I have probably needed to wear glasses for at least the last 6 years or so, but it's been just slightly under two years since I have been. It got to a point where I realized I should probably be scared that I was basically passing street signs while driving before I was able to read them.
So. Now I'm a glasses wearer.
Since that initial purchase, I've only had that one pair of glasses, and they've stood the test of time thus far.
I recently had an updated eye exam and while my glasses were still offering much better sight, my new prescription was ever so slightly different. I knew I was going to purchase a second pair of
eyeglasses, as I do often worry that something like... I dunno, a zombie apocalypse is going to occur and I'm going to be totally screwed... so having a backup pair just seems like the best bet at survival.
Within the same week of that exam, I was offered the opportunity to review
GlassesShop.com -- perfect timing!
(As always, while I received a product to review, all comments and impressions are my own.)
I was given a special link to use for blogger reviewers, so I do hope that my review is true to what any paying customer would receive, but I want to be transparent that I seemed to be on a special side of their website.
That said....
I have many pros and cons about my experience with Glassesshop.com.
For starters, they have a TRY ON feature which is very important for shopping for
glasses online in my opinion. I won't even bother with eyeglasses sites that don't, to be honest.
However, their feature was very much not to scale. There are measurements on the description of each pair of glasses, and yet they all tended to look the same, or even just WRONG (things that claimed to measure larger would appear must smaller than others on try me feature).
On the plus side, they have many search options for customized preferences. Gender, adult/kid, frame shape/style/material, width/height, color and price.
However, it seems no matter how broad I was in my search, if I specified anything at all, I'd get the dreaded NO RESULTS FOUND message, even if I located such items through tedious page flipping.
I have few strong convictions, such as no metal. I'm allergic to many types of metal, so I definitely want only plastic frames. But for the most part I left fields as open as possible. I hope they eventually allow for all the amazing customization they seem to, but for now I think its a bit buggy.
My temple distance measures as 124.5. My previous pair of glasses were 125 and honestly pretty loose. I got used to it, and frankly I think I chose them just for look and don't remember measuring anything! I don't think I was aware that was even a thing.
Luckily, I've learned. I narrowed my possibilities down to handful of options chosen that were within my range and style preferences.
One thing I noticed was unlike previously used websites, I couldn't share my try-ons via social media.
And if I right-clicked saved the pic, it wouldn't save it WITH the glasses on as they were just an overlay.
My only option was to screen shot.
So these issues all had to do with the website itself. How about the glasses?
After I received a few opinions based on looking at my screenshots, I ultimately chose
Peoria Rectangle - Black.
The temple distance on the ones I chose were 120mm, with no other options available.
They arrived about 2.5 weeks after ordering in a sturdy box inside a bubble envelope. (I live overseas and use an APO address so the arrival time make me a bit shorter for US residents)
Included in the package were a case containing the glasses and glasses cleaning cloth.
When I removed them from their plastic case I was shocked. They looked so small! I was really afraid they had sent child specific glasses ( though now I see that the CHILD glasses are simply size SMALL (anything less than 130mm) so in essence they were, but still right for my face as well.
When I first put them on, they were a bit stiff, though since they were new that was to be expected.
But - and this is important - I also noticed how crispy clear my vision was. The lenses were phenomenal! They got my prescription done wonderfully.
I shot my contact at
GlassesShop.com an quick email update, as I try to with all of my assignments, to let them know they arrived safely and I would be started my time with working with them them.
I did note the size issue, and expressed my hopes that they would 'break in' a bit. I wasn't asking them to do anything about it, just giving them a head up on my initial reaction. To my great surprise I received a very rude response. I was told I clearly should have chosen a bigger size, that these were a small and I needed a large, and “next time pay more attention.”
Hrm. Thanks for that.
A medium or large would have been far too big for me, and their search function doesn't work well enough to find the perfect fit.
In fact, if you put in “Womens glasses” as well as “under 125” the pair I chose was the ONLY one that comes up. I strongly feel that online vendors need to make sure their websites adequately help customers (who are not likely to be experienced at handling their particular quirks) locate and purchase what they need without having to fight their set up.
Now, a month of using my new glasses, I can say they fit fabulously. I was sure they just needed to lose the new crispness, and they have. So, next time I shop for glasses I will have more experience with selecting what's right for me.
In addition to needing to spend some time getting used to the size and breaking them in, I also noticed the side wings (which are really cute!) were much thicker than my previous pair, as I knew they would be, but I definitely struggled with peripheral vision for a little while.
These are not high quality frames by any standard, and
GlassesShop.com doesn't claim to provide anything other than inexpensive, discount frames.
The plastic is very creaky, and I fear a lens is going to pop out every time I clean them.
This pair about $20 when I ordered them, and have now been discounted to $10, so you get what you pay for!
I prefer the quality of other online glasses retailers my husband or I have used, but if I were looking for a extra pair at a great price, maybe for vacation, or to have a spare set, I would use
GlassesShop.com again.
They also carry a variety of
prescription sunglasses, which will likely be a future purchase of mine, since I've avoided getting a pair until now due to cost.
GlassesShop.com is offering an excellent introductory offer to our readers - you can get a pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses for 50% off with FREE LENSES! This doesn't include any frames that are on sale, but what a great way to check them out at very low cost.
To claim your discount, just use the code GSHOT50 when you check out!
All in all, in spite of my frustration with the website and the response I got, I think anyone looking for glasses that don't cost much would find that they got fair value for the price here. I think the better prepared you are to know your size and which shapes best fit your face before you tackle their website, the more likely you'll be to have a satisfactory outcome.
