Zenni Optical
4 September 2007
I’m not being paid for this review, I just really love the prospect of saving so much on eyeglasses. I think of glasses as just another accessory, jewelry that I always wear. So when I heard about zennioptical.com where I could buy glasses with lenses from $8 & up I was ecstatic. However, I thought that there must be a catch. So I did my research.
The rumors:
Here are the rumors or facts I found out about zennioptical.com. I heard that the shipping was slow. I heard that they sent the wrong glasses. I also heard that the glasses break after a few weeks. I heard that they had horrible & just plain rude customer service. On their site they state that they have only a 50% refund. So, I was wary about trying them out, but $8 glasses? I couldn’t pass that up.
My experience:
I ordered four pairs of glasses, the ones pictured above. The first two frames & lenses were only $8 dollars each including lenses. I paid a few dollars extra on the first pair so that they would be tinted as sunglasses. The frame-less pair was I think $24, which I thought was very air for frame-less glasses. I also liked that I got to choose the shape & size of lenses on the frame-less pair. So I sent $60 for four pairs of glasses including shipping.
They arrived in exactly the two weeks that zennioptical said they would take. I didn’t think that this was too much longer than it would have taken at the eye doctors. All of the glasses were the right prescription. I would’ve been happy if even one of the four pairs of glasses worked. However, my prescription is pretty straightforward.
Like ordering anything online, I couldn’t try them on first. I went & tried on several pairs of glasses at a local store so I could see what the different sizes looked like on my face. As a result, each pair of glasses really suited me. However, the lenses were slightly thicker than I was used to. This hasn’t really been a problem, it’s not enough to make a big difference. I’ve never had plastic fames before, like the bottom brown pair of glasses int he pictures. I find that sometimes the light comes through the glasses in a weird way & causes a reflection. This means that I don’t wear this pair as much.
In fact, I usually only wear these glasses when I want options. Other than that for some reason, I revert to my old pair of glasses. The glasses are still cute, & work well. Overall, I was pleased with my experience & thrilled with the price, although I didn’t have to deal with customer service at all. I’m glad that I ordered several pairs so that if one pair didn’t work out, I still had several to choose from. I will probably order more prescription sunglasses from them again. However, I will probably always try to have a more expensive pair that was actually fitted by an optician. What have been your experiences with buying glasses online?
