Zenni Optical: Quality Products at Economical Prices
Written: Sep 17 '06
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I have been wearing contacts since I was sixteen years old, and have not had a wearable pair of back up glasses for probably the past twenty years. This summer I have had a lot of problems with my contacts; not sure if it is just age (LOL) or if it is because the air quality has been bad since it seems like half of Washington State is burning. At any rate, I decided to buy a cheap pair of back up glasses so that I could take my contacts out and still see. (I have 20/600 vision in both eyes, so without contacts I am pretty much blind!)
Off I went on a trusty internet search and stumbled across Zenni Optical Online Store. The search engine description was "Zenni Optical - the 19 Dollar Prescription Eyeglasses". Nineteen dollars? Could that even be possible? Thinking back to the last time several years ago that I considered a pair of back up glasses and estimated I would end up paying several hundred dollars, I was very skeptical.
Still, I decided to check further into it. Once at the site, the first thing I noticed on the top of the page was this statement "1.57 High Index Lens Complete Prescription Eyeglasses from $8.95." $8.95? I was definitely intrigued. With gas prices as high as they are (averaging around $3.05 a gallon currently) most of my discretionary income has been going to buy gas simply to get us to and from work. If I could get a pair of back up glasses for under $10 it would definitely fit into our budget. But could they even make a pair of prescription glasses for that price? I was sure there was going to be some sort of snag in this process. Shipping costs, maybe. Still, I started through the order process, my eyes desperate for some relief from my disposable contact lenses.
Web Site Experience
Zenni Optical Online Store has a nicely designed web site that is easy to navigate. Down the left side of the main page are various option buttons to choose from as follows: $8.95 eyeglasses, $12.95 eyeglasses, $15.95 eyeglasses, $19 metal, $19 plastic, Stainless Steel, Memory Titanium, Rimless Frames, Half Rim Frames, Children's Frames, Sunshade Models, Leading Edge Designs, Women's Fashion, Mixed Material, Aluminum Alloy, Euro Classic, Pure Titanium, and Progressive Frames. I was duly impressed. Obviously they had an extensive selection of possible choices. Since I did not want to spend a great deal of money, I started out with the $15.95 button, then checked out the $12.95, and finally the $8.95.
There were several choices in each price range. I could not see much of a difference between these three price ranges, so decided to choose a pair for $8.95. The ones I chose were listed as "bendable memory plastic with smooth spring hinges". I clicked on a button entitled "see detailed info" and it took me to another page where I would make my specific choices.
Suddenly I felt anxious. I went to grab my prescription, and of course I couldn't find it. Murphy's Law at its finest. Or maybe fate was telling me to run away from this web site? My thoughts were conflicted. The only thing I could find with any type of prescription information on it was my box of contact lenses. I did a quick internet query to find out of that information was compatible for both contacts and eyeglasses and was not convinced. Since it was well after my eye doctor's business hours, I resigned myself to waiting another day.
I called my eye doctor the next day, and the wonderful customer service person emailed me my prescription. Back I went to the Zenni Optical Online Store that evening, determined to make my purchase. I clicked through the buttons and again found myself on the ordering information page.
First, you choose your frame color. The glasses I wanted to purchase had two color options; amber or top blue, bottom cream, I chose amber.
Next, you have the choice of several options such as tinting, anti-reflection coating, and clip on sunglasses. Each of these carries an additional fee. The anti-reflection coating, for example, would add $4.95 to the cost of these glasses. Since I was purchasing them for back up use only, I did not feel the need to add on anything extra.
Then comes the scary part; entering the prescription. I found myself looking at a strange chart with codes I had never seen before; OD-SPH, OD-CYL, OD-AXIS, and OD-ADD. The next line had the same thing, starting with OS instead of OD. A very nice thing about the Zenni Optical Online Store is the readily accessible help buttons. Since I had never purchased glasses online before, I was definitely interested in help. I hate ordering things online and having to go through the hassle of returning them. I clicked on "help" next to the "Your Prescription" button, hoping to ease my mind. A second window popped up that explained the strange codes on the prescription screen. Now I knew that OD meant right eye and OS meant left eye. The other codes referred to astigmatism and bifocals. The help screen was very helpful in answering my questions as to what to do next.
