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I need new glasses. The only insurance-approved place I can shop online will cost $250 with my needs. I went to a "cheap" glasses website that doesn't accept insurance: $250. Yay, America.

The optometrist recommended seamless bifocals. I have a very painful nerve condition in my face (atypical trigeminal neuralgia), so this is what I need with glasses: the lightest weight frames possible- known as ultra light- with the lightest weight lenses possible and automatically darkening lenses so I don’t need the weight of sunglasses. The cheapest frames brought the total to $250 on the site the insurance worked with.

The frames are $20 on the cheap site. Everything else in the cost is the lenses.

As for why I have to buy them online- I don’t want anyone touching my face unless it’s absolutely necessary. The exam was painful enough.

American for-profit healthcare is fucking awesome.

Postmortal_Pop ,

Zennioptical.com

I got mine for $30, they can make them mute expensive, but for just glasses, it’s perfect.

CM400 ,

I got mine with their HD lenses, no-line bifocals with antiglare coating, and the total came to $135 shipped.

Postmortal_Pop ,

While my initial reaction to this was “wholly fuck that’s expensive” I realize that all those modifiers would make it close to a grand at a glasses shop.

henfredemars ,

I used them and they were great good-enough glasses.

JimmyBigSausage ,

I have bought at least 10 pair from Zenni optical and they were just fine.

Nougat ,

I have had less than stellar results with Zenni, ymmv

dditty , (edited )

I bought one pair from them and they were pretty crummy. Also getting the pupillary distance is tricky.

Nougat ,

Measuring your own PD is ehhh. You can have the optometrist give you PD at your exam.

shalafi ,

I second this, but OP says they have special lens needs. That’s what stacks the price.

poweruser ,

When I got LASIK I wasn’t allowed to wear contacts for a few weeks before the surgery. I bought the cheapest pair of glasses from Zenni. I had new glasses for $17 + $10 shipping.

If I had to do it again I would have my IPD measured by a proper optometrist first. I just guessed at it and got ones a little too small, so they had a kind of fisheye effect.

Still, for <$30 it was a great bargain

Bishma ,
@Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

I’m honestly not sure which frustrates me more. That teeth and eyes are not considered important enough aspects of health to be covered under normal health insurance. Or the shit insurance that’s available even when you pay for additional policies to cover them.

Veedem ,
@Veedem@lemmy.world avatar

The lack of coverage of teeth and eyes in standard health insurance is because of dentists and optometrists opting out when insurance was becoming a thing.

SadSadSatellite ,

I’m an ABOA advanced optician, I’ve helped with lens designs, I’ve made my own line of frames, worked with every insurance company, and know the technical details of virtually every product on the market.

If it’s going to cost the same either way, do not get the online glasses. The 250 in store is discounted from probably 1200$, and the difference is immediately noticable.

The online glasses will not be measured to fit you properly, the focal point will be a best guess, which makes progressives have a ton of distortion, the frame won’t be adjusted and have no standards of material and shitty spring hinges, the transitions will be an old off brand composited lens that will delaminate after some time, the antireflective will be the cheapest, smudging crap possible, and the lenses will be thicker and heavier.

Go to a local optical, not any chain you’ve ever heard of. No corporate execs to pay means actual paid professionals helping you see better, as opposed to collision salesman trying to rip you off.

Online glasses are for single vision rx’s for children, not anybody who really needs glasses.

DarkSirrush ,

Man, I wish this was always true.

Here in BC/Canada, our healthcare doesn’t cover glasses, and our 3rd party providers only cover $2-300 every 2 years for glasses.

My last job had a $500 yearly flex-spend coverage, which I used to buy $600 glasses (mainly lenses cost-wise) with all the options/coatings/transitions/blue light filter/etc from the local eye clinic, and honestly the lenses are not great, and after less than 3 years the coating is bubbling in horizontal lines across the entire lens.

Honestly though, been regretting getting glasses with the blue light filter for the past 2 years anyways, nothing feels vibrant anymore and i swear it has been negatively affecting my mood, and i have noticed zero difference in eye strain levels.

