Eyeglasses Made in China

A while ago someone recommended an online place for prescription glasses , whar’s rge name and contact info for the place?

zenni optical

Zenni.com

There's also Warby Parkler. They'll send to you, for free, 5 frames to try on. I did that but decided that I wanted to see a person and have the glasses adjusted, custom fit, etc. I also got a coupon for 60% off lenses when you buy frames from LensCrafters in the mail . So I went to LensCrafters.com and saw 8 frames that I liked. I wrote them down and went to a large LensCrafters store on 6th Ave at 14th St. They had only 3 of them. I was bummed but did find frames I liked and the coupon took the sting out of the purchase. Without the coupon, my glasses, with progressive lenses,would have cost more than my 60" TV. They're offering 40% off lenses now. Somehow  a coupon for 60% landed in my mailbox.

I decided against Warby Parker after reading a lot of reviews on the quality of the lens. With my prescription they weren’t cheap- I think around $250-300

I did this this time: went into the high end stores and found what I wanted,wrote down style #s and then purchased frames at ezcontacts for literally 1/3-1/4 of the store cost. I was able to get my out of network reimbursement of $50 for these frames. Then I found a participating good quality provider to add the lenses.  It wound up costing right around what Warby Parker quoted me.

Thread from 2013 https://maplewood.worldwebs.com/forums/discussion/eyeglasses-shopping?page=next&limit=0#discussion-replies-2547177

I've been happy with glasses from Zenni, but I'm not a high-style person, and my glasses are single-vision, not bifocals or progressive.  I prefer to use brick-and-mortar stores when i can, but just can't justify spending up around $300 for glasses when i can get them for $40 or so.

if you decide it’s for you, there’s a new Warby Parker store right here in Westfield, just FYI

Ditto what mjc said.  My last pair of brick and mortar glasses were $559.  Same script, same high index lenses at zenni cost me $59.  The frames might not have been as high end, but I’m not a fashion plate and saving $500 is huge to me.  While my husband does generally have good benefits, they don’t cover glasses so they are entirely out of pocket for me and spending that much every year or two when my script changes was not in our budget.  

Going to a bricks-and-mortar optician to try on frames and then ordering online is show-rooming,  like going into Words to browse and then buying from Amazon.

And then people wonder why we don't have good local businesses.

the brick and mortar stores mark up the eyeglasses 3-5x what they should be. I’ll gladly pay a small premium to support a local business but no way on this. The frames I wanted were $499 at the shop and $140 on line (with a coupon). That’s highway robbery. I feel absolutely zero remorse for shopping on line. The local store got my business on the lenses.

I have progressive lenses that change to sunglasses in the sunshine. UV coated and antiscratch/antigrease coating. 

I think they look nice and they cost 120 bucks.

My last pair from a local optician with the same specs (no pun intended) set me back about $600, and the finish started coming off the frame after the first year or so. My vision plan covers about $80 of that. I get the problem with keeping local businesses, but that's a huge premium to pay if you ask me.

You can load a picture on the Zenni website and put different frames on it. Not too bad. They are made in China, so there's that aspect I'm not super crazy about.

Warby Parker!  Rec'd the 5 pairs to try on, selected the frames and received my prescription glasses all in 1 week.  Single vision, non-progressive for $95.  Well-made plastic frames.

Thank you.  I recommend that everyone who wears glasses look at these websites, because they will help you in making decisions even if you go to your local optician to buy your glasses.  They break down the various factors that need to be taken into account:  the shape of the frames for your various facial shapes, and the various types of lenses.  I went to a shop yesterday, and the sales woman tried to explain the differences, but she was so technical, that it wasn't as helpful as I needed.  She didn't have answers to the most important question:  what's the benefit to me of that particular lens over the other type of lens. I need progressives with three focal lengths, and I am not convinced that a mail order pair of glasses is the right choice, because they have to be adjusted to my face.  

The cost of these glasses in Chile is over US$1000, and they are not even the ultra light glasses, so I might have to order them anyway and try to find someone who will adjust them for me here.  I like the ultra light, because they never hurt your ears at the end of the day.  

Thanks again. 

conandrob240 said:
I decided against Warby Parker after reading a lot of reviews on the quality of the lens. With my prescription they weren’t cheap- I think around $250-300

Yeah, I went to WP, and never again. I've been happy with Zenni and I like that I can upload a photo so I can see what the frames will look like on my face - I can't see sh*t without my glasses on so trying on frames in the store is hopeless. 

I need to keep zenni in mind for next time.

I very recently got my third pair of Zenni's. I've bought before from Lenscrafters (nice Oakleys, but I lost them in a restaurant somewhere in the city), and still have a couple of pairs from Warby Parker. My issue with Warby Parker is that even the widest frames never seem wide enough. The last pair I had seemed fine when I first got them, but now, even if the prescription was still the same, I can't wear them because the arms stick out behind my ears at an angle and they keep falling off my face. Not the first time this has happened with me and Warby Parkers either. Could just be me, but I'm pretty sure I'm not putting on temple weight.

