I started wearing eyeglasses when I was 14 or 15. My mother Jo for weeks ranted about how much they cost and how furious she’d be when I lost them. But I never did lose them. As far I know they might still be sitting in my old medicine cabinet. I only put them there when I needed to update my prescription. I pointed this out to Jo who replied “I’m going to be so furious when you lose this pair”.
Eyeglasses are worn by roughly 75% of adults in this country. They are NOT luxuries. Yet thanks to a monopoly they are overpriced to an almost obscene degree.
Zenni Optical
My friend Laura has been using Zenni Optical to keep her eyewear affordable for years now. Check out their site yourself. When I misplaced a pair, while unemployed, she told me about them. I called them up. The glasses I wanted were listed at $6.95! But how expensive were they with the lenses? Wait, that IS with the lenses? After I finished placing my order the total came to, drumroll please, $19.11, which included the priority shipping I had requested.
I received my glasses from Zenni Optical last week and I love them so much. The frames seem a little flimsy, but not more flimsy than that nearly identical pair I purchased for a whooping $117. I mean I know there’s overhead but COME ON. I’m planning on ordering another pair so I always have a backup. I’m even going to get a crazy colorful pair to wear just for fun.
This morning I informed the woman in front of me for a coffee, who was bemoaning a lost pair of reading glasses. “These were less than $20”, I told her. She didn’t seem to care, but man running the cart demanded I write down the website and gave me my buttered sesame bagel for free.
Get 10% off your first order at Zenni Optical
Head to Zenni Optical (zennioptical.com) get 10% percent off your first order when you sign up for the newsletter. They appear to be having some specials throughout the holidays so keep checking back.
Check out Zenni Optical’s California Collection commercial featuring the lovely and amazing redheaded Amanda Fields Bennett.
I LOVE Zenni Optical. I have purchased 4 pairs of glasses from them over the years, and saved literally thousands of dollars. I have astigmatism and a very high prescription (which means special, thinner lenses). Glasses purchased at my eye doctor are around $500. A similar pair from Zenni is about $80. I have always been very happy with the quality the lenses, although one pair of frames was not as well made as the other three – they felt flimsier from the start, and started looking bad after about 18 months of near-daily wear. I have never had to contact customer service, but their production time is quick. I highly recommend Zenni!
Freaking love Zenni. After years in college of buying all my glasses from them, I’ve found that what works best for me is to have a few Zenni pairs laying around the house for after-work time…reading, cooking, laying in bed, etc…and then a nicer(ish) pair from Warby Parker that I keep in their case unless I’m wearing them out of the house. Again, love Zenni so much.
I’ve just realized that I’m going to need to update my prescription so the timing of this is perfect for me to give them a look-see. Literally.
I sell Italian made glasses and for me, I realise that the price tag might be higher…but I am supporting a job of someone who is making an ethically made product. We will ALWAYS pay more, if we support USA/UK jobs, European or Australian made, as opposed to cheap chinese imports. We get to choose our ethics and vote for what we believe – every single time we shop.
Price is a factor for most of us – and this article does promote price as a priority. However, what about ethically made products? What about products that have an ethical supply chain? Surely $7 glasses are made in China? I am sorry, but I can’t put $$$ above people. In the “old” days, good were all ethically made…and so people paid a higher price tag, and that is why they mended socks, and purchased dresses only a few times a year. The price tag was higher – but due to ethically made products – people learned to value their purchases, and take good care of them. Today we have people into “fast fashion” and they have a disposable mentality. Shoppers don’t tend to think very much about who made the goods – they tend to really only think about how it looks on them vs the price tag. I would pleased to hear of more ethically minded shoppers with a conscience…a feel good purchase for me, is when I know that the little person who made my glasses, or dress, etc were paid well and that I did not use slave labour for my own benefit. I don’t feel good about that, at all! I could not buy a $7 pair of glasses if I supported sweat shop labour in another country.