Online glasses vs. brick & mortar stores
Hey guys, I'm old and haven't bought glasses in a while. I'm aware that there are some online places to buy glasses that appear to be at a fraction of the cost of traditional stores (Warby Parker, GlassesUSA, etc.), but are they as good of quality of product? Meta has two vision insurance policies; low end vs. high end. The high end policy covers like $300 for frames plus a significant part of the lenses. The low end policy covers around half. The high end costs a lot more, but if you bottom line it, it's worth it if you plan to use all of the benefits. If I can buy glasses online and (I assume) skip the insurance part, it becomes a no-brainer. But are these glasses still good quality? Not trying to be cheap on my glasses, but don't need to spend 3x on the same product just because my lack of knowledge of an industry. Thanks #insurance #vision #meta
You need a prescription for ordering online too. Just go to Costco
Thanks, yeah I will definitely be getting at least the low end insurance as it covers the prescription appointments for the family and is worth it just for that. Also FWIW, the Costco by us closed its office and glasses area.
I use the eye exam coverage every other year or so and then use the glasses reimbursement most years, alternating between clear and tinted glasses. In my experience, the glasses purchased online are just as good as the mid-level you'd purchase in a store but can arrive a lot quicker (especially with Overnight Glasses).
Thanks!
You need to try frames and to look at the mirror. You might look ugly in glasses that you like online. Also you need to measure distance between pupils and as far as I remember it is not in the prescription.
Insurance for the appointment to get your prescription. Then buy online via eyebuydirect.com They have a lot for cheap with no insurance. They let you order to try a few pairs you are thinking about. I’ve been using them for like 4 years or so. Some of their CHEAP pairs are really cheap, like my $9 pair looks decent, but feels cheap. They’re still in good condition though. They have pairs for $30-70 that are great looking and great quality. That’s for lenses and frames all together.
agree with this!! ^ they always have tons of random discount codes or promos going on too. lots of great styles and all my sun/eyeglasses from them have lasted me a solid amount of years
Using Warby Parker for the last seven years. I highly recommend it. They have physical stores in many cities too. https://www.warbyparker.com/retail
Switched to using them as well a few years ago. Quality is almost the same as my eye Dr for <50% the cost. I just go to the local store to do it all, but now I have a favorite lenses I could just reorder online. I just have the cheapest vision plan (at Visa it is free including spouse) and don’t bother with the pittance provided towards glasses (Warby Parker doesn’t do VSP)
Costco is the #1 optical vendor in the US. It has excellent prices and replaces broken glasses, no questions asked. You said Costco closed its optical near you. It may be worth travelling to a location, especially in Jan when it offers buy a pair, get second pair at 50% off. (We use our VSP insurance at Costco.)
Can you do VSP Costco online?
Many online retailers are owned by the same Italian company that owns the many physical stores at the mall. It takes a few bucks to make a $400 pair. They have higher margins than Apple.
Laughs in Zenni optical. Glasses are perfectly fine. I don't wear glasses anymore, but the ones my daughter have look and feel just as fine as the rip-off full price ones I was forced to buy when online sales were a thing. I have like 5 pairs for her. If she breaks or loses a pair, I'm out 10 bucks.
I'm happy that people are happy with their Zenni glasses. It's the reason I can buy $10 glasses directly from one of Luxottica online brands like Coastal/Clearly or EyeBuyDirect. 🤣
Most of the Brick and Mortar stores are ordering from those same online stores and jacking up the price. As a business owner/operator it is a great model as you don’t have to spend on headcount and operational expenses for specialized skills and equipment to create the product in-house (like they did in the past)