I pulled out my prescription and entered my information into the OD-SPH and OS-SPH columns. I did not need any of the other options, so I went down to the next line, which was PD- Pupillary Distance. What the heck was that??? I clicked on the help button next to it, and found that this was the distance between one's two eyes from pupil center to pupil center in millimeters. I searched my prescription for this information and reluctantly accepted the fact that it was NOT on there. Apparently not all eye doctors provide this information. Mine may not have since I was a contact lens wearer. Not having this information on the prescription is not a fatal problem, however, as the site explained how to measure it oneself. Off I went to get a ruler.
I have four children, ages 13 to 23. I have bought probably hundreds of rulers over the years in the beginning of each school year. But could I find a single one now that I needed it? No. I searched the entire house. No ruler anywhere. My husband suggested I use a measuring tape, but we did not have one with millimeters on it. I resigned myself to waiting yet another day to make this purchase and ignored the queasy feeling in my stomach that was again telling me that it was not in my destiny to make a purchase from this online store.
The next day we stopped at a store after work and I purchased a ruler. When we got home, I had my thirteen year old daughter measure my Pupillary Distance, and once again I went back to the Zenni Optical Online Store. This time I was able to complete my purchase. There were only a couple other questions to answer, such as prescription and lens type (e.g. bifocal, progressive). I was going with the single vision, which carried no extra charge as it was included in the originally quoted $8.95. If a person wanted bifocals they would pay an additional $19.00, for example.
They offered two prescription strengths on this pair of glasses, standard strength with no extra charge or extra strength for an additional $9.00. I moved on, clicked on "quantity 1" and then clicked on the "add to cart" button that is located at the bottom of this page.
When you go to the shopping cart, it provides a detailed description of what you have purchased so you can double check all the information; very nice feature. It also provides you with the cost of your purchase, the amount of shipping cost, and your final total. After reviewing this information, you hit the "checkout" button and it takes you to payment options.
Product Selection
I found the product selection at Zenni Optical Online Store to be excellent and as extensive as most brick-and-mortar eyeglass stores. They have a variety of frame choices, including plastic or titanium. Most of the plastic glasses contained color options.
Prices
I was very impressed with the prices at Zenni Optical Online Store. Where at first I couldn't understand how they could stay in business with such low prices, I think now that they make their money on the options. If I were ordering a pair of glasses I was going to wear all the time, I would have likely added some options such as lens tinting. If a person added all the options the glasses would get a lot more expensive, but even at that I think they would end up much cheaper than buying them the conventional way.
Shipping Options
There is only one shipping option; US shipping. My glasses cost $4.95 for shipping. I felt this was very reasonable.
Final Thoughts
My total cost for this pair of back up glasses including shipping was only $13.90. I don't think that amount would even cover the cost of making the lenses alone at a brick-and-mortar store. Needless to say, I was very pleased with price.
I placed my order on 9/5/06. That same evening I received a confirmation email that again listed my order specifics and final cost. The email advised that I should receive my glasses in approximately two weeks, depending on special instructions. Since I had not opted for anything special, I assumed two weeks was going to be my waiting period.
On 9/11/06 I received another email from Zenni Optical stating that my order had been shipped via USPS. They also provided a tracking number so I could find out exactly when my glasses would arrive.
My glasses were delivered on 9/13/06, eight days after I placed my order. I found this quite impressive. I am also very happy with the glasses I purchased. Now, I think I look terribly funny in glasses of any sort. These are really no different in that category, as it is a personal problem and not the fault of any particular style of glasses. The lenses were a bit smaller than I expected, but then again the site did provide the size of the lenses and I did not measure them to know exactly how big they would be.
I was very happy with the thickness of the lenses. My other pair of back up glasses have lenses so thick it is scary. Technology has definitely improved over the years and these glasses do not tell everyone immediately that I am as blind as a bat.
I would definitely recommend Zenni Optical Online Store to anyone wanting to purchase a pair of prescription glasses. The only scary part of the process was entering the prescription information, but a well-filled out prescription would elminate that stress. Now that I know the process, it won't bother me a bit if I need to order another pair at some time in the future. The glasses I received appear to be high quality and I don't envision any problems with them. The frames are sturdy and the glasses appear to be well-made. I am very happy with my purchase.
If you are looking to purchase glasses, give the Zenni Optical Online Store a peek. I think they have something to make everyone happy.
You can find this online store at www.zennioptical.com
Recommended:
Yes
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