The best way to use the online vendors to know what the glasses look like on you is to go into a brick & mortar eyegalss store and find the styles you like (get 3-4) and then search by the manufacturer number (see the inside of the ear piece) for the online vendor that carries that style.

I've done this for glasses for our entire family - here's my daughter in her first pair.

And that link would be: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcmetroblogger/3566767562/

The other thing I'd recommend about ordering online is to measure the size of the glasses you feel comfortable with. Most of these sites show this info and some will allow you to search by sizes.

For me, even the larger frames seem small, so this is important...

I love the Glassy Eye site...I got some great glasses from www.eyebuydirect.com after they linked a 50% coupon (on the frames...sadly, not the lenses...which was the largest cost by far...I have a -7 rx...pretty strong)...glasses got there in about a week even with the standard delivery.

I'll never buy in the store again...but as noted, it was a little hard to get my PD...luckily, I set up an appointment for a university based office and when they heard what I needed, didn't even both with the rest of the appointment, nor charged me...took 5 minutes. Quicker that dealing with the place that actually held my records...isn't there something in HIPAA that requires all patient info be turned over if asked???

Anyhoo...great site...

I've used Zenni Optical (http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php) a few times with great success. No one can believe I paid $8 for the single vision glasses, including the frames! And, the frames have spring temples! Be sure to read and understand all the instructions before ordering. I would recommend them.

I ordered a pair of prescription Rudy Project riding (bicycle) glasses from an online store.

First I ordered a pair with RX inserts. - The inserts sucked... My eyelashes brushed against the lenses which was very annoying! This was due to a very close clearance between the glasses and eyes... not due to long eyelashes. I found that you are much further ahead with direct RX lenses.

Round two... Returned glasses, (no refund for the RX lenses, got credit for the insert frame only) and ordered a pair with direct RX lenses.
Needed a bifocal... so bought a set of those stick-on fresnel lenses with the second pair.. the stick-on lenses sucked... was like looking through dirty glasses. No refund on the stick ons' either because they had to be cut to fit.
To add insult to injury, they also got the requested RX lens color wrong. They agreed to replace the lenses due to their error, but would require another round of sending the glasses back to them.

Round three.. Getting a pair of bifocal lenses through the mail is very difficult because of other "critical optician-required" measurements. Which means I would have to go to a local ship to get measured.

In the end I did go to a local optical shop and had the local shop replace the lenses with bifocal lenses (and correct color).
All and all, buying on-line turned out to be a very time consuming and expensive proposition.

I have to agree with Randy. I've used Zenni Optical several times and I haven't been disappointed yet. I use progressive lenses and the same style glasses that my local optometrist was trying to get $300 for (and I had insurance!! The total cost was $500 or more) cost $80.

Now, if they would only get rimless progressive lenses. I don't know why they don't have them.

Oh, and the local optometrist DID try to hide the Pupillary Distance!! I spotted it when she wrote it down, though. HA HA!!

You need to know what you are looking for. It's usually a number in the 60s.

My wife and I have used Googles4U about 4 times now.
The first three time we were happy with the glasses we received.

The last time we had no end of problems, frames where chipped, warped or lens popped out at the slightest touch. To be fair their after sales service was okay providing replacement glasses (which were also poor quality) and finally a full refund. Although with was only after numerous emails.

I have used 39dollarglasses.com and was very pleased with my two recent purchases. Fantastic.

@Greg: I would definitely keep it simple. I think if you order standard types of glasses without much expectations, it's more likely to work. Also, as others have noted it can be hit or miss, but as I said in the review, I feel the misses are worth the discount.

I ordered a pair from optical4less awhile back. The first pair I stupidly forgot to put the negative in front of my prescription, so I got some seriously thick (and quite obviously wrong) glasses back from them. I contacted them and they gave me 15% off my next order. I ordered the correct prescription this time and got some rather nice glasses back. They were a little smaller than I had anticipated, but my expectations were probably skewed by the huge 10 year old glasses I had previously been wearing. All in all, I was pleased with the experience. For the price of the glasses from optical4less, I still had a few more mess-ups before I'd come close to the cost of glasses from the Doctor. Admittedly, it did take a little bit of a leap of faith putting in my financial info when it came time to pay for them though as dealing with Hong Kong based bank that you've never heard of isn't exactly in the "best practices" of shopping on the web. But it was fine...and on both orders I got my glasses approximately 2 weeks after ordering (Hong Kong to Texas).

