Hi Sandy, I've ordered many pairs from 39dollarglasses, Eyebuydirect, and several other online retailers.
I completely share your frustration with Eyebuydirect and those retailers, who for various reasons and in various ways, steer customers with higher prescriptions to more expensive options that they may not really need or want. The world of low-cost online glasses is a bit more complicated if you have a strong prescription. The optical industry has found it lucrative to try to intimidate us with specious medical or technical arguments. Recent innovations in hi- index materials and advanced coatings may be desirable, but virtually none of them are truly necessary. It all comes down to money -- of course! To amplify on Paul's point about the 49mm width of the lenses for the Villeneuve frame, Eyebuydirect has to pay more for larger stock lenses in stronger prescriptions. So in reality, Eyebuydirect is balking at filling your prescription at the quoted price. It would be more ethical either to state up front that the lowest prices for basic lenses only apply to weak prescriptions, or simply to honor the quoted price. The argument that it's not technically possible is false. The argument that the lenses would be too thick to look good is beside the point -- that's the customer's choice, not theirs. All of it is a shabby attempt to rationalize upselling you to the hi-profit, hi-index option. Eyebuydirect telling you you can only have full-rimmed metal frames with your RX is rubbish. You can have metal, plastic, even rimless. I have all those from other providers, to prove it. The only real technical limit may be extremely curved plastic sunglass-style frames. Sometimes the base curve of your RX is not compatible. Even with those, there is a solution: you can have high-RX inserts installed behind curved non-prescription sunglass lenses. Again, it's all a question of money. I also have a fairly strong prescription (OD -9.00), with astigmatism. However, my left eye is different from my right (OS -4.50). 39dollarglasses has handled my unusual prescription perfectly and without question every time, and has not refused any order for any number of different styles and options. Eyebuydirect and many of the others, on the other hand, frequently tell me that what I want is technically not possible in my prescription. I have had many tedious and annoying phone conversations, online chats, and email exchanges, with poorly-trained personnel who don't even understand my prescription. Occasionally I find them open to negotiation, but I completely agree with you, waiting around for "customer service to check with the lab" is no way to buy glasses. Good luck, and thanks for sharing your experiences! Eric On Aug 26, 12:11 pm, Sandy <[email protected]> wrote: > After ongoing difficulties with my order (I placed it exactly 1 month > ago), I finally canceled my order today and am wondering if anyone > else has had similar problems. I have a fairly strong prescription > (-8.25) and have bought glasses with plastic frames and a mid-index > (1.59) on 39dollarglasses before with no problem. Eyebuydirect told me > that it was not possible to make glasses with my Rx for those frames > ("Villeneuve") and that I could only select full rimmed metal frames > with my Rx. After a protracted back-and-forth between customer > service and their lab, I was given the name of 1 pair of plastic > frames they would make for me -- but only with an index of 1.67 and > they are not even frames that I like! I finally was able to get out of > someone that there *might* be other frames that are possible, but that > I would have to submit a customer service request and wait for them to > check with the lab for each one (requests take a day at best, but I've > had voicemails go unanswered). This is clearly a ridiculous way to > shop for glasses and I know that I don't need an index that high. Has > anyone else ordered plastic frames from them with a similar Rx and had > any success? The only reason I am even interested in dealing with > them after this experience is that they have some frames that I like > that no one else seems to offer. -- 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
