Most people never consider buying their prescription glasses online until their doctor gives them the retail price. Most people go into shock and once they recover they just go home, go online, start shopping for a better price and a legit company to buy from… it’s easier say it than do it.
Here are 7 things a person should consider:
Go for an eye exam – Before a person starts shopping for glasses, they need to make sure their prescription is up to date. In Florida, a prescription is good for 5 years, but everyone must have an eye exam every one to two years.
Look at eyeglass frames at a local store – To get an idea of which style is right for you, the best way is to go to your local retail stores to find a frame. The worst thing you can do is go online and choose a frame that may not fit or look right on one person.
I found a frame – Now that a frame has been selected, look on the inside of the temple for the model name, color code, and frame size. Just write down everything on the inside of both temples and go home to start looking online.
Research for a reputable online eyeglass store – There are many online glasses stores but which one is good and which one is bad. Here are some things to consider when researching a website:
- Check the Better Business Bureau’s website rating at bbb.org/us/. If they are below a ‘C’, the website is most likely not dependent.
- If the website is a BuySafe.com guaranteed website, then it is a reputable website. Buy Safe is a third-party company that guarantees a purchase of up to $500. Buy Safe would not offer its guarantee if the website was legitimate.
- If the website doesn’t look professional, consider another website.
- I still have questions, call and speak to a representative and questions.
- Make sure they give you a 100% money-back guarantee on your prescription glasses… very important.
Find the model number on the website – The easiest and fastest way to find a model on a website is to type the number/name in the search bar.
Add Prescription Lenses – Many websites offer prescription lenses, but many of these online websites are run by doctors, but a website that offers a money back guarantee is probably a wholesale optical lab, which is the best way to go. If there is any difficulty knowing what type of prescription lenses to order, here are some things to consider to help break it down:
- lens type – Each prescription lens has a type of lens. The different types of lenses are: monofocal, progressive, bifocal and trifocal. If a prescription does not have extra power, then the lens type would be single vision. If there is extra power but you don’t want to have a line on the lens, choose a progressive lens, also known as a “No Line Bifocal” or “No Line Trifocal.” Most patients opt for a monofocal or progressive type of lens.
- lens material – Depending on the strength of a prescription, particularly the Sphere value determines the material one should think of. Each lens has a type of lens and is made of some type of material such as: plastic, polycarbonate, high index 1.67, or high index 1.74 (only available in single vision). Choosing the correct material is important for cosmetically slim lenses.
- tint options – This feature is completely optional, but includes Transitions (light on the inside and dark on the outside), Tint (can be a light or dark tint), Polarized Lenses (ideal with sunglasses for maximum optics), and Drivewear (combination of Transitions and polarized lenses) .
- antireflective coating – This reduces glare from a computer, TV, fluorescent lights, night driving, and softens a person’s eyes, giving the lens an invisible appearance. AR is a feature but not a necessity. Reduces glare so eyes don’t tire as quickly.
- entry prescription – It is best to email or fax your prescription so that the company has full responsibility for manufacturing the prescribed lenses to specifications.
Verify – This is extremely important, make sure the website payment is secure and VeriSign Trusted.
That’s it! It should only take about 7 business days for a website to process a prescription order. Also, make sure that if there is a problem seeing properly, the company will allow the customer to return the glasses to have new lenses made.