I've purchased 7-8 pairs of glasses in three different orders from Zenni Optical (http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php) over last couple of years, and have been quite satisfied with the results. The prices are very attractive and the quality seems comparable to other glasses I've purchased through conventional channels. Once the order is placed online, it takes 2-3 weeks to receive the glasses. Definitely recommended.

I have ordered from Googles4U. The glasses were definitely sub-par, poorly assembled, took almost a month to ship, and the company was completely non-responsive to my complaints. I won’t make that mistake again.

The best way to use the online vendors....is to go into a brick & mortar (insert any product- books, clothes, etc) store

is also the best way to put local businesses out of business. Who will employ you and your family? Where will you shop once all the local stores have been shut? Where will you go for advice on good quality products? Who will special order just what you need?

I just recently has to get my first pair of glasses at age 42. I bought online and blogged about it here. I used Zenni Optical - $20.

http://markandsarahlehman.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-experience-buying-glasses-online.html

I've heard a few stories recently (mostly public radio) about the return of local business as a carbon-cost issue. Maybe some smart people will modernize prescription optics dispensing so that the break-even point for simple scripts shifts back to the local store sooner than later. Sadly, supporting local business as a conscious ideal hasn't been translating very well into practice in most locales. Unfortunately, as local businesses streamline to try to compete, I find many choose the wrong side of the equation. As an example: I went all over my (rather large) home city trying to get dedicated tinted RX lenses in a pair of frames that would address both my particular medical issues and working / sporting lifestyle. All but one place wouldn't attempt anything that they couldn't fit on a form to send off-site (which -- in my opinion -- is just adding a "middle-man" to the process being discussed above); the very last place I tried put me in touch directly with their technician, who met with me personally and gave me an estimate. I've been wearing an excellent pair of sunglasses for several years now, worth every penny of the $300+ cost that the owner / operators earned.

Happy Zenni customer here, having bought about a dozen pair over the past couple years for a total of about $250. That includes prescription sunglasses and a pair of progressives. I think glasses are like denim: You could buy $300 jeans at Barneys, or you could buy $30 jeans at Target. If they fit (i.e., if the lenses match your prescription and the frames fit your face), why pay $300?

Had my online glasses checked out at my optician, who verified that the lens scripts were spot on. He was also let on that most of the frames in the store are actually made in Pakistan, and mentioned that one chain optical place he used to work for had their glasses (frames and lenses) made in and shipped from Pakistan and Hong Kong.

Perception is everything. If the designer logo printed on your frame makes you think it's better quality, there's no convincing you that most of these frames are the exact same one but without the printed logo.

Have to agree with EJ. There's nothing wrong with buying online, by phone, whatever. But part of the discount happens because you're not getting personal service from somebody's whose salary has to be paid. If you're willing to do without the service, fine. But offloading that cost onto some local store by taking advantage of their service for free with no intention of buying is just wrong. My part of the world lost a great local computer store a while back for exactly that reason -- you could see it coming, and it did.

That said, eyeglasses might be a slightly special case, since the markups seem to be enormous and random. The optical chain I went to (for the last time) is now just a middleman for some 3rd party outfit, probably offshore, and have no control over how anything is done that doesn't fit on the form they fill out.

We have used Zenni for about a year and a half. Our then 3 year old was frequently breaking her glasses.

A hint for measuring the pupil distance: take a picture. I measured my 3yo and 4yo children with a printed ruler, blew up the JPG file and measure of the edges of each bright spot of their eyes. I was 1mm away from what the eye doctor measured for my 3yo. I did mine by taking my picture in the mirror with the ruler on my nose.

Here is a pdf ruler: http://www.39dollarglasses.com/lib/pdf/39dg-ruler.pdf

Agree with Coifsyruf (and others here) strongly, but one of my points is that sometimes you have a complex or unusual problem that needs personal attention -- often that means locally. Was aesthetics & comfort part of my decision? Absolutely. I couldn't easily find frames flat enough for my prescription that blocked enough light from side-leakage to address my medical condition. I quickly gave up on home-made solutions and add-on side "wings". No pharmacy-rack tinted over-glasses worked for me, and I have to admit that (being well under 70 years old) felt a bit embarrassed in them -- hence aesthetics. My (rather complicated) solution was to pick out the flattest pair of sunglasses that "melded" to my face, and get lenses custom ground outside of normal specs (no pun intended) to be optically correct. The best frames -- fortunately -- turned out to be cheap, but well made, non-name-brand. I had checked into prescription wrap-arounds, but -- coming from big-brand sports companies -- came out way above my all-in $300 after tax.

