Buying glasses online does not have to be a risky guessing game if you find a good site to buy them from. I know, having just taken the plunge.
You might remember that a year ago I debated buying new prescription glasses online, but ultimately forked over $107 at Costco for the chance to try them on pre-purchase. This time I could not resist a promotion at CoastalContacts.com for free frames and free prescription lenses. (The site gave away 10,000 pairs in a publicity stunt a few weeks ago. If you live in New York, stay tuned for a similar promotion starting Dec. 9, 2010.)
During the free promotion, I picked out a cute pair of Cynthia Rowley reddish-brown and pink frames that the site normally sells for the discounted price of $68. I found them for as high as $130 online. I upgraded to anti-glare and scratch resistant lens, which cost $15, and paid $12 for shipping. My total bill? With tax, $28.67. That’s $78 less than I paid last time, and more than $200 less than my usual tab at Lens Crafters.
My glasses, above, came with a blue cleaning cloth, a black soft carrying case, a silver-colored hard carrying case that is so big it can double as a party purse, and a mini-screw driver set should my frames become unhinged.
The reason why I recommend CoastalContacts.com – and other sites with similar features – is that it took the guessing game out of buying glasses. Would they fit? Were they the right size? Would they look right? I was fairly certain the answers were “yes” before they arrived at my doorstep.
Here’s what took the guesswork, and the risk, out of buying my glasses online.
1. The site had really, really detailed instructions for figuring out what size glasses I needed. It told me to grab my existing pair and find three numbers printed on the inside of frame. That info dictated the right size, along with one measurement I took myself.
2. The site had detailed directions for de-coding what the numbers on my prescription meant.
3. I had a good idea of the frames I wanted from wearing glasses since 2003, though I did consult CoastalContacts’ page on what frames look good with your face shape.
4. A helpful customer service rep confirmed the freebie and told me the site would guide me through the entire process. I was skeptical, but the rep was right.
5. CoastalContacts.com has a 30-day return policy for a full refund.
If you�re still hooked on buying glasses in person, the December issue of ShopSmart magazine, which is published by Consumer Reports, lists their brick-and-mortar faves.
Costco tops the list with a median price of $157 for lenses and frames. This does not include the $50 annual membership fee, however. ShopSmart�s second choice is your local indie optical shop, which had a median price of $211. I find that a bit hard to believe as many indie glasses shops are very high end.
The third choice � your doctor�s office – was geared towards folks with strong prescriptions or eye problems. Runners up included Kaiser Permanente and Empire Vision Centers. Lens Crafters came in low on the list, which is interesting because it was the most-frequented chain in the ShopSmart survey.
Have you bought glasses online?
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
Wow! This is great information. I have to make my way through getting glasses for all of my family members. I didn’t even know that there WERE numbers on the frames. I’m going to check this out for sure.
@Bobbi B I know! I’ve checked out a lot of online glasses sellers and this is the first one that mentioned the numbers on the frames. Other sites required me to take all sorts of measurements and I was worried I would not be able to take them accurately. I only had to take one measurement for CoastalContacts.com. Hope it works for you! Also, I believe CC is going to do a free glasses giveaway by state, so if you can wait for the California promotion, you can get one freebie per person I believe!
@Bobbi B To follow up to my previous response to your comment, the free glasses promotion is limited to one per household.
I am going to take advantage of their next promotion. I have needed new glasses for awhile and just cannot afford them. I hope they do this in Ohio too!!! I am so happy that you have such good information and that you keep us up to date! Your info keeps money in my pocketbook and not in others!! Thank You Julia!!
That’s funny, I went to look inside my (pretty old) pair of glasses to find that number and mine are Cynthia Rowley too (reddish brown pink).
BB, will anybody be able to take advantage of CoastalContacts deal in NY? Or do you have to have a NY address?
I got a pair of beautiful glasses for my daughter on their last promotion a few weeks ago. Now I need glasses!
Thanks.
I took advantage of a sale at Firmoo.com– buy 2 glasses, get 1 free and their glasses start at $8 a pair! And ordering was easy. They came & were perfect. I got regular, reading & sunglasees for $68!
@Linda That’s a hot deal! I’ll keep Firmoo.com in mind next time I am in the market for glasses.
I have had very successful purchases at Sears Optical Departments. They frequently put on a sale for 2 pair for $99 (including frames and lenses — no upcharge for bifocals) I purchase a pair and a spare anyway since I do not walk across the room in my own home without my glasses. I have purchased them at several Sears locations and have had good success. You select your frames from a choice of approximately 100 options (metal and plastic frames, some designer, some last years models), try them on, produce your prescription, they measure and fit, send the lens prescription to the lab, and everything is ready to pick up a week later. One time the lab made an error filling my computer lenses (reading and computer distance) with my distance prescription but the store caught it immediately and the lenses were promptly remade to the correct prescription. My eyeglasses would have been at least $200 per pair had it not been for the sale. The sale is usually runs for about a month and twice a year. When I see the sale ad I make my appointment for a check up and take it in. Or I may save a prescription and get an extra 2 pair made when the sale comes up again.
Hope the promo comes to California soon. I know several families that could really benefit from the free program.
@Fran I’ll keep you and everyone else posted about when the free glasses promotion comes to California.
@N. Davis Glad to hear you had a similar experience with CoastalContacts.com. I’m surprised more sites don’t make it easier to find the right size frames.
