I ordered one pair of glasses on my first eye appointment a little over two weeks ago. (Yes first that I can remember, outside of elementary school). I had noticed my vision wasn't what it used to be, so I figured it was time to go. The glasses I ordered that day at the doctors office were ~$75 with insurance. I also received my prescription and asked for my PD; They supplied the PD without argument or hesitation. I should mention I need single vision with mild correction for both vision and astigmatism.
When I got home I ordered four more inexpensive pairs from Zenni (including one tinted as sunglasses). The Zenni glasses arrived before the pair from the ODs office! Now, I should mention, I don't blame the office for the delay (they are an independent office). It's apparently my insurance (Spectera). I won't complain, they were fairly cheap after the deductible, etc. and the doctors office has been friendly and upfront about the delay. My entire family will go to this doctors office, and my wife will be getting her contacts there and my son a pair of glasses as well. In the future, when I am eligible for new frames, I'll still take advantage of my insurance pair every two years (as I would have regardless). And I'll still go get my eye exam as I normally would and should. However, I would have likely never purchased a second pair from the doctors office -- I won't pay $400 for a pair of glasses! If not for Zenni and the ilk I wouldn't have multiple pairs, including prescription sunglasses! I also like to mix it up. Being a first time eye glass wearer I was happy to find a multitude of choices -- and I think they're all pretty stylish. After the first "batch" came through I have ordered more. I'll probably stop there for a bit. :) Now, I've read that B&M stores and doctors are upset about internet glasses. I can understand why they are upset, they feel like they are offering a service that can't be duplicated. That's partially true, because I still need an exam. And I'm sure they've lost some frame sales. But, they haven't lost any from me (see above). I respect what they do, and some of the independents are victims of the industry as a whole. I understand that. But they need to fix the root issues, not blame me for ordering 10 pairs of glasses online and one from them. I will spend about the same amount of money with the B&M store that I would have otherwise. The difference is they could have MORE of my money if they could sell me a pair as cheaply (or almost as cheaply) as the virtual shops! Now, Diesel makes some frames I really like (a lot), so I do wish Zenni would copy a few of their designs (or someone else would for that matter). I may end up breaking down and buying a pair from FramesDirect. I compared the styles offered by other online vendors, and Zenni had more that were a little funky to fit my style a bit more at a price I couldn't pass up. Anyway, thanks for the information presented here! --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