I used Goggles4U and have nothing but rave reviews.

I broke my glasses while visiting my parents for Xmas - after which I was going to Australia. No optometrist in the small town where they lived so my girlfriend jury-rigged them back together. It was a temporary solution.

I got a new prescription in Sydney and after hearing about the prices from the Glassy Eyes blog I thought I'd try online. Picked three pairs of frames (I'm on extended world travel, so I figured better have a backup in case they broke again) for about $150 Canadian.

I received the glasses at my Sydney apartment 5 days later (!) and they're all as good of frames as I've ever had. (most of my frames have been plastic - after a $500 pair of beautiful German frames I had twisted apart on the bridge when I was taking them off) The free WORLDWIDE shipping was a boon as well.

The progressives worked great - they all fit fine (I'd downloaded the eye rulers off of their site) and looked good. I got three pairs for less than what for 1 pair of frames at my discount optometrist place in Montreal.

No complaints - I'd highly recommend them to anyone else - just make sure the styles you've bought suit your face beforehand.

The best thing is even if they break they didn't cost you more than an expensive dinner out - and if you like the frames you can just have the exact same pair shipped to you.

Goggles4U makes it sound a little simpler than it is. I persuaded a local optometrist to talk on this topic. As I had suspected, the PD will vary depending whether you are focusing near or far. When focusing near, the eyes triangulate on the near object, and the PD diminishes by a few mm. When focusing at infinity, the PD increases as the eyeballs diverge.

Therefore, your PD will be slightly less if you are ordering near-vision glasses. I suggest it's safest to have someone else measure the distance while you focus at the distance for which your glasses will be applied.

Zenni Optical. I've bought two pair of progressive-lens bifocals from them for a tiny fraction of what I paid the optometrist last time. Both with coated lenses; both with spring hinges. The second pair has twistable titanium frames, and cost only $70!

The real reason that eyeglasses cost so much is that the business is a near monopoly. Google "Luxottica." The company sells all of the designer frames - including the ones at your local optometrist - and owns Pearle Vision, Lenscrafters, and a couple other large chains. The cost to make frames is minuscule compared to what Luxottica sells them for.

I have been buying glasses and contact lenses for the last 20+ years. For much of that time, I bought from local brick and mortar establishments...and I got screwed.

I don't know exactly how many pairs of glasses I have purchased over the years -- at least 15 (including prescription sunglasses). What I do know is that I have only been completely satisfied with ONE pair of glasses in my life.

Virtually all of the opticians I have used are absolutely horrible at helping people select appropriate frames. They don't understand that glasses look best when they are the proper width for your face; that the temples should be long enough that the curved end fits behind your ear without pulling the glasses backward into your face; and that glasses should NEVER leave indentations on the bridge of your nose.

The quality of the glasses has often been poor as well. I realize that most opticians have that work done at off-site labs, but if I am paying a premium for glasses, the lenses really shouldn't pop out the first time I try them on, I should not be able to see encrusted glue around the edge of the lens, etc.

I finally found one wonderful optician who was able to show me that my frustration with glasses up to that point was mostly due to poorly-fitting frames, help me pick out great frames, and ensure that they were properly fitted with lenses. Unfortunately I had to move out of that area or I would continue to support her business (despite the higher cost vs. ordering glasses online).

I am done with that whole dance. After overpaying for terrible glasses for years, I am entitled to order my glasses online from now on and not get any grief about how I am destroying my local economy.

I have had good results with Zenni Optical. You do need to know what you want in terms of frame size, etc., but they deliver what you ask for at a very reasonable price.

