Oh Say Can You See?

Okay, so maybe the title is a bit cheesy, but recently I've been turned onto something that maybe many of you already know about:  Getting your glasses on line-- on the cheap!  As many of us know, eye wear can be expensive, and can really add up if you have kids who have or need glasses.

If you've had a recent eye exam and have a prescription in hand, you can save yourself boatloads of money by getting your spectacles on line and avoid the 500% markup on something that has no business costing so much.


Thanks (again) to my cousin Gen, of Fight Club fame,  for enlightening me on the existence of Internet eye wear providers.   It seems that this may be catching on and that it's a timely topic!  While researching for this post, I came across this article: 

Wow -- the Eyewear Industry Is an Incredible Ripoff, But There Are Alternatives

So, instead of rewriting what I probably couldn't have said any better, I encourage you to read it.

If you don't care to do that and want to do your own investigating, you can Google "cheap glasses" or "online eyewear" and many of the popular sites will come up.


I have personally seen the products from Zenni Optical and Goggles4U.  They are stylish, high quality and really nobody would ever know that they cost a mere fraction of what you'd get from a boutique eye wear retailer. 

I will be ordering my next pair online and will let you know how it goes.  If you've had an online eye wear purchase experience (good or bad), please let me know how it went for you in the comments section.

And to bring this full circle, when you are done with your glasses or are updating to a new pair, please consider recycling them.  According to the World Health Organization, approximately 150 million people in the world are in need of eyeglasses.  You can help by donating your old specs.  Read more here: How to Recycle Eyeglasses | eHow.com or here:  earth911.


Image Credit: http://scavenging.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/designer-eyeglasses-702155.jpg