Prescription eye glasses for $8!

Did you know you can buy prescription eye glasses for $8? Don't worry, neither did I. But check out this post from Education Mom.

For those of you on a tight budget who need to buy new glasses for someone in the family, this might very well be something worth considering.

And if any of you have ever used this company or have great ideas for saving money on prescription glasses, I'd love to hear more in the comments section.

Comments

[Jessica]

I ordered from a website called 39dollarglasses.com and got 2 pairs of great glasses shipped for a total of $72. My husband got 2 pairs from zenni optical for less than $20.

[Lucia]

I haven't tried this yet, but there was just an article on Slate magazine about this earlier in the week. I'm excited, I want to get perscription sunglasses.
http://www.slate.com/id/2198746/

[Jill Gibson]

We've ordered from zenni optical 3 time. I actually just got our third order today!

We are very happy with the quality and the lenses are spot on! Considering how quickly a 12 year old boy can break a pair of glasses, I'm sure we'll order again!

[J]

My husband got a pair of glasses from Zenni several months ago, and he's very pleased with them. We paid around $75 (including shipping and a couple of clip-on sunshades) for a pair of memory titanium frames with high-index lenses and scratch and anti-glare coatings. These glasses probably would have cost at least $350 almost anywhere else (well, except maybe Costco, but they still would have cost more than $75 there!). You do have to do some measuring and speculating, since you can't try on frames. We measured my husband's old glasses to get an idea of what size frame he needed, and went from there. There's a blog dedicated to discount online eyeglasses that's got a lot of useful info: http://glassyeyes.blogspot.com/

[Carrie]

I ordered a pair of prescription sunglasses there this year and they turned out great. I am planning to get myself a spare pair of regular glasses there soon.

[threeengels]

I have purchased glasses from this company and have had very good luck with them. I showed the website to my mom and she has also purchased glasses with no problem. She is even going back now to order sunglasses.

[Rebecca]

I am thankful to know about this site! Our 7-year-old daughter Jane might need glasses in the near future. (We're waiting to see--some important "head" tests next week might give us a different track to follow.) I never knew such a thing as this was out there. Glad to hear a good review from Education Mom.

[dynamom4]

I ordered a pair of glasses from Zenni Optical and have been please with them. I did need them straightened a bit when I first got them, but that was easy to care for. I've had them for about 11 months now, and wear them for a part of each day. The 4.95 shipping is per order instead of per pair ordered, so this makes it even more affordable if you want to have a spare pair on hand for kids or just want more than one pair of glasses.

[Laura]

I originally read about Zenni Optical on Wantnot.net - another frugal website with a "never pay retail" message. I ordered two pair, paid about $35 with shipping and have been wearing both for about 6 months. Hard to believe, but they are PRECISELY the same quality as glasses I've purchased for $150 - $250 at Costco, Cohen's and Lenscrafters. So yes, I second this!

[Amy]

This is the greatest thing ever! Thank you SO MUCH!

[Sarah]

I used zenni optical online, and am extremely impressed. I got one rx glasses, and one rx sunglasses. Both glasses are perfect, better quality than the irl places that offers "2/$99". They did my rx perfectly (the irl vision place, gave me glasses w/ the wrong rx, then insisted my headaches and throbbing eyes would improve if I wore their glasses all the time..Refused to admit, or even consider, that the rx was wrong). Zenni, offers lens coating for $4.99...The irl place, charges $30 for each coating!

I plan to buy a few more back up pairs! My dh, also wants a few pairs!

2 pairs- both w/ tints and antiglare coating- were $35 shipped. Similar pairs,(but w/ a shabbily done rx) from an irl store- were $285.

I gotta say- that for weeks, I was floored at how much better I see w/ the zenni optical glasses/sunglasses, than the irl vision place glasses. And it was the same rx, zenni did a 100% perfect accurate job.

