Eye-glasses by default are expensive. I am not talking about the $30 reading glasses at Wal-Mart. I mean prescription glasses after an eye exam. For a long time I put off getting new glasses because of the cost.
Going to the optometrist is also very costly if your insurance doesn't cover it, let alone if you need glasses by the end of it. My husband had been talking to me about my eye sight and how I needed to get new glasses for a while.
Finally I gave in and told him I would look for cheaper alternatives to glasses since I hate spending more money on something like this. I went straight to the internet (as always) and found a handy site. FramesDirect.com. I'll admit, I was a little skeptical about the site.
Would you, as the reader, buy glasses of all things off of the internet? For some, yes, others no. But I looked around the site a bit to see if they have good reviews. I found that they have more than 250 name-brand frames, so not something unheard of and scam-like.
They have opticians on call to help with sizing or other matters instead of people who don't know how to handle glasses. They sell just the frames or just the lenses in addition to the whole package and they are copyright since 1996 as Frames of America Inc. They looked legit and the reviews on the site helped to sell them.
I got curious and found the prices are very reasonable. Some dipping below $100, some reaching $500, the important part was that not everything expensive. Only the luxury glasses. Many glasses were on sale. I had my eyes on the Ray-Ban Rx5150 eyeglasses. They were originally $140 (which isn't bad) but were on sale for $114.
They also had some sunglasses, Kate Spade Rx, that were $144.10 and on sale for $124.49. After looking at the fact that they take Paypal, I was sold. Even though they take all major credit cards, I'm just not a fan of using mine. For those who have good vision insurance, they also allow that to cover the cost. It's definitely worth thinking about.
I skimmed the site for any coupons I could use, cause who doesn't like to save money? They had a few discount codes, less15 for 15$ off of a $150-$249 order, less30 for $30 on purchases of $250+ and etc. I found a few Frames Direct promo codes at www.quradia.com. The one I used was rxless which gave me 40% off of a purchase. After looking through the woman's eyeglasses that were on sale (and browsing secretly at the sunglasses) I got the Ray-Ban Rx5150. They came in about 2 weeks later with no problems.
The process was simple and easy. Their FAQ is well done and provided answers to many questions ranging from ordering, to eye-wear care. Some quality of life aspects of the store is that they adjust your glasses before sending, allow you to speak to an optometrist, they have a virtual try-on feature and they sell contacts as well.
They also provide a face shape guide that helps choose the best glasses suited for all facial shapes. It's nice for appearance conscious people. The site was pleasant and not too busy, and quite easy to navigate. I would recommend for those who want an alternative for eye-wear shopping to check the site out.