Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Kids Glasses - The Best Deals

IMG_7289
Adam has been wearing glasses since he was five and he has been averaging a pair every six months. The first year, I had vision insurance through work because I knew that Doug, Adam and I would need glasses. We went to Pearle Vision and came away with his first pair, which we purchased extra insurance on. We lectured him on how he needed to take extra good care of these glasses and miraculously, they remained intact until he needed a new prescription the next year. By then, I decided to drop the vision insurance and was hip to inexpensive glasses on the web. We even got the same name brand for less than half the retail price. But these didn't last. And we do everything in our power to repair glasses including using safety wire and super glue. Here's the history of Adam's glasses:

Date Retailer Price Shipping Total Result
Feb 06 Pearle -
Spongebob
$238 - $55* Great, used until new prescription was needed!
Apr 07 39DollarGlasses - Spongebob $79 $6 $85 Screw fell out, rim broken
Aug 07 Zenni Optical -
Titanum blue
$24 $5 $29 Rim broken
Apr 08 39DollarGlasses -
Jimmy Neutron
$79 $5 $84 Spring hinge broken
Oct 08 BestPriceGlasses -
Generic light blue
$12.50 $3** $15.50 Perfect!

* Price after insurance coverage
** Shipped with Dova's glasses below

Adam is shown wearing his latest pair of glasses from Best Price Glasses. He picked the light blue color (wasn't our choice), which looks even eerier under a flash. This pair was by far the cheapest pair, and they are actually quite sturdy.

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We knew that Dova would be harder on her glasses from this bit of foreshadowing. When we took her when she two-years-old to Pearle Vision to look for Adam's glasses, she managed to break two pairs of glasses right there in the store. Ripped the arms right off the hinges. tearing right through the metal. So when she got her first pair of glasses when she was four, we gave her the same lecture about taking care of them. We were also afraid that she wouldn't wear her glasses, so we bribed her with an expensive pair of Barbie glasses to start with. They have since come down in price on the Internet. I never liked the way these fit her because her eyelashes hit the lenses when they weren't falling down her nose. She had the same "falling down the nose" problem with her second pair of glasses, but this last pair seems to stay up the best.

Date Retailer Price Shipping Total Result
Jan 08 TheEyeDoctor -
Barbie pink
$134 $8 $142 Twisted hinge, screw fell out, lens kept
popping out
Jul 08 Zenni Optical -
Titanium purple
$24 $5 $29 Tweaked too many times from being stepped on, plastic on arm broken
Oct 08 BestPriceGlasses -
Generic purple
$12.50 $3 $15.50 Perfect!

Dova runs through glasses on average every four months! This is much faster than wearing out shoes. But with Best Price Glasses, they are practically disposable. And so far they have held up better than her other pairs.

Are you wondering if this is a sponsored post? Not at all. I'm eyeing a pair of glasses too, because my spring hinge is broken and only held on crookedly with super glue. I guess the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree...

Edited to add May 5, 2008: Since this post, I got a new pair of glasses for myself with high index lenses and a pair of prescription sunglasses from their sister site Prescription Glasses Online. They are da bomb!
prescription sunglasses

5 comments :

Tiffeny said...

I know this is a forever old post, but I have a question, are you still happy with glasses from BestPriceGlasses? Also, how do you order them? Go to the eye doctor, get a prescription, and then go home and place the order? My daughter needs glasses and I have no experience with this at all. Thanks for your help!

Angela said...

Hi Tiffeny, that's exactly what we do- get the prescription, measure the pupillary distance (directions on the glasses website) and then order them online. The glasses are great, they last anywhere between 4-12+ months, depending on how rough the kids are with them. You do need to check the size of the frames to get an idea of how they will fit on your child's face. Since we've ordered so many, I know approximately what a good frame size is. If your daughter is very young, go with the smallest size you can find. Otherwise, pick sizes that are smaller than adult size.

Hanna said...

I was so excited to find this, thank you! I was dreading having to spend $150 every 4-6 months for my son. Do you get the upgrade to the polycarb lens? I would if they were supposed to last a year but it's probably not necessary for short term. Lord knows no matter how expensive they are they won't make it as long as I'd like!

cute baby girs name said...

She is looking so pretty in her spectