost $450. Were they seven-times better than these? Certainly not. But they were certainly better in all areas. I do realize that I am comparing apples and oranges here - these are as about as cheap as you can get anywhere. I would buy from LBW Eyewear again. I really like their selection and prices. They did take 23 days from order to shipping - that's about par for the course with online discount places. J.Evan On Apr 10, 9:24 am, "J. Evan" <[email protected]> wrote: > I was looking for Rimless prescription sunglasses and LBW had the best > prices and selection I've seen - by far really. > > My order was placed April 7th - details below: > > http://www.lbweyewear.com/Products/METAL/rimLESS/LRSS-5003.html > LRSS-5003 Rimless Frame in Black ($45.83) > AR Coating (+4.95) > 1.59 Poly Carb Lenses (+9.95) > Dark Solid Gray Tint (+4.95) > OD: +3.50 -0.25 170 > OS: +3.50 -2.00 002 > PD: 62 > Subtotal: 45.83 > Shipping: 11.95 > Total: 57.78 > Order placed: 4/7/2009 6:24:37 PM UTC > > Special Note: I'm currently living in northern Italy and had the > glasses shipped here - we'll see how that works with the Italian post > system. > > I will update when possible. > > On Mar 20, 10:03 am, James <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I decided to place an order with these guys for the first time on > > March 10th. for > > these:http://www.lbweyewear.com/Products/PLASTIC/WFAP/FULLrim/WFAP-VO2341.html > > in basic black. I decided to go with the standard lenses, but due to > > my CYL being over -3.00 in each eye, I had to pay $9.95 per lens for > > custom thinning. No big deal, it's pretty standard everywhere. I also > > decided to get the AR coating for $4.95. > > > The first email confirmation came right after I completed checkout, > > total with shipping came to about $50. > > > March 17th, shipping notification email came. And the glasses were > > delivered on March 18th. > > > The glasses were wrapped in a microfiber cloth and place inside of a > > hard plastic case, then shipped inside a bubble lined envelope. They > > arrived safe and sound and in perfect shape. > > > The Rx is spot on and the AR coating seems to be just as good as what > > you get with 39$G, at $20 less. > > > Overall, I'm very pleased with them. Ordered on March 10th, delivered > > on March 18th. I think I'm going to go order another pair. > > > ~James > > > BTW, Ira when are you going to get an official review going on them? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Check us out at the oft-updated http://glassyeyes.blogspot.com! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GlassyEyes" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/glassyeyes?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