I have a slightly complicated Rx, a mild case of antimetropia. I need one lens to correct for short-sightedness and the other to correct for long-sightedness, but I'm not quite yet at the level where I need bifocals or progressives (which would be really tricky) so I'm happy with Zennis, the last pair of which cost me $45, and the latest only $35 with blue blocking lenses (I spend all day in front of computer screens). I have a tendency to lose or break my glasses often, so I really can be dishing out $300+ every year or so, and my prescription is definitely getting worse every couple of years (I know I need a new Rx when my headaches start coming back). So online is really my only option.

how are the Zennis from a scratch perspective? Thinking of ordering them for my niece. Simple prescription but she scratches the hell out of them (and loses them)

I won't argue with those who are satisfied with Warby Parker, but I'm not impressed. Their QC seems lacking, and their stuff doesn't seem durable. Maybe at their low prices, the value is OK.

conandrob240 said:
how are the Zennis from a scratch perspective? Thinking of ordering them for my niece. Simple prescription but she scratches the hell out of them (and loses them)

 I've never had any scratches on mine from Zenni, I'm (reasonably) careful with them, but I don't instantly put them back in the case when i take them off, and I have a tendency to drop them on the floor if I've got a klutz on. My last pair of Warby Parkers somehow started to lose the anti-reflective coating, so it's like looking through a cloud. Having said that, I still have a pair of prescription sunglasses from Warby Parker from about 5 years ago that I love and wear all summer long, so who's to say?

My warby parkers are the best I have had and I have been wearing glasses for over 50 years.  progressive lenses were fitted correctly and they have held up very well (three years now).   They were $325 with the high indexed progressive (about half the price of what I was paying in a traditional store or at the optometrist.  

And they now have a way you can try on virtually via your smart phone.   I actually went to the store at Grand Central to purchase them.  

As for the Quality issue, I have purchased very expensive glasses as well as from Costco.  The quality was certainly closer to the high end and they have a full 1 year warranty.

Re: Zenni scratch resistance.  I keep putting mine up on my head and they fall on the floor a lot.  No scratches on the part i look through, but there are some little nicks on the bottom edge of the lenses (half rims - no frame along the bottom) after 2? 3? 4? years of abuse.

helpful. Thanks. I’m going to order them for her as her second pair

I’m on my 6th or 7th pair from Warby Parker.

Initially they didn’t do progressives or sunglasses in every frame (then I’d have Costco do the lenses)

All my (and my son’s) recent glasses where they did lenses and frames have been great!

My frustration with Warby is they had a frame size and shape that was perfect for me. I wanted it in brown, a pretty basic color you see every day, but they only offer that frame in black and this kind of funky bright blue. I didn't get why they didn't offer it in a color that seems pretty popular (and was available for most of their other frames). Not everyone wants bright blue.

I've been on and off with Warby Parker. They're definitely cheap and generally stylish, but the quality is kind of cheap. That said they don't actually last any shorter than more expensive frames - I usually retire frames because they get 'funky' after about a year (it may be because I have to put product in my hair to keep frizz at bay and that eats away at the finishes) and at least at this price point it's a tad easier to do that.

I did recently have a pair that got totally scratched up (I am old enough that I have a reading pair and a normal pair and switching was causing them to get scratched) and it turns out you get a free replacement within a year for scratches, so that was pretty nice to find. I did have to put on an old pair for about a week, but it was pretty painless other than that.

I didn’t find Warby all that cheap. It was around $300-350 for my prescription in a typical frame. they don’t take insurance ( or at least not mine). When I ordered the designer frames I wanted and then went locally to have lenses done, it was around the same $300-350 with my insurance. If they were truly cheap, I would have tried them. Now, this zenni thing is dirt cheap. $75 for glasses with my progressive high index prescription. That is worth giving them a try.

Try sending the invoice to your insurance carrier. You may get something back.

Fantastic feedback.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I got my glasses, and I love them.  I made an error in the order, and I bought progressive SUN glasses which it turns out to be a great idea in Chile where the sun blasts all day long every day.  I just ordered another pair for indoors and night driving eye wear at the cost of one pair of glasses in the super-great offer at the local eyeglasses chain.  The first and second time I approached this store for quotes they told me my progressives would be US$1000, no exaggeration.   I told my friends, and they are all immediately ordering glasses from Zenni. 

Zenni glasses are made in China; it's been twelve days since I ordered them, and they are still processing the order.  Last month when I ordered the sunglasses, they were shipped in two days.  DO NOT ORDER ANY GLASSES FROM ZENNI AT THIS TIME.  They promised me to ship them in 48 hrs., but I am not at all confident that they can honor that promised.  They sent me an email about a week ago stating that they were again open for work.  Are Warby Parker glasses also made in China?

The Italy eyewear mafia  and China.