[Cassandra]

My husband and I both wear glasses. I have been looking for a place to get affordable glasses, (we are on a tight budget-just finished paying off the credit card yesterday- what a feeling!) and this is just what I need! I about cried when I read how great of a deal it is! My husband has had a crack in his for over a year now. Poor man. He was thrilled when he heard about this! Thanks so much!

[Crystal]

I got some from there a couple of months ago. I love them they are perfect and I get tons of compliments on them!

[Karen]

I have ordered from Zenni optical and I love my glasses! I got frames, lenses, AR coating, and sunglass clips and for around $20. My sister in law ordered 3 pairs for her daughter - she loves to have different colored frames.

The only thing is that you will need you Pupil distance. I've heard of some optical places not wanting to give it to you, but my doc was great. I just asked nicely and they measured it for me.

[jess]

Awesome! This is really good. I have had my same glasses for oh, 7-8 years! (I only use them at night so it is not a BIG deal) I can't wait to get some new ones!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[Melanie]

Thanks for sharing this Crystal! My DS has been in bifocals since he was 2 (bless his heart) and is now 4 and has gone thru 6 pr of glasses in those 2 years (sigh)....this will definitely come in handy for us!

[Heidi]

We use Zinni a lot because my child wears glasses and well, he is 8. They are a really wonderful company. They are helpful and the glasses are good quality. I highly recommend them!

[Lora]

I think I've heard about Zenni Optical from Clark Howard's radio show and/or books. His books might be a source for more information about it. I haven't tried it due to the optical plan I have through my job.

[Melanie]

I've ordered 4 pairs now for my 7yo son from Zenni, a pair of prescription sunglasses for myself, and my dad has even ordered progressive bifocals from them. We've ALL been happy with the glasses! Even better, my son broke one pair and you can buy just the frames for 1/2 the cost, only $2.95 shipping, and they send along a small screwdriver so we could move the lenses into the new frames. I've been SUPER happy with that site!

[Sarah]

Both my sister and I have ordered from Zenni and been very happy with our glasses. Because our eyes are pretty bad, it ended up costing around $60 for them, but still a great deal. Just make sure you get out a ruler with centimeters on it so you can measure what size you need. The ones I ordered took some getting used to because they were smaller frame than I had expected.

[Jessica]

Hubby and I just bought pairs from 39dollarglasses.com last month. Bummer! Though we had a good experience, Zenni looks like it has a better selection and obviously better prices! Maybe we'll get some sunglasses now! Thanks SO much for the tip, I'm passing it along to my FIL who orders glasses frequently (and originally told us about 39dollarglasses, which we were thrilled about then--oh well, still better than $200!)

[Marli]

Wow thanks for sharing this! I just bought myself a pair! I've been needing a new pair (i wear contacts) since my 3 year old broke them when he was almost 2 years old!

[Amy]

Thank you so much!!!! We haven't had vision insurance for the past 6 years and my husband, daughter and I all need glasses. My daughter's prescription changes drastically each year, and even just replacing the lenses is expensive. What a blessing this will be!!

[Amy]

Thank you so much!!!! We haven't had vision insurance for the past 6 years and my husband, daughter and I all need glasses. My daughter's prescription changes drastically each year, and even just replacing the lenses is expensive. What a blessing this will be!!

[Jenn In Indiana]

I wish I would have known before school started. My son wears glasses and I paid $85 for two pairs at another "cheap" place. I will have to remember next year when I buy his glasses. He tends to lose his glasses when he gets home from school, so I like to have duplicate pairs so we always have at least one that isn't lost. I could buy several pairs there and still save money. Thanks a bunch.

[Iva]

Crystal - I WHOLEHEARTEDLY recommend this company. My husband EACH got a set of glasses with the Sunshades (clippable sunglasses) for LESS than $30. It was great!

In fact, I need to get with the kids' optometrist and get their prescriptions so I can get a back up pair for them.

[TrentTribe]

I also used 39dollar glasses. My mom works for an eye doctor and she was very pleased with the quality of my glasses, as was I. Enter the promo code "WINNER" for an extra $10 off.