SadSadSatellite ,

Blue light filters have a purpose, but it isn’t eye strain. That’s just marketing bullshit from people who don’t know it’s purpose or can’t be bothered to translate it to laymen.

It’s purpose is to protect your retina from damage that accumulates throughout your life. It’s to protect you from developing macular degeneration. It does nothing anyone will notice, it’s more like sunblock, except you can’t feel the burn.

Also if someone sells you shit products, go to someone better if possible. But avoid chains at all costs.

DarkSirrush ,

So life loses vibrancy, but my retinas stay in slightly better shape when I’m 80? Sounds like future me problem then, definitely have no interest in trying again with a different pair after my next eye exam.

Unfortunately every eye doctor in this province (or at least not a 13 hour drive away) is associated with a chain, with I think a single exception that is referral only. So the best I can do is get an eye exam, demand my detailed results, and do my best to order glasses that fit comfortably.

electric ,

Wait, the blue tint actually does something? Everyone kept telling me to get it because sCrEeNs BaD but I wanted the clearest vision possible. Couldn’t find anything online saying the blue tint wasn’t useless so saved myself the $30.

SadSadSatellite ,

Just wear sunglasses when outside and you’re good. Or get transitions and never think about it again.

Reverendender ,

Seamless bifocals=Progressives. I got mine at Zenni Optical for like $145 all in.

FlyingSquid OP ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Yeah, sorry, that’s what I meant. They used to be called ‘seamless bifocals’ back in the 90s and I still think of them that way.

skyspydude1 ,

Okay, I’m going to go against the grain here and say “Don’t go with the really cheap online glasses”.

I used eyebuydirect, Zenni, and a couple of others for many years, and was pretty happy with them, especially for the price. However, one thing I’d always noticed is that they’d wind up being pretty beat up with some large scratches in the coatings, or they’d just fail and start flaking off by around the 1 year mark (I’m pretty hard on my glasses, tbf) and I absolutely had to get new ones. I just kind of accepted that I was very hard on my glasses, and that’s what happens.

However, I started going to Costco just because my insurance wouldn’t cover any of the online places, and the quality of the lenses and coatings are absolutely night and day. I’ve had 10 pairs now (sunglasses and normal lenses), and only had one with a single scratch in the lenses, after having them go flying across a cement floor due to me doing something quite stupid.

I don’t think you need a membership for their optical center either, but I’m not 100% sure.

Ookami38 ,

I’ve had the exact opposite experience. Last time trying glasses at a local place, they hurt my eyes and couldn’t figure out how to adjust them properly. Every pair I’ve purchased on Zenni has lasted multiple years of me sleeping in them or doing contact sports in them. I still have multiple pairs kicking around my house or car as spares.

electric ,

…you sleep with them on? How?

skyspydude1 ,

I do this quite a bit too. I can fall asleep insanely quickly, so sometimes I’m just chilling on the couch watching something, and then I’m out. Then when I wake up I have to go digging through my couch to figure out where the heck my glasses went

BearOfaTime ,

Yay the conglomerate that owns glasses production and distribution.

It’s not just the US, Essilor is a virtual monopoly.

That said, my glasses are 50% less online than at a local shop.

Also, thank insurance companies for inflating prices

cerement ,
@cerement@slrpnk.net avatar

Essilor monopolizes lenses, Safilo monopolizes frames – neither offer direct sale

teamevil ,

Why is it always luxottica

TotallyNotSpezUpload ,

I understand your frustration. This sucks major league. I know a fairly cheep German glasses company who ship worldwide (production for most glasses worldwide is Thailand, that’s where the company gets their products as well). They’ve got a very generous refund policy as well. If you want to, I can pm you their website.

FlyingSquid OP ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Please do, thank you.

TotallyNotSpezUpload ,

Done under my original comment.

TotallyNotSpezUpload ,

Done under my original comment.

FlyingSquid OP ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Got it. Thanks!

TotallyNotSpezUpload ,

The international (english) site is: Glasses24.com

EleventhHour ,
@EleventhHour@lemmy.world avatar

Can you please post that here publicly so everyone can benefit?