Optical4Less has saved out family a fortune! Be sure to use the picture upload feature, click on the eyes to set the size/face comparison and you get a fairly accurate idea of how the glasses will appear.
Make sure you have all of the measurements noted when you get your eyes examined professionally
The first time we used them a few years ago we guessed at the PD/mm measurement. They questioned the accuracy of our reading. We went back to the doctor to get the correct number and found we were off by 5.
Our last order of 4 pair costs less than $200.00. We bought one very good pair, a knock about pair and two pairs of prescription sunglasses.
If you pay attention to the measurement details and the product number details you will be surprised at the value.

I forgot to mention I had the PD measured by the optometrist when I got my prescription, just request it and they'll be happy to add it to the information.

I've had good experiences with on-line ordering.

But, here in the UK, the supermarkets and national chains aren't having it all their own way. The small-business opticians are fighting back with flexibility, and fitted new lenses to my little-used old pair of prescription sunglasses.

The on-line outfit I dealt with would only do bifocals and such in conjunction with a local optician, effectively acting as a manufacturing lab. Single vision lenses, no problem. If for nothing else, consider a cheap online pair for working with your computer.

I ordered glasses from Goggles 4U. I was unable to upload my prescription and also add the PD measurement. I had to speak with two different customer representatives. Turns out that didn't work either. I got the glasses today and the prescription is wrong. I got what I paid for I guess.

Thanks Kevin for this information. And thanks to all for the alternate sources. I just dropped and badly scratched the custom clip-ons from my $400+ distance glasses while bike riding and the only online source of the discontinued clip-ons wants $99 for them and their site is "under construction". So I'm angry enough about the rip-off that the optician scam is to try the online approach. It should be fairly straightforward since I know the style I want and it is easy to measure the size of the frames and temples. I'm amazed at the Zenni prices and huge selection, and, given the glowing reviews, it seems to be a low risk proposition to try them.

One little gem that I found at the Glassy Eyes site was a much better and more accurate way to measure the pupillary distance by simply marking with a non-permanent marker the pupil locations on your existing glasses while standing in front of a mirror and then measuring the distance.

http://glassyeyes.blogspot.com/2007/09/illusive-pd-and-how-to-wrangle-yours.html

I can imagine using this method to find more accurately than the optician the PD for reading and computer glasses. Just stare at a spot on the mirror with your head the distance away at which you intend to use the glasses while you place your dots. The optician only measures for distance (infinity).

One thing I don't find is how to adjust the glasses when you first get them. This is a necessary service that you can't get online. And you could break the frames if you do it wrong. How do others do it? Maybe go to a local optician and tip the technician? That way you wouldn't be abusing it too much. Besides, if the local eye store charged honest prices, you woudn't have to buy online in the first place.

@Laral: Good question. I'd love to know of a @home way of bending glasses frames. The pros use some kind of heated sand.

@KK: Yes they use heated glass beads mostly for plastic temples and frames. My first optician in my hometown used salt. It left little pockmarks in the plastic and I could taste a stray grain now and then. You could use a heat gun carefully to soften the plastic.

I found the following videos on the subject of adjusting one's own glasses:

http://www.expertvillage.com/video-series/2434_adjust-glasses.htm

Same ones but easier to view. No ads:

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=expertvillage&view=videos&query=adjust+eyeglasses+

Here's a good but small thread on the subject:

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=expertvillage&view=videos&query=adjust+eyeglasses+

It looks kind of scary. There is some risk of breakage. I'd want to practice on an old pair before committing to a new pair. I still think going to a shop is the best option. Maybe the last one that charged you $400 for your last pair. ;)

Just received my second order from optical4less. Received glasses twelve days after placing my order - east coast of US. Couldn't be happier.

Would just like to add that I love buying eyeglasses online as well and have been very satisfied with http://www.clearlylenz.com. It's hard to go back to the brick and mortar stores when you can save so much!

I ordered three times from Opticals4less, Hong Kong. It cost me around $50 for each lens. The local optometrist wanted $99 each with the frame.

But on the third order Opticals4less screwed up. They used the wrong size lens. They had all my information for the past two years. What is troubling is that THEY REFUSED TO FIX THE GLASSES that they made wrong because of their mistake. Tthey offered me a 15% discount for another pair that I rejected.

Because of this I stopped using Opticals4less. I will not recommend this company to anyone. They will tell you any excuse to avoid fixing their error. They do not guarantee anything!

This time, I went to Costco! Costco will replace your glasses for any reason even after two years!