This post brought to you by Zenni Optical. All opinions are 100% mine.
I remember the first time my husband had to buy glasses. He didn’t have access to a military hospital and we ended up paying out of pocket for his glasses. It was over $300 which was about 1/4 of our monthly paycheck. I immediately began dreading the day our children would need glasses.
Then a few years ago I learned about Zenni Optical. A friend had purchased a several pairs of eyeglasses from Zenni and was very impressed with the company. Since then, my brother has also become a big fan of Zenni Optical. In fact everyone I know who has used them for cheap eyeglasses has been impressed with the quality of the glasses and the good customer service.
Thankfully my children have not needed glasses, yet. In fact my husband just had Lasiks so he is glasses free for the first time since the 7th grade!
But considering everyone in my husband’s family wears glasses I’m sure they are in at least a few pairs of glasses in my children’s future. When we finally need to purchase glasses I’m definitely going to use Zenni Optical. They have over 200 pairs just for kids, and most of them are under $30 with some of the under $10! All the money we save on glasses can go into their college fund!
In this economy, with rising health care costs, it is nice to have an inexpensive resource for glasses when we need them.
If I ever need glasses I’m thinking about these. What do you think?
Have you used Zenni Optical? How much did you save on your glasses?
Wow, this is great. We will definitely try them out for my husbands next pair. He is notorious for breaking or losing his glasses so we buy several pair a year, which get costly. Being glasses free thanks to lasiks for almost 10 years now, I don’t have to buy for me but, like you, I’m expecting its only a matter of time before the kids need glasses. Thanks for the post.
I have a Zenni pair on right now! They were..$19, I think.
LOVE Zenni…my stepdaughter told me about them. I don’t even KNOW how much we’ve saved…it’s a lot!!! LOL
I have on a pair from Zenni now. I am impressed with the company too. At the time I ordered from them, I was on Medicaid and the program *would* have paid for a pair of glasses, but I would have had to “go backwards” to regular plastic lenses instead of the high index thin lenses that are nearly a necessity with my higher power lenses (as well as had a very limited selection of “granny glasses frames”). I could have paid a co-pay of $40 for the upgrade to the thin lenses, but I got fashionable frames and the high index lenses for about 25 dollars including shipping — less than the Medicaid co-pay required. If I were paying what I had had too prior to any insurance, I would have spent somewhere along the lines of $300, just as the Sailor.
I LOVE ZENNI OPTICAL! I’ve been using them for over 5 years! 39dollarglasses.com is also a good one (esp if you need overnight delivery). Another great thing about zenni is you can get prescription sunglasses
My mom loves ordering hers from this site because she has bifocal and can afford to get glasses where you can’t see the bifocal lines
Yep…I use zenni and love it!! I paid $8 for glasses I get compliments on all. of. the. time.
I have a Zenni pair of glasses. I mostly wear contacts, but needed a pair o back-up glasses. They are fine, but I realized after receiving them that they are made in China and air-shipped to the U.S. Yet one more thing that isn’t made in the U.S.A., so I had mixed feelings about that.
I actually bought 4 pairs for under 40 bucks…i got 2 that were cute and 2 that were just totally cheesy expecting them to break quickly. Shockingly all 4 are still kicking a year later.
Hi, I stumbled onto your website and really glad I did!! Zenni Optical is a site I’ll refer back to when it’s time for me to renew my prescription for glasses. Being able to select a model with the same face shape as myself and “try on” the glasses is WONDERFUL!! Much nicer than being in a store trying on samples that I can’t see because you can’t wear two pairs of glasses at the same time – the ones I need to wear in order to SEE the ones I’m trying on.
I also stumbled upon Zenni and I love them. The hardest part of ordering through them is knowing what your P.D. measurement is. I had to order a pair from my doctor in order to find it out. I have ordered five pairs from them now and have only had one pair that I wasn’t happy with they way the nose fit. I tell all of my friends about them.
Wow! This will be where I order my sons next pair from. Sadly we just shelled out over $250 for his right before thanksgiving :/ never again! Thanks for the info
Sometimes a good deal is not the right deal…. I work for an eye doctor and I have played around on sites like Zenni- the problem, besides being made overseas instead of supporting your local economy (Twice- office and lab!), is that people tend to pick the cheapest option, instead of the right option. For example, Kids should always be fitted in polycarbonate lenses- they are impact resistent (think windshield of your car), have UV protection and are relatively thin. But even after selecting a child’s frame on the Zenni site, I was still able to order plain plastic lenses. Any Brick and Mortar store that you go to will automatically fit your child in this type of material because it’s what they should be in!
