Buying Cheap Eyeglass Frames Online: Good Idea?
If you’re the type of person who does the bulk of your shopping online, you may be considering buying your eyeglass frames online as well to save money. Before you click on the order button, be sure to review the factors that can determine whether cheaper online frames are really better.
Buying frames only
If you’re only looking to buy new frames, shopping for them online can help you save quite a bit over what you’d pay in a retail eyeglass shop. Taking advantage of the savings can make extra sense when you’re simply replacing eyeglass frames you recently broke. Depending on the type of frames you originally had, you may be able to swap out the lenses without the help of a local optician.
When you’re not replacing an existing pair of frames, things can get a little trickier. Eyeglass frames have three key measurements that you need to be familiar with: eye size, bridge size and temple length. Buying eyeglass frames in sizes too big can result in glasses that constantly slip down your nose, making it difficult to see. Frames that are too small, on the other hand, can pinch your nose and cause excess pressure behind your ears.
Getting prescription lenses
In some cases, you may decide that you want to go ahead and fill your prescription for lenses when you get the cheap eyeglass frames online. While not every online eyeglass site will tell you, there are three measurements you need to get to ensure your glasses properly correct your vision: the distance between pupils, the distance from each pupil to the center of your face if they aren’t the same and the distance from the center of your pupil to the bottom of your lenses.
Since prescription glasses utilize an optical channel in the part of the lenses that are directly in front of your pupils, it’s critical that all these measurements are precise. If the distance to center or the height is off in either lens, your glasses won’t adequately correct your vision and will likely cause eyestrain and headaches. If your eye doctor didn’t provide these measurements for you at the time of your exam, you’ll need to either take the measurements yourself in the mirror or have a detail-oriented friend help.
Note: Because it can be more difficult to get accurate measurements for bifocals, trifocals and progressive lenses, many online eyeglass retailers can’t accommodate these types of prescriptions.
Policies to know
Even when you have accurate measurements to send to an online eyeglass company, there can still be instances where you’re not satisfied with the look, fit or vision correction provided by your new eyeglass frames. Since you’re only saving money when the glasses do what they’re supposed to, be sure to read and understand the online retailer’s return policy. This will help you ensure that you won’t be stuck with a pair of glasses that hurt your eyes.
In addition, look for information on the site that spells out how they deal with adjustments. While some may recommend that you go into a local retailer for assistance with adjustments, some people aren’t comfortable asking for help when they didn’t purchase their frames there. Depending on the online eyeglass retailer you selected, they may provide information on their website about how you can make minor adjustments on your own at home.