Purchasing Eyeglasses Online

by Mary
(Champaign, IL)

Q: What advice do you have about purchasing eyeglasses online?


A: I will do a comparison of buying prescription glasses at a local optical store and purchasing eyeglasses online:

Buying from a traditional optical store

When you buy from a local shop, you always have the optician near you. It helps you with advices about the appropriate frame shape and material, which you can try on the spot.

According to your prescription, received from the optometrist/ophthalmologist, an optician can present you the best lens options that exist. I mean the lens material, lens thickness and weight, the coatings to use to protect your eyes and lenses in your daily activities. Also, he/she can answer to some questions about the eye issue you are suffering.

A distinct advantage is that once the glasses are ready, you can try them immediately. Therefore, shortcomings can be remedied quickly, such as adjusting the frame after your head shape.

In short you make your choice, assisted by a professional in the field.


Purchasing eyeglasses online

While buying glasses online has certain advantages as:

- Lowest price
- You can order from your home comfort
- Speed with which you place your order, glasses are just a click away

You don't have the help of an optician to guide you step by step, so you have to take decisions alone.

Online shopping is taking off in the past few years. More and more companies choose this way for promoting and selling their products. The same happens with glasses and the related products. So these days you can buy almost any eyeglasses online.

But, shopping prescription eyeglasses online is not as easy as buying clothes or electronic appliances. Why?

First because eyeglasses are medical products that improves your health or, if not correctly made, they can worsen your eyes issue. There are particular features that are required for making a pair of glasses. These characteristics will decide if your eyeglasses are good or not, like:

- Diopters
- Interpupillary distance
- Eyeglass size depending on face/head characteristics

The first two can be found on eyeglass prescription while the face/head characteristics differs from one person to another.

When buying online, you have to make sure the site will ask about your characteristics and that you provide them with exact values. Without them, the eyeglasses cannot be correctly made.

Secondly, online you don't have the possibility to try on the frames. So you have two choices:

1. Try on different frames at an optical shop and order the right one from the website, or...
2. Look for the possibility that some sites have, to use an app where you upload your photo (with a webcam) and try the frames virtually

I would say that you should try on the frames one way or another, or at least be sure there is a good return policy on the site for the eyeglasses.

If you had already a pair of glasses, you are in advantage because you already know what frame fits you.

Third, make sure you know exactly the type of lenses and coatings you want and check if they are what you asked for when getting the eyeglasses. It helps if first you read about this subject or ask an optician.

Last, but not the least, check the online store shipping policy and prices so when getting the package you don't have a nasty surprise. Before ordering, check the online forums about that site, to see how other people did there.

In the end, I think that ordering online for eyeglasses is a viable possibility. The condition is to choose a well known website with experience in this field, so make sure you read about them first.


Other Pages That May Interest You

Eyeglass Frame Size
Eyeglass Frames
Eyeglass Lenses
Eyeglasses Warranty and Return Policy


Hope this helps
Arpi

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