I had mixed experience with buying online. While there are savings to be had, it hasn't been easier than going to a store and picking out frames. I've needed to educate myself and take responsibility for making it work. I think that lots can go wrong, and I found that it is important to get your glasses checked by your optometrist no matter who you get your lenses from.
I found glassyeyes a couple of months ago and the idea of $40 eyeglasses that looked good excited me. So two weeks ago I went and got my first eye exam in over 7 years. I called optometrists and scheduled with one who said I could get my pd measurement. I was looking at different sites for taller glasses and found some that I liked at eyebuydirect and was thinking of some rimless from zenni or optical4less. I pulled the trigger on these: http://www.eyebuydirect.com/mu-fashion-glasses-p-2196.html. Cost was $40.57 shipped with ar coating and the 15% glassyeyes discount. I made the purchase Sunday 9/20 and got them next saturday (9/26). I was going to hold off on purchasing my next pair just to see how it went but came across firmoo from the discussion on glassyeyes forum: http://tinyurl.com/y95zys2 I went to the website and saw these glasses http://www.firmoo.com/eyeglasses-p-1017.html. I decided to buy them because they were only $14.40 shipped with ar coating and their discount code "firstorder". I bought them Monday 9/21 in the morning. I got an email and tracking code on 9/24 that they were shipped and received them Monday 9/28. Both were incredibly fast delivery, the Firmoo glasses were shipped from China. I chose both glasses based on my current frame size, temple is 140mm. Note: both were shorter than what I wanted. The height measurement is from the outside of the frame, not the height of the lens. I was looking for something with a lens height of larger than 36mm. These were both shorter that what I want. Eyebuydirect: Nice sturdy glasses, good looking, but were uncomfortable to wear. The temples were bent inward and hurt the side of my head and the nose pinched. I went to Walmart and had them adjusted the next day on Sunday. I did some shopping and had them adjust them again before leaving. I wore the new pair on Monday, but by the end of the day I had a headache. The frames were still uncomfortable, and I thought the pressure from the frames caused the headache. I decided that on Wednesday the 30th, I'd take them to my eye doctor and have his staff member try to fit it. I didn't have much hope and on Tuesday, started a return order. I got instruction on how to return the frames that day. Fortunately, there were a pair from Firmoo waiting Monday night. Firmoo: Attractive glasses, plastic frame felt thinner than the Eyebuydirect frames. There is also more flex in the frames, which actually made them more comfortable. They fit just right and were very comfortable. I wore them on Tuesday and they worked great, no headache at the end of the day. Definitely a keeper. Wednesday at the eye doctor's. I described to his assistant what was happening with the glasses and asked that she check the lenses against my prescription and see if she could adjust the one pair of frames. She first checked the Eyebuydirect glasses. Prescription was off in the right lens by 5 degrees and that the diopter were both off. She said that may be why I was getting a headache. She said that the ones from Firmoo were right on. I sent the Eyebuydirect glasses back. I know that many here have had great success with Eyebuydirect, and certainly the shipping and return has been very good, but I don't think that I'll be purchasing from them again. Firmoo is a new site, they don't register on the internet archives (http://www.archive.org/ web/web.php), which means that they are probably less than a year old. I imagine that as their business grows, they will raise prices, and may have some growing pains. If you buy from them, please let us know how they work for you. I am very glad that I bought from two different sites. I am also glad that one of the pairs were good. If I only had the pair from Eyebuydirect, I would have been extremely frustrated. If I hadn't had them checked, I may not have noticed that the lenses were off. I will buy again from Firmoo. I'll let you know how it works when I do. My recommendation is buyer beware, do your research, and have a third party check the lenses versus your prescription (I think that this is a good idea even if you get them from Wal-mart or a B/M store). Final issue is cost. There is no question that I saved money, the question is how much. One way that I can look at this experience is that I have one pair of glasses for $14.40. Another way is that I am out $8 on shipping for the other frames. Even though my optometrist didn't charge me, I'm going to send him something (I only think that it is fair). Also, there is an issue of my time, how much is my time worth? I spent doing research as well as making the return. In the end, I have a very nice pair of glasses that I like and will keep, but are not exactly what I wanted (I wanted something taller). --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