[Jennifer S]

I have a pair of Zenni glasses and get compliments on the style ALL of the time! Mine are blue and fit my face perfectly. I ended up spending about $35, inc shipping and a few extras.

I can not recommend these highly enough. I even wrote a post about them on my blog and included a picture of me wearing them.
http://www.familymusings.com/2008/03/new-glasses.html

[Hannelore]

Payless Optical is another place for affordable eyeglasses. I got some there years ago and they were $29.99. You just go to your dr. ask for prescription, take it to payless, pick out frames, come back in few days and pay $30 and go home with your new eyeglasses. They have lots to choose from unless your head is larger.

[Jessica]

I have had a couple co-workers use this and they have loved it. I haven't used it myself, mostly because we have awesome vision insurance through my husband's job, but I have it on hold in case my son decides to break his glasses before Jan. 1 (we have met our quota for the year in glasses for him).

[Lauri]

Piping in to say I too (and a co-worker of mine) have ordered several pairs and am very impressed with the quality.

[Shursh]

Oh my goodness! I am so excited! I saw the information you posted earlier today and decided to go ahead and try this company for sunglasses. It is SO EXCITING to see so many positive posts about this!!!

[Catherine]

I ordered cheap glasses online one time and they were just as good as the pricey ones in the eye glass stores.

[Amanda]

I love my Zenni glasses!! My husband and I both ordered our glasses online from Zenni and have been very pleased. Our order took a long time to ship because we both have very uncommon prescriptions. The company emailed back and forth with us to double check that we had entered our prescriptions correctly. The customer service was very good, especially for an online company! We will order again in the future.

[janine]

I bought two pairs of glasses of zenni optical earlier this summer and have been very impressed with them! I got two pairs, with the anti reflective coating and it was only $42 TOTAL! I liked that s/h was one flat rate no matter how many pairs you ordered. Plus, when I was putting in my prescription info with the first frames I had picked out, a notice came on the screen that this frame wouldn't work with one of the measurements and I needed to pick a different frame....that really impressed me! We will definitely be using them again in the future! One thing to note is that if you don't like them and try to return them, it was our understanding that you only get 50% back. But for their prices compared to the mall or other eyeglasses places, its definitely worth a try! We have other family members who have also ordered from zenni optical and been very pleased too!

[Andrea]

I currently have two pairs of glasses from Zenni optical. A person would be foolish to buy glasses anywhere else!

[Jennifer]

We've used Zenni multiple times over the last 3 years. We even used it to purchase glasses for my 90 yr old mother-in-law who was WAY overcharged on her last pair glasses when she bought them through her physician. BE ADVISED: make sure you check the temple arm length-especially for children or smaller adults! We have always purchased the $19 frames so I can't speak for the $8 ones, but we have been very pleased with the quality and service. We also submit it to our medical spending account so we can use pretax funds as well!!

[Penny Pinching Parent]

I love Zenni optical. I have bought rimless frames from them and they were great. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a good deal. I think it took about a week and a half last time I ordered to get my frames, but it's worth the wait for the savings.

[Leia]

I have $8 frames from Zenni Optical and I love them. They are so SO lightweight and I get compliments on them all the time.

Be sure you have your Focal Distance on your prescription, because I can tell you first hand that guessing wrong is NOT pleasant.

[Kelly Petersen]

I have purchased several pairs of glasses for myself and my friend has purchased several pairs for both and her daughter over the past year. We both love Zenni Optical. I ordered an $9 pair just for a different fun look. I think that this is the best deal around for glasses.

[Janice]

Ordered 6 pair of glasses thru Zenni so far! Absolutely LOVED every pair. Fast shipping, (5 business days for 3 pair, and the others were shipped withing 2 weeks!), quality frames, and correct Rx! Never paid over $40 for a pair, and shipping and handling is the same no matter how many pair you order in one trip to their site! Who could possibly want more?