Zenni optical, any thoughts?

[MVal]

Who has used Zenni for online eyeglasses and how do you like the product? I really need to get new frames and lenses soon, but I'm wondering how hard it is to get glasses right without being able to try them on first.

[MrsPete]

I think I'm in the minority, but I had a bad experience.  My frames didn't fit well.  I wouldn't try them again.

[TomTX]

Friend at work is happy with them, she has several pairs to coordinate with different outfits.

Got my eyes lasered in '99. Still working fine. It was $5,000 though. Top guy in Houston at the time.

Looking back though, I should have taken the extra time off work and flown to Canada to have it done. Even with flying myself and my wife and a couple of nights in a hotel, I could have had top surgeons and saved $3k.

[SharkStomper]

I bought a pair from Zenni last year and was very happy with them.  I ended up dropping them on concrete and scratching the lenses pretty badly and ended up replacing them with a pair from eyebuydirect as I liked their frame selection better.  I would've reused Zenni if they had the frames that I wanted.

[FIT_Goat]

I bought a couple pairs (one sunglass and one normal).  I am very pleased.  It was cheap, and the glasses are very nice.

I work in a pretty demanding field.  There is a high chance my glasses get ripped off, stomped on, and destroyed.  I am happy to have a way to replace them cheaply, if that happens.

[maizefolk]

The ones I ordered fit well. Most of their frames don't look great, but you can tell that from the website (they don't look any worse than you'd think they do from the pictures). Really inexpensive though, even compared to other online glasses shops.

[abhe8]

I just bought my daughter two pair plus a pair of sunglasses. They seem nice enough. She loves them and the prices are great.

Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk

[jengod]

I used them for kid glasses and they were fine. Ridiculously much cheaper than frames and lenses from the fancy optometrist/vision resource center.

(I am dense and it took me years to figure out that glasses were a consumer product and you could take your prescription anywhere!)

[sith02]

My Aunt got her glasses from them and it fits perfectly for her. Never heard any complaint.

[rockeTree]

Been wearing them for years, runs me 50 for glasses that work and I get compliments on and that go dark in the sun (their generic light responsive film seems to work as well as the branded Transitions they also offer).


Just measure everything about a pair you like and don't deviate too far from those proportions and it'll be fine.

[runewell]

I've probably bought 5-10 pairs for various family members. 

You need their prescriptions and you have determine (or estimate) the distance between the pupils.  The site will help you with this.
All you do is enter the information and pick your lenses, glasses, and options.

You can get a great pair of glasses for under $50 with lots of selection.  Also look online for coupon codes that will save you a bit off your purchase. 

You can save your prescriptions and also upload a photo of yourself to get a better idea of how the glasses look.  They also have the dimensions for all the glasses so you could get a ruler and compare to what you have now, filter for certain dimensions.

The assurance for me is that even if you aren't 100% happy with the first pair, you can order a second pair and you've probably still spent less than you have elsewhere.  If you aren't sure, try ordering a cheap frame and no-frills lenses.  Then you can probably get the cost down to $30. 

I highly recommend Zenni.

[sleepyjen]

I love mine. I don't expect they'll last forever, but they are stylish and inexpensive!

[boyerbt]

I've purchased five different glasses from Zenni over the past four years and they are great.

I recommend Zenni to everyone I know when they say they need new glasses.

[GrumpyPenguin]

I have laser-eyes now, but before that I bought glasses online from various folks.  Always worked out fine for me and was crazy cheaper than any retail stores. 

Something that might be helpful for you to know is that some online stores will let you send them your existing frames and they'll fit new lenses into them.  I did this once and it turned out great.

[ketchup]

I bought two pairs a few months ago (total of I think $44).  They're great.  I would definitely recommend them.

[PepperPeter]

Another Zenni customer here.  I like to have a wide selection of glasses to choose from, but I do tend to choose my daily glasses from GlassesUSA more frequently because they seem more sturdy (across several different pairs from both companies).

[Dicey]

I wish this forum's search feature was more user-friendly. This topic's been well covered multiple times before.

I am nearsighted, farsighted, have astigmatism and need high-index lenses, 'cause I'm blind as a bat.*  I love Costco Optical, because I want skilled interaction to make sure the fit is exactly right. Costco offers convenient access and a great satisfaction guarantee. Their prices have recently come down even more. I needed to use up some FSA money at the end of last year, so I decided to buy an extra pair of glasses. With the multi-purchase discount, I got three pair and still had money left over, which I promptly spent on another body part, hee.

