Seven-Dollar Eyeglasses? ~SERIOUSLY?~
"My grandmother is over eighty and still doesn't need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle."
- Henny Youngman -
"'I see,' said the blind man."
Thank you, Grandpa, for that pithy saying...
When I was a child, instead of training me for good vision, my parents and my culture applied the "crutch" of eyeglasses... But I'll save that rant as a story for another time.
Yesterday, I read an article by my friend @marxrab that inspired me to write this one. She wrote:
If you don't now, or never have worn eyeglasses, I'd encourage you to read her article—if only as a means of developing some compassion and sympathy for those of us who live with "less than perfect" eyesight every day.
Seven dollar glasses? Seriously?
Image (cropped) courtesy of Mohammad Faruque and http://unsplash.com
Glasses have become a fashion statement.
The old saw goes "Girls seldom make passes at guys who wear glasses." However, the fancy frames and brand names available today, and the relentless image-oriented advertising by companies like Calvin Klein have put the lie to that saying. Just to list a few of the "frames of fame" touted by a major purveyor of eyeglasses:
- Ray-Ban.
- Oakley.
- Coach.
- Michael Kors.
- Burberry.
- Ralph Lauren.
- Armani Exchange.
When I walk into local optometrist shops, I'm blown away seeing walls covered with endless arrays of high-priced, high-fashion eyewear.
Eyeglasses: some of the highest mark-up items in the world.
Image courtesy of Scott Van Daalen and http://unsplash.com
"But, sir! I don't need another car payment..."
That's my typical reaction to the sticker shock when I see the price of a pair of glasses, even at "bargain stores" like Walmart.
Time and aging wait for no man.
I (so far) refuse to wear bifocals or graduated lenses, so I actually have three pairs of glasses - one I use for driving, one for "general use," and one for close-up or computer work.
And I have a "backup set" for all three.
Trifocals? Or Three pair?
Original image by @creatr
HOW CAN I AFFORD THIS?
Each complete set of three pairs of glasses cost me less than $30, delivered.
For the last five years, I have been buying my eyeglasses online. They are custom sized to fit my face, they match my prescription, and they arrive within two weeks of my order.
My secret is ZENNI OPTICAL ®, INC., where I can get a good pair of glasses—both frame and lens—for $7. Yes, that's right. That is not a typo... SEVEN DOLLARS.
Actually, I lied. They're not really seven dollars.
The list price is $6.95 per pair.
For example, check out my computer/reading/near-field glasses.
They are very light weight, comfortable, and durable. I wear them pretty much all the time.
I bought my first set from Zenni five years ago, and I couldn't be happier. I'm still wearing them.
My set of test lenses...
Original image by @creatr
Prices are so low,
rather than going to see an optometrist for a fitting, I first bought four pair of glasses with lens strengths beginning at -1.25 and increasing by 1/4 diopter steps through 2.75. That made it easy for me to check my own vision and decide what the final prescription(s) ought to be.
I never buy the upgrades—partially because I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Mr. Frugal, and partly because I really don't consider them particularly useful.
Although I don't go for any of the "extras," they are available from Zenni as upgrades, and you can expect to pay premium prices.
I just get the least expensive frames and lenses. The "plain" lenses are made of very durable, scratch-resistant plastic with a great refractive index (i.e. they are thin and light).
TIP: When ordering,
Zenni even offers a free upgrade in some cases from 1.50 (standard refractive index) lenses to a 1.57 (mid-index) lens that has the added advantage of greater UV (ultraviolet) light filtering, as well as being slightly thinner and lighter.
There is even one very reasonable upgrade option to a 1.59 index polycarbonate lens that has superior impact resistance. However, for the cost of the upgrade, my personal tendency is to simply by a spare pair.
All of their lenses come with an anti-scratch hard coating.
Calvin Klein for $200 or more? or Zenni for $6.95?
Image courtesy of Scott Van Daalen and http://unsplash.com
Are these insanely low prices still good?
Yes, indeed they are, at least on some available options.
These may be Zenni's "loss-leaders," but a frugal curmudgeon like myself can smell a loss leader miles away.
My computer/reading/near-field glasses are still $6.95.
My driving/movie-watching glasses are still $6.95.
Oops! They have raised the price on this fine pair of spring loaded stem eyeglasses—now a whopping $9.95—but I would buy them again even for three dollars more. They are sturdy and comfortable. No matter, I find that I tend to use this "middle" prescription less and less.
And so, my fellow blind Steemians:
Go forth, and check out the Zenni site.
And no, I have no affiliation with them... I'm just a happy customer.
Some of the highest mark-up items in the world.
Image courtesy of Scott Van Daalen and http://unsplash.com
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an interesting post - you raised the idea of prejudice towards wearers of glasses and it brought to mind a personal experience.
I was teaching and one student interrupted me by exclaiming out loud - 'See - he does wear glasses!' This was a student who was very anti-intellectual to say the least. He despised what he called four-eyed geeks.
I shook my head sadly. "Are you that superficial, Garth?"
He shrugged. I pulled my sunglasses out of my suit pocket. His girlfriend smirked and elbowed him in the ribs.
Paranoia runs deep :)
Why ever, then, was he a student at all?
But now age 20 they need to glass
People love appearances and brands, society of hypocrisy and appearances
I notice that seven dollar or "6.95$" glasses will be better than 200$ glasses, and with high quality too .