TotallyNotSpezUpload ,

Done under my original comment.

TotallyNotSpezUpload ,

Under my original comment.

Sirence ,

Can you pm me the link as well?

TotallyNotSpezUpload ,

Brille24.de

Unless they hiked up their prices or went out of business in the past 2 years, the link should be grand.

If you need help regarding navigation around the website or how to put in the data for the glasses, please let me know.

Strider ,

Just to give you a little something:

My glasses cost around 500€ to 700€ per glass (so around 1200€ plus frame) and I have to pay them myself.

PenisDuckCuck9001 , (edited )

I bought glasses out of insurance from a company that I don’t think sells out of insurance glasses anymore. But it cost like $120 (getting glasses the normal way would’ve probably been a 4 digit number, so I consider $120 cheap for glassss), all I had to do was find my old prescription numbers then increase them by like 1 increment. Saved tons of money. Your eye doctor will refuse to tell you your prescription numbers if it’s been more than 1 year since your last appointment but there are ways to measure the lens curvature using light and shadows. You can’t get them any cheaper without becoming a glass blowing expert and doing it yourself, and you’d have to diy a lot of other far fetched stuff while you’re at it, so good luck with that

Kolanaki ,
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

Fucking Stanton and Warby Parker advertised $45 for 2 pairs… But you can only actually get that price if you don’t actually need lenses. These two (and probably all others advertising similar prices) are just fucking scams.

gh0stcassette ,
@gh0stcassette@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Costco is pretty good, my glasses were like $105 or $110 and they’re perfectly fine for me

Nougat ,

I tried bifocals, and they are just not for me. I work on a computer all day, and having to jog my head around in order to have appropriate focus sucks.

So ... when I go to get an eye exam, I have them give me two prescriptions. One for distance (driving, movies, whatever), and another for about six inches past arm's length - how far away my main monitor is. Then I get two pair of glasses online for ~$40 each, and a pair of distance sunglasses for $50.

I like the distance sunglasses better than transitions lenses, because they're darker than the transitions would ever get. Adding other fancy coatings will certainly increase the price of the lenses, but I think I only did scratch resistant on my regular distance pair, since I'm not doing somersaults while on the computer.

DevCat ,
@DevCat@lemmy.world avatar

This is what I did through Zenni as well. Only, I intend to get a third pair of glasses. The distance at which you read a computer screen compared to a physical book is very different.

fireweed ,

I think Costco glasses are a good deal, even if you have to buy a one-year membership to get them. Don’t know if they’re available online, but don’t you want to try glasses on in person to make sure they fit and are comfortable?

FlyingSquid OP ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

No Costco around here unfortunately. I don’t want any glasses touching me unless they are the ultra lightweight ones. They weren’t available at the optometrist, which is who my insurance covered.

gh0stcassette ,
@gh0stcassette@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Just checked, it looks like you can buy Costco frames online, I got my glasses in the physical store and they were super cheap (like ~$60 for the lenses and ~$40 for the frames), it came out a bit over $100, I highly recommend.

CherenkovBlue ,

Expensive lenses are expensive. My glasses also cost about $350 after insurance covers them. I go for all the expensive lenses and digital lens tech because my prescription is quite strong and it improves quality of life, but my vision could be corrected with the basic stuff.

Maybe your doctor can make the case to your insurance that these are medically necessary to be so lightweight. Otherwise, the improvements are a nicety, not a necessity.

FlyingSquid OP ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Except in every other Western nation, where they aren’t expensive.

VaalaVasaVarde ,

I would say $250 is fairly cheap, in Scandinavia you can easily pay $1000+ for special lenses.

For me the cheapest with okay quality costs $500 for a deal with two pairs from SpecSavers.

eestileib ,

deleted_by_author

    •
    LostXOR ,

    This is a post about glasses. Are you lost?

    eestileib ,

    Fuckin a I’m lost, sorry.

    teamevil ,

    Zenioptical it’s like 75 for every option and I wear them more than the glasses I paid hundreds for

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