Where Can I Get Affordable Prescription Glasses?

It’s truly amazing, with all the modern developments into digital and visual technology that eyeglasses, frames with prescription lenses in them, are still the number one way to deal with faulty vision. Sure, there’s lasik for those who want to go through the risks of surgery and somehow with decades to catch up, there are still many people for whom contacts simply aren’t an option due to either comfort or occupational conditions like dry air or flying sawdust. Google Glass wasn’t the answer, though many of the bespectacled population secretly hoped that they would be. VR is a joke and will only get your shins banged on furniture and other modern innovations like drones and electric cars surely aren’t going to help.

So here we are with our eyeglasses looking forward to another trip to the optometrist to update our prescriptions and wondering somehow if there’s a way to get stylish prescription glasses for a lower price than the usual somewhat exorbitant expense. Especially if you have a strong prescription, the lenses themselves are enough of an investment to encourage you to look into alternate glasses solutions. Glasses, in general, have a way of creeping up in price as you put them together.

Start with fairly costly lenses, then move on to choosing the frames which is a uniquely personal experience of trying on, judging, comparing to others, and waffling over which is the best choice. Finally, there are coatings to consider which will shape your glasses-wearing experiences for the next year or more. Each aspect further inflates the price of your eyeglasses. After seeing the final price tag, many glasses wearers start to wonder if there’s anywhere they can find affordable prescription glasses.

The Frames Shop Problem

The frames are usually the most expensive part of any glasses purchase unless you count all the coatings together and really stack them on. There are frames that bend, frames that bend, frames that wrap around, trendy frames, classy frames, and perhaps the most expensive of all, designer frames. Of course, the vast majority of people who buy glasses finish their orders in a little shop full of frames lining the walls and stacked up on spinning display cases. Between your desire to look your best and the teeny-tiny price tags (if any), it’s all too easy to fall in love with a pair of frames that you later discover cost double your glasses budget even without lenses.

It doesn’t help that these designer landmines just waiting to blow a hole in your wallet are arrayed right next to the perfectly affordable non-designer frames you would have chosen if the specialty model wasn’t there to tempt you. While we understand that glasses shops need to make their money, it does make finding affordable glasses especially challenging.

The Need for Transparency

What most glasses wearers are really looking for doesn’t seem to exist in brick-and-mortar establishments that sell glasses: transparency. The ideal glasses shop is one that has a very clear price tag posted next to each pair of frames which are arrayed either by style then price or price and then style so that we always know where to look to find glasses of the right size, lens shape, and fit without being drawn into the part of the store we can’t really afford (or don’t care to pay for even if we can).

If you’ve ever run into the perfectly transparent glasses shop, we’d love to hear about it but to date this is still a mythically convenient establishment and it’s beginning to look like the bespectacled will have to find some other way conduct a hassle-free search for the perfect pair of affordable glasses.

The Rise of Online Glasses Shopping

While brick-and-mortar glasses shops may not have the kind of selection we’re looking for, in the last ten years a completely alternative and, in many ways, much more convenient form of shopping has risen to power. There’s no denying that eCommerce has taken the world by storm but you may not have realized that you can now even buy complete prescription eyeglasses online with all the perks you’re used to and none of the hassle of the optician or the subtle store layout trying to forcibly upsell you.

When you’re shopping for glasses online, you get the standard eCommerce UI layout which means that you can either look at a page full of glasses of the type, style, or brand you like best with an array of pictures and clearly associated prices or look at a single pair close-up with the price clearly displayed along with all the details and perks you can order them with.

Unlike in the glasses shop where the optician makes suggestions and you want to agree with them, buying glasses online you have the opportunity to look at every option, research it if you’re not sure exactly what it does, and weigh the cost against your desire for the feature. Not sure if you want clip-on shades or transition lenses? Now you can see the cost of the three or four transition lens options, read forum posts and personal stories about how much others have enjoyed them, and make the choice for yourself rather than taking the optician recommendation. ‘Been thinking about thinner high-index lenses? You can order those, too, with a clear indication of how much the upgrade will cost so you’re not left wondering until you get the receipt.

Building a Pair of Affordable Prescription Glasses Online

All you need to put together and order a pair of new prescription glasses in your ideal price range is your most recent prescription. Find a glasses website you like or compare the options and prices on several sites until you find a pair of frames that you think will perfectly fit your style, shape of face, and the size of your head. At that point, below the pictures and description of the frames should be a quick and easy order form.

Enter your prescription one eye at a time as most people have slightly different prescriptions in each eye. Then select whether or not you need bifocals and the rest is deciding on the perks. Most vendors will offer you high-index options transition shades, lens color tints, and a variety of helpful and decorative coatings. Many even include complimentary cases and care gear and offer extras for a very small addition to your order. 

Once you finish and pay, it will only be a short wait while your glasses are crafted and shipped to you. At this point you can sport a brand new pair of stylish prescription glasses and perhaps for the first time in your life, they didn’t have to put a serious dent into your checking account. eCommerce, as it is with many industries, is changing the way we buy glasses. Where once the process required a series of social interactions, and pressure to choose unnecessarily expensive frames, you now have 100% control of the situation. From the lens material to frames design to the coatings you choose to include, you can see the prices clearly displayed and can choose each aspect of your new affordable prescription glasses to suit both your needs and your budget. For more advice on finding the perfect prescription glasses online, contact us today!