Yes, brands and appearances... it is rather sad what motivates many people!
This is a great tip @creatr. I'll have to look into them...see if they deliver to our lovely country.
My glasses before the cataract surgery were for severe astigmatism near sightedness....if Nikon didn't manufacture lenses for glass wearers I'd be looking like I was wearing coke bottle glasses. Yes, it was that bad. I think my prescription was in the high -5.85 range...legally blind.
But I needed professionally honed lenses and they cost me a fortune. I spend $800 for a pair of glasses. The frames weren't too bad it was the lenses. Costco was a great place for that but they couldn't get the German lenses I needed to lighten the load on my poor nose!
So now I have 20/20 vision but I need reading glasses (old lady eyes) When I had my coke bottle glasses I could see about 12 inches without glasses - I could file my nails, put on my makeup, read a book up close.
I have lost that ability....and the learning curve is a real challenge to have to put on cheaters to see anything and at that nothing up close is sharp enough like it was before. Off on off on off on...sometimes makes me crabby :)
I purchased some "tri focal" type glasses at Shoppers Drug Mart for $30. They are great for reading, then there is the mid range for computer and the distance range there as well. And I also have a pair of reading glasses to bring along with me when I go out. So much cheaper. I think they are Foster Grants. John and I both have the same eyes now so he can borrow my glasses and vice versa. We are at 2.75 now....old eyes, see :)
Costco also sells reading glasses and computer glasses that filter out blue light - the lenses aren't attractive but it sure helps if you do a lot of computer work. They were 2 pairs for $29 CDN.
Thanks for your very interesting response.
BTW, Zenni no doubt ships to Canada.
You've reminded me that there is more "grist for my mill" as well. There is a definite conspiracy (economic) in the fact that anyone can walk into a dollar store and by POSITIVE diopter lenses, but you can't do that for NEGATIVE lenses... in other words, we myopes are being strongly discriminated against.
Hmmm...
We get ours online from goggles4u. Not quite as cheap but fast delivery. And we managed to sneakily get our prescriptions from our old optometrist before we never went back!
Way to go, Deb! :D
And, as I mentioned briefly in this article; it really isn't too hard to self-prescribe, especially if you are not affected by astigmatism.
Yes, that's the tricky bit. If you have an astigmatism, or if one eye is worse than the other, it gets more difficult.
The one eye vs. the other is not a big deal... you just cover one eye with a patch or your hand and look through individual lenses with the other....
However, the astigmatism part... hmmm...
Wonder if I could invent a home eye-test machine? :D
For the most part, they're not that complicated in the optician's, just a higher tech looking version of covering one eye and trying the different lens with the other. Though I admit, I don't know how they test for astigmatism.
Because of cost I've stretched every pair of glasses I've had for around 6 years. They tell you to get your eyes checked every few years but it's too expensive. At a local eye doctor the cost for an appointment, frames, and lenses is over $200. It's hard when you start wearing glasses as a kid because your face grows bigger meaning you can't reuse old frames and need larger sizes more frequently. I remember it being expensive for my mom who was a hair stylist and couldn't afford that $200 bill. Thank goodness for online shopping now!
I have such horrible near nearsightedness that I can't see a single word on my laptop which is around 24 inches from my face when in my lap. Now that I have a kid I'm a bit rougher on glasses and my little one is constantly trying to grab them off my face. She contributed to the deterioration of my backup pair. Its nice to finally try buying them online so I can afford backup pairs that are the same prescription. Wearing that old pair from 2004 was absolutely horrible and I've had migraines for weeks from them. I get my first online pair soon in the mail...probably this weekend or early next week. I've excited to try them out. I might even splurge this summer and get a pair of sunglasses or maybe a pair with transition lenses.
There are other dirty little secrets that the optometrists won't bother telling you...
Such as that the more and longer you wear the glasses, the worse your eyes tend to become.
There are programs of special exercises that can help most people improve their vision, their ability to focus, and the overall eye function. I hope to do an article about this all one of these fine days. ;)
Thanks for the original inspiration for my article, and for your comprehensive comments!
And, before your daughter reaches reading age, I would encourage you to research ways to help her never need glasses... ;)
😄😇😄
Eyeglasses now are very expensive. Thankfully, I was able to save. I bought a frame on sidewalks her in Phil for 1 dollar and asked the clinic if I could just use it as my frame instead and thankfully they agreed. I just bought the lenses and never the frames which almost cost 50 dollars here the very least.
Zenni claims to ship eyeglasses to more than 80 countries around the world, and so I would be very surprised if they don't ship to the Philippines. You might have a look and see if you can order a spare pair from them? :D
I got my new eyeglass just few months back but I would still look for those products. They probably really ship here in the Phil.
I'm glad you found a bargain! I should get my eyes checked....I'm getting old. :)
Friend, you aren't the only one getting old. :O
I've written some poetry about that frustrating topic... If you're interested, you can find it in my Library. ;)
I need to tell hubby about this (but he won't buy them. He has a disassociation with eyeglasses and cost. LOL)
and... the other part of that saying in the beginning...
"I see," said the blind man, as he picked up his hammer and saw.
tee hee hee :)
honestly i just keep losing my glasses
At these prices, you can keep a spare in every room... ;)
right now im just roaming around without glasses cause i cant afford new ones.