I participated in the Coastal Contacts promotion to get a back-up pair of glasses (since I’m prone to losing/breaking things it seems), and my new glasses are really cute…so cute, in fact, that they are now my daily glasses, and my old ones have become my backup pair! You’re right about the measurements making it easy. I found a frame that I liked that also had similar measurements to my old pair, and they fit me absolutely perfectly! The only thing I added were some adhesive silicone pads from http://www.nosepadking.com to keep the plastic frames from slipping down my nose. Thanks so much for sharing this promotion with your readers!
This sounds great. One question…do they do bifocals?
@JJ They do progressives, which I think are the same thing. Progressives are considered an upgrade so there is a fee, however.
I purchased a pair of glasses during their promotion too and was pleased and surprised at the quality of the frames and the case/cloth/bag/mini screwdriver I received. I was expecting just the glasses in some cheap plastic pouch – it was like getting an unexpected present! I wear trifocals and had to upgrade to a thinner lens to accommodate the prescription – so worth it. These are now my favorite glasses which cost 1/3 the price of ones I bought last year at a “discount” store. I love these glasses.
Are you going to be posting when the new free promotions are happening? And do you know if it has already taken place in AZ & MI? I’d love to get in one the action and I’m sure my family would love to as well. We all wear glasses and could use a new pair.
@Erin It has only happened in Utah, now New York. I’ll keep everyone posted!
One of my favorite inexpensive online glasses site is Warby Parker.
Warby Parker has fashion forward vintage-inspired styles and every pair is custom fit with anti-reflective, polycarbonate prescription lenses for $95.
My favorite part about Warby Parker is that they partner with renowned non-profits to deliver one pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair that they sell!
So I live in Illinois am I not qualified? Why is this just for New Yorkers? Please tell me how I can participate in the free give away pair of glasses.
Thank You,
Ms. Taylor
@Acquenetta Taylor You are not qualified for the free glasses unless you live in New York. That’s just the way the company giving away the free eyeglasses decided to do it. But it looks like they may do a giveaway like this in each state. I’ll be blogging about each free glasses giveaway, so check back later or sign up for my daily email list to stay on top of my money-saving deals. You can sign up at http://www.bargainbabe.com/email-updates-and-rss/
Coastal Contacts also has what they call a virtual mirror where you can upload a picture of yourself and “try on” the frames. Very realistic and a great tool for choosing the right pair.
Well I love your site- I do have a little problem with this article. I actually am an paraoptometric assistant to a very hardworking eye doctor and deal with people every day wanting our opinion about online ordering. Here is what we have found out: Most online retailers are making your lenses overseas in China due to cheap workers and laxed regulations. If you are comfortable with potential sweatshops and lead paint issues, go ahead and order your glasses from them. (I did check coastal contacts and they have a “north american” lab- as it doesn’t advertise USA or Canada – does this mean mexico?).
Additionally, we’ve found that they do not prescribe polycarbonate for children. Polycarbonate is impact resistant and won’t splinter into your child’s eyes should the lenses break- (think car windshield). At any of your chains or private practice shops, it’s automatically given to children. We actually sell it in most of our adult packages as well for the simple safety factor. I did a mock order of a child’s frame and coastal contacts did not switch my lens to poly. It concerns me that they are not recommending it due to keeping the price low and keeping your business. This simple thing tells me that they don’t have your best vision at heart, they just want your money. Yes, there is a mark-up on glasses at any brick and morter place. But look at who the place is hiring. Are they investing in talented, competent staff who are able to answer your questions and provide great service? I can tell you most clinics I know, their opticians are not commission-driven used car salesmen. Their employers has spent time, energy and $ training them to understand why a certain item is recommended, and how that will help a patient. My doctor spends several hundred dollars a year on continuing education for each one of our staff because she wants her patients to have the best service and support. Yes there is a mark-up on glasses, but when you take out the cost of staffing and expenses, it really is not as high as you would believe.
Finally, ordering glasses does not ensure that you get what you ordered. Even at our clinic, we will have 1-2 glasses a year come back that were not made correctly by the lab and have to send back to be redone. As trained staff, we catch the problem before it’s dispensed to the patient. Ordering online, however, you have no guarentee that what you are wearing is what the doctor said that you should be wearing. A wrong measurement or lens can have longterm affects on your vision.
Yes, online glasses are cheap (which we get is appealing) and you will pay more at your doctor’s office or chain store. As a private practice clinic, people have the impression that we are super expensive. We are, however, actually not much more expensive than a chain store, but for those patients set on getting the cheapest pair of glasses they can, we suggest walmart or costco over picking them up online. At least there is someone that we can call and work with if we discover your glasses were made incorrectly. There’s somewhere for you to go if you need adjustments or replacement screws/nosepads. And they will usually offer a warranty against breakage or defects and assist you in replacing them (verify before purchase)!
Once you have a prescription from an eye doctor or an optician, you should take that prescription and buy your glasses and/or prescription lenses online. They are always super marked-up in the shops.
There’s a company http://www.replacementlensexpress.com that specializes in prescription eyeglass lenses. They don’t show their full line of frames, but I know that if you find a frame you like in the shop or online, you can give them the make and model number and they will give you a really good quote (usually at wholesale) for the frames too. The optician’s e-mail is info@replacementlensexpress.com and he is very friendly.