Then there's the whole Costco pays their employees a living wage thing, which I totally love.

Take good care of your eyes, people! Good visual health is priceless.

*Plus my corneas are too thin for laser eyes, or I'd have done that in a heartbeat. Oh hell, I may as well admit I have glaucoma, too. At least my eyeballs are a pretty color and I can see reasonably well with glasses.

[sabertooth3]

If your eyesight is kind of bad but not horrendously so (asigmatism, severe near or far-sightedness, etc.) then they're great. Super cheap, they tell you the measurements of the frames and you can upload a picture of yourself to "try them on". But if your vision is seriously compromised, you're probably better off getting more specialized glasses somewhere else.

[TheInsuranceMan]

Used them with great success with two pairs of classes

[partgypsy]

Very pleased with them. Got a pair of glasses that were 60? compared to the 300+ dollars I spent at a regular optical shop. Buy my daughter's glasses there as well (seems to be happy with them).
The main thing, is to find a pair of glasses that fit you well and find out the various mm measurements for the different parts. It's better to buy a pair that fits those measurements than a cooler looking pair that doesn't fit your face. 

[TomTX]

I wish this forum's search feature was more user-friendly. This topic's been well covered multiple times before.

Here's what I do for sites with poor search functions:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=zenni+optical+site%3Aforum.mrmoneymustache.com

[FiguringItOut]

Been using them for 4 years now for my teens glasses.  No problems and no issues.
My older teen tried a new frame last time and didn't like as much.  So we ordered her her old frame.
At their prices it's easy to try new look.

Last time I ordered, 3 pairs of glasses were about $75 total.  One pair Rx sun glasses was $45.  I try to combine orders to save on shipping (flat charge per order). 

[RelaxedGal]

I've purchased many from Zenni.  The pair I was unhappy with was a learning experience: I didn't pay attention to the measurements and got a pair too large for me.  I have since learned that the measurements are very important and only get glasses with measurements very similar to a known good pair.  Their search isn't awesome.

I've also purchased from Coastal, was unhappy with the first pair, and was VERY pleased with their free return policy.  They also have better search and higher quality frames.   Right now I'm wearing a pair from Coastal that I originally bought 2 or 3 years ago with replacement lenses from the local optical shop ($10 copay, yay vision insurance!). 

My vision has been changing lately and I usually get 3 pair of glasses/year: Sunglasses (just regular glasses plus the $5 tint), driving glasses, and computer glasses.  I'm cheap so I go with Zenni now that I know what I'm doing/how to get ones that fit.  I can get 3 pair for probably $60 delivered.  On the other hand I usually get plastic frames from Zenni, and I don't know if I could get the lenses replaced at the local optical shop so I might be losing out on the long game.

[Shinplaster]

I've used them for several pairs of glasses, both for myself and family.  Had a problem with one pair - the lenses weren't cut well, and didn't fit in the frame precisely.  Since this pair was just to have in the car as a spare, I didn't quibble about it.  All our other glasses have been perfect, and verified so by our eye doctor.

That said, I have been unhappy with their selection of frames in the past year.  The ones I like are out of stock continually, and they seem to be focusing on wayfarer type glasses.  Those do not fit my face or nose.  So I just recently tried Goggles4U, and have been very pleased.  Their selection of frames is limited, but they give super fast service.  They ship out of Pakistan even though it's an American company.  I got my glasses in 5 days, and they are perfect.  I just ordered a pair of computer glasses from them, so I hope the second pair is good too.   Also, RetailMeNot offers a 40% off coupon for G4U, so they end up being ridiculously cheap.  At Lenscrafters, my glasses are about $400US.  G4U - $60US.   Zenni came in around $80US.

[Spork]

I've used them with varying success.

Pros:
* super cheap
* mostly acceptable quality
* if you break a frame, you can re order the exact same frame for $10 and ... you are back in business.

Cons:
* long wait time... I think they are making them in China and shipping them
* with bifocals... I got a better experience when a person eyeballed where the bifocal should land.  The Zennis were a little bit too high, resulting in a cartoonish backwards head tilt to read.
* the sunglasses color is... just odd.  It *really* distorts color.  This isn't just the end of the world, but they are odd.  A similar shade bought locally doesn't do nearly the color distortion of the Zennis.