(Sorry for the blurry pictures.)
I’m a Disney World man. I love the parks. I love going and hitting up all the rides, basking in the sun, and generally getting lost in the Disney merriment, even if it is manufactured. But my least favorite part about visiting the parks is the transitions – moving from inside to outside and back again. There are lots of great rides that just happen to be indoors. So, any normal person will need to take off their sunglasses before heading in. But I’m a glasses wearer, so that always meant carrying an extra glasses case in my bulging pocket, pulling it out, opening it up, taking off my prescription sunglasses, taking out my regular glasses, folding up my sunglasses, putting them in the case, putting the case in my pocket, unfolding my regular glasses, and putting them on my face.
Can you see why this would get old?
A couple years ago, I tried contact lenses and absolutely loved them. I finally had the freedom to wear regular sunglasses, and just throw them on top of my head or clip them to my shirt collar if I needed to take them off for a second. It was beautiful… for about six months. I learned through an arduous process that my eyes can’t handle contact lenses, and I am doomed to an eternity of regular glasses – at least until I can afford laser eye surgery.
I went back to the eye doctor a couple months ago to get checked out and see if there was any way I could wear contacts. No go. We tried a different brand, and the same things happened. The night I came to terms with my misfortune, I started looking online at the possibility of buying a pair of glasses for cheap, and I discovered Zenni Optical.
Zenni Optical is an online purveyor of eyeglasses – there are plenty of other options, but I liked Zenni Optical for two big reasons:
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If I considered it to be too much of a risk, I could buy an $8 pair of glasses to try out. Then I wouldn’t lose out so much if they didn’t work.
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They have models called “Sunshade+”, with magnetic sunglasses to discreetly clip on to your regular glasses. More on that later.
After about an hour of browsing and measuring, I decided to try a Sunshade+ model. They were a little pricier on the site, but far less than your typical mall glasses shop. I dug into my file box, pulled out my old prescription, and entered in the numbers. Less than two weeks later, I had new glasses. Observe.
These glasses are completely frameless, which generally run about $200 or so in a glasses store. My total, with the clip-on shades and shipping, came to $37.85. Oh yeah. And here are a couple shots of the glasses wearing the shades:
The reason I chose the Sunshade+ model is because I can quickly clip the shades on to the glasses with one hand, and take them off and slip them into my pocket, or even a thin case. This allows me much quicker and easier transitions, and it was worth paying extra for it. This is going to come in handy when I’m honeymooning in Hawaii this October! Here are some tips to take advantage of sites like Zenni Optical without risking too much.
Get your prescription, and try to get your pupilliary distance (PD), too.
From what I’ve heard, eye doctors have no right to withhold your PD from you – they just don’t tend to write it on the prescription that you get. I awkwardly measured mine in a mirror, and settled on what turned out to be the average PD for most people. It worked great, and my glasses prescription is spot-on. You don’t need to understand the numbers, the form you fill out will be nice and clear.
Get to know your tape measure, or ruler.
Every little measurement about a pair of glasses on Zenni Optical is provided, and it’s important that you compare those measurements with your current glasses. I chose glasses that were a little bigger than my last pair. If these had frames, they’d probably look too big on my face. This is good information to know.
If you want to minimize risk, go with an $8 pair at Zenni Optical.
There are a lot of places to buy glasses online, but if you are looking to buy for the first time and aren’t very confident in the process, get an $8 pair to try out. Oh, and that price includes the lenses, too.
Get your glasses adjusted at the mall – for free.
You don’t need to tell anybody that you bought them online. I went to the mall for a haircut the other day and decided to drop in to a glasses shop, because my glasses were a little loose on my face. I kindly asked them if they wouldn’t mind just giving me a quick adjustment. They told me to have a seat and they took my glasses. This place actually went far above and beyond, and they took apart my glasses, added a few washers for a tighter fit, put them back together, and cleaned them for me. For free. No questions asked.
If you are considering clip-on sunglasses, go with the Sunshade+ models.
There are lots to choose from. You can buy clip-on sunglasses for any pair, but the Sunshade+ models at Zenni Optical have custom-built shades for each pair. They have tiny magnets in the bridge that allow you to connect them with one hand, quickly and easily. When wearing them, nobody can really tell that they are clipped to my glasses unless they look pretty closely.
Be prepared to wait a little bit, especially if you are outside the U.S.
…and save your confirmation number and receipt! Zenni Optical has a base in California, so it took less than two weeks for my glasses to arrive. But I have heard of customers in other countries having to wait 8-10 weeks for them. If nothing else, brace for the worst, and you’ll be impressed at how quickly they arrive!
The Sunshade+ shades skew light – go darker.
If there is one thing I would change about my glasses, I would go back and get the shades tinted a little darker. I took the default tinting, which works fine, but I would have wanted them a little darker. Also – the shades come with a protective film over both sides of them. Take the time to peel those off before you try on the glasses.
Have fun with it!
Think about how much money you are saving! This is a great time to try out a different style, or even order a couple different pairs. Once you are confident in the process, you can afford to enjoy yourself with it a little bit!
For more info, visit Zenni Optical (NOT an affiliate link!).
Tom is an entrepreneur and freelance writer, working out of his apartment full-time, or wherever he feels like taking his laptop. He doesn't take long European vacations or blogs on the beach. He's an Average Joe that took control of his life. He wants you to do the same.