As eye care providers, we are in the business of helping you see- and having a plastic lens break and splinter into your child’s eyes when they fall while learning how to ride a bike, is not in the best interest of helping your child see! Stronger prescriptions, bifocals, prisms require precise measurements in order to work properly- a generalized approximation (like what they use for bifocals) or an untrained measurer can affect your general satisfaction with the glasses or possibly cause problems with your vision later on. Instead of supporting another country’s economy, go to a Walmart, Costco or even your local eye doctor- Talk to them about how forgiving their warranties are and check out prices with them. Yes, you will probably pay more than $9 for glasses, but they should be made here and should be made correctly! Glasses are a PRESCRIPTION- are you going to start buying your medications from an online site because it’s cheaper when they’re filled overseas?
I can understand where Jenny and others are coming from, but the bottom line is – we’re retired military with six kids still at home. Our insurance gives NO vision coverage, and I have both astigmatism and near-sightedness and need bifocals. My glasses can cost $400 for one pair…one. I can’t possibly afford to get my glasses, plus a spare in case of breakage, as well as glasses for my husband and half my kids and still be able to eat. I’ll try Zenni gladly. I’ll also gladly give my business locally if the product can be made affordable to me. If anyone knows of local companies (and yes, the glasses I’m wearing now come from Walmart) that can make things more affordable, I’ll be there.
The reason that glasses in the United States are more expensive than those manufactured in China are numerous. The US requires that medical devices (and glasses are considered medical devices) meet certain ophthalmic and safety standards. They must be manufactured in an approved/licensed lab by employees that make at least minimum wage. There must be licensed opticians to ensure that ANSI standards are met. The glasses must be dispensed by a licensed optician or by an employee of a licensed optometrist/ophthalmologist.
Please remember that one in five of the lenses manufactured in China would not pass the impact resistence standards required in the US for all children’s glasses. While wearing glasses that are not the correct prescription will do no permanent harm ( one in four of the lenses manufactured in China would not meet ANSI standards), wearing a lens that could shatter will.
There is a reason we have safety standards in the US. There is also a reason why many Americans have lost jobs. Don’t complain about our economy and lack of jobs when purchasing products traditionally made and serviced in the US overseas.
When it comes down to it, two pairs of glasses for less than $30.00 is over 5 hundred dollars still in my pocket. That is more than half a month’s wages for me. I’ll keep it. I have been wearing Zenni since 2008 and love them. I have referred many friends to them and until an American company can come close to their cost and quality I won’t think of shopping elsewhere.
Here’s another great American company, Warby-Parker, that not will provide prescription glasses for $95, but provides stylish frames AND with every pair you buy, donates another pair to a person in need. They do not provide bifocals or progressives, but they are a good buy for a good cause. They also have brick and mortar stores in several cities.
http://warbyparker.com
Yes, they are a little more expensive than Zenni, but they offer free shipping, free returns, and a home try on program where you can try on five frames to see how they look and feel before you order. Lenses are high end, polycarbonate with anti reflective coating and UV protection.
I am anxiously awaiting my three pairs of glasses that I got for less then half of what I paid for the ones I’m currently wearing! I’m so excited! A customer of mine came in, when I worked at Target, and I complimented her adorable glasses. She said she got them there and ever since I’ve been going back and forth on whether or not to order online, but I’m so excited that I did it and it’s only thirty bucks, so why not right?! OMG. I’m so excited ^__^ I googled Zenni Optical thinking I would find some scam or something after I already ordered them (pessimist me, I know.) and I found your blog which just makes me feel so much better about ordering them!!!
I live in the united states and no matter where you buy glasses they could not cost hundreds of dollars to make. I mean there small metal frames or plastic and the lenses are little pieces of plastic or glass . Eye doctors are always trying to talk you into extra stuff to put more money in there pocket so they can own 5 houses and 15 cars. In the first place glasses should come with anything or everything that is good for your site. I paid $500.00 once from pearl vision and they talked me into all the extras and the glasses were no better than the cheap glasses i have baught elswhere. The reason our economy is so bad is because of greed and crooks.