If you are a savvy online shopper, you’ve done your homework and checked out online forums such as Glassy Eyes. Sites like this one are fantastic for reading customer reviews which are honest and reliable. Sadly, more and more postings these days are complaints from unsatisfied customers. “This is the 10th time I’ve tried to contact Zenni, and no one will return my calls!” and “Why did they send me red frames when I clearly ordered red!” are two of the more common types of rants.
In this overcrowded market, large corporations are rarely your best bet. Sure, they may offer you frames for just $8, but what are those frames going to look like when they arrive at your front door, and how long until they fall apart? You should consider anything to do with your eyesight important enough to spend more than $8, and to invest in quality products.
Most people who write on these blogs and are satisfied with their online prescription eyeglass purchases are customers of small, local companies who are better prepared to deal with customers on a one-on-one basis. These tend to be small optometric practices that are already making glasses in-house, and have decided to expand their sales online by creating a website.
Small companies such as Replacement Lens Express, based in Connecticut, are able to fulfill custom orders and to speak with customers on the phone immediately. “After I placed my order, an optician called me the same day to confirm that I wanted a faded brown tint for the Ray-Bans I sent in. He spent time explaining all of the different options and was very helpful!” says Clive, a happy customer from the UK.
Unlike large corporations who outsource their lens manufacturing overseas, smaller online companies tend make everything in-house at specialized facilities, with experienced opticians and high quality lens materials. Unfortunately, lenses made in countries such as China and Malaysia are not of the same quality and, although they might look alright at first, are more prone to scratches, chips, and other internal defects. Small companies tend to offer life-time guarantees for any defects in their products, so you can shop worry-free!
Although you might pay a little more for your prescription eyeglass lenses by working with one of these smaller companies, you are still saving a lot of money by not going to your eye doctor’s office, or even Lens Crafter’s or Walmart. There can be as much as a 400% mark-up in price on optical products, which is why companies such as Replacement Lens Express can still get away with charging just $25 for single vision polycarbonate lenses and still make a profit. Sure, it’s not the $2 prices you’ll see at the larger firms, but you get what you pay for!