Eye Care

Im trying to get a prescription glasses online for the first time and the mixed reviews are really throwing me off on all of them. Some of the patterns i noticed was the problems from buying glasses online usually occurs when the prescription was higher than the "basic" prescription. My prescription however i think is pretty basic so im just wondering what you guys think before i actually buy them

My prescription:
Sphere
OD: -3.25
OS: -3.25

Cylinder
OD: SPH.
OS: SPH.

(besides the sphere, i think the SPH under cylinder means no astigmatism right?)

What im trying to get:

Prada PR 16MV frame
Single vision
Polycarbonate lenses
Anti scratch, UV protected and Anti-reflective (standard)

the websites that i looked at:

framesdirect.com - $279.24 (with promo code)
frame - $185.47
polycarbonate - $89
Anti reflective (standard) - $45
Anti scratch, UV - included

eyeglasses4all.com - $187.99
frame - $128
polycarbonate - $49.99
Anti reflective (standard) - $10
Anti scratch, UV - included

The price is obviously much better at eyeglasses4all.com compared to framesdirect.com

However, based on what I've been able to read online, there are many unhappy customers of eyeglasses4sall - basically saying that in some cases the orders took a very long time to arrive and that the customer support is basically non-existent. I have no personal experience, so it is just based on what I've read online.

Framesdirect has a slightly better reputation online, but also has plenty of negative reviews.

Not sure how you chose those two particular companies, but I was able to find those particular glasses around the same price at ezcontactsusa.com

Frames: $123.95
Lenses (plastic would be free and probably adequate with your small correction): polycarbonate $40
Antiglare - standard: $29.99

Total: $193.94

And they seem to have a marginally better reputation - a lot of complaints about slow shipping. At least this company is registered with the BBB (eyeglasses4all is not, as best I could tell) although ezcontacts has a C+ rating - not so hot.

Personally, if I were spending that much money on frames (as you are spending more getting designer frames), I'd want to make sure they are authentic, and then I'd want to make sure I wouldn't have problems with the lenses. If I wanted those frames, I would probably order them from ezcontacts without any prescription lenses, as they seem to show them as in stock, and the price is the lowest I could find. I would then take the frames to Costco and have them put in lenses there. You can get very good quality polycarbonate with excellent anti-glare coatings for about the same price as what you are looking at. You also would have the assurance that if you have problems with the lenses, they will stand behind them.

At Costco - I've heard it is around $15-20 if you bring your own frames, plus good quality polycarbonate with good quality anti-reflective coating would be $74. That would bring the total to around $215, but I'd trust the quality of the lenses and know the company will correct any problems, for that price.

Good luck and please let me know what you decide and what your experiences are with whichever seller you choose. I haven't had any personal experience with ordering designer frames online. Those are nice looking frames and they don't seem too crazy expensive for Prada (assuming they aren't fakes).

Thank you, thats a very good advice and if i had more time and experience than i might have done it differently.

i am not exactly in the position of convenience to fully utilize my options so my personal preference would be the one that is convenience for me and also the best deal.

I decided to order from framesdirect(no specific reason, flipped a coin) and so far, im satisfied of the order for the reasons as so:

1. I ordered on thanksgiving day and got a call immediately on friday at 11 regarding my order and confirmation.
2. Yes, there are mixed reviews on delays of shipment but in my case, i was glad that i was notified of how long each process of my order would take. The lady who called me said that they would still have to order my frame which would take 3 days (im assuming 3 business days) and since it said the frame was in stock, i am being optimistic and it was merely being shipped from the storage/warehouse or something to the place where they would actually do the lenses. after the 3 days, i should expect for the lenses making process to be done in 2 weeks and the shipment would be 4-7 days afterwards.

I know its not as fast as one would hope but it is a reasonable explanation and if youre willing to wait, i dont think its a big issue at all as long as you know whats happening.

i am still waiting for my glasses and should be expecting them in 3 weeks. i will definitely update to share my experience with framesdirect but what i can say at this point is, you might not want to get your glasses online if you need it immediately regardless of the cost as the shop can get it done in a week or 10 days.