Do you ever hear a deal and think "That is to be too good to be true!" Well that happened to me back in the beginning of September after reading this blog post from Education Mom.
Basically her husband found a website that offers super inexpensive glasses to the public. The prices start at just $8.00 for frames and lenses! And the shipping is $4.99 for one pair or 10 pairs.
I was a little leery, but with my two older kids only needing a back up pair for thier new contacts, I thought I would give it a try. Well, Matt's cost $8.00 and Ali's cost $12.00, which with shipping came to $25.90 for both pairs. I paid over $300.00 for two pairs just two years ago. They took 9 days to be shipped to my house. They came in hard plastic cases with a cleaning towelette. I think they are real cute! They are made just right, and hold up good to children. The kids have ripped a few contacts getting used to them, and have had no problems wearing the glasses to school. And I love telling people how much I paid for them. For that price I could buy multiple pairs in different colors and styles. Ali could have a pair to match every outfit. I wouldn't do that extreme, but it would be fun.
There are many different styles to choose from. But my tip is to go trying on many different pairs at your local eye glass store to see what style looks good on you first. Make sure to write down the size of those frames too. Pictures on a computer can be deceiving, and you want the right size.
How to size the frames.
My 9 year old sons frames are a 52::17/135.
That means 52 is the width across the front of each lens
17 is the bridge distance between the lenses
135 is the length of the bow/arm/temple.
If you already have glasses, check out the size of them on the back of the bridge. This should be close to what you want, unless they are huge or tiny on you right now. The temple size is pretty standard, but can be changed if you need a smaller or larger size then what is standard.
How to read your Rx.
OD = right eye
OS = left eye
If you have no astigmatism, you will only have one number positive or negative for each eye. These are the only number for your prescription.
If you have astigmatism, you will have and extra positive or negative number that is your cylinder number, and an axis number in degrees.
Your Rx could look like this:
OD -2.25
OS -1.75
or look like this:
OD -3.75 -.25 X 65
OS -4.00 -.50 X 120
If you have a need for bifocals, you will have an ADD power with a positive number like +1.75. I would suggest getting a professional to fit the measurement for bifocals. It can be a tricky thing to measure, especially without the frame in front of you.
If you just need readers. Ask your eye doctor for an Rx for readers only. The Rx can be different depending on your distance Rx.
Also ask your technician for a PD reading. This is the distance between your eyes for a proper placement of the lenses in the frames. If you are there to pick up your eye glass prescription, they can do this easy reading normally at no charge.
Cheap sunglasses too! Remember you can just add a dark tint ($4.95) to any order to get a cheap pair of prescription sunglasses too. Or leave the Rx at zero and have a cheap pair of non-prescription sunglasses.
You can even do non-prescription glasses to go for the geek sheek look! The possibilities are endless.
I worked for a local eyeglass shop for 4 years, and the cheapest we could ever make a pair was around $59.00. And those were ugly, cheap frames that I wouldn't put my dog in. This is the best deal of the year for my family, and could be for yours too. I have told everybody I know about this site, it is totally legit, and I am not making a cent telling you about it. I just believe in cheap glasses for everybody who can't afford a pair of glasses for over $100 a pop.
Let me know what you think.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
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3 comments:
Thank you for explaining about the sizing and the prescription! I am getting ready to order some for Alex and your tips will help!
I just recently stubbled upon your blog! I love it! This post about glasses has been so helpful. I have a question though. What does it mean if the prescription says "Hi Index Aspheric"? My sons prescription reads this:
OD: -6.50 sphere
Os: -7.75 -2.25 x 135
HiIndex Aspheric.
I think I understand the OD and OS part but not hte hiIndex Asperic part. This would be so helpful to us if I start buying glasses for our family on the internet. I really appeciate you help!
Thanks so much
Meissa
OK, a Hi Index RX is for somebody that has a higher RX lens. Normally over a -5.00. Is is just a more compressed lens that makes it not so think in the frames. That way they are not so heavy or clunky. But remember, the smaller the frames, the smaller and lighter the lens will be anyway. The lenses get bigger at the edges, so the bigger the frame, the bigger the lenses.
If these are for an adult, try not to get a polycarbonate lens. It is a Hi Index lens, but it is more intended for children, It is a shatter proof lens, but the quality is not quite the same. They have a scratch coat on them normally, but the polycarb lenses scratch VERY easily. If it is for a child, I would recommend the polycarb. The reason is, if the child gets hit inthe face with a ball lets say. The lens will break into three pieces instead of a bunch of shards. Most plastics are made pretty good now adays. And very few lenses are actually made with glass anymore. Plastics have come a long way, and hi index lenses have come even farther.
If you can afford the extra for the hi index, I would recommend it. My husband wears a -10 something in each eye. And without hi index in his glasses, he would look like he was wereing Coke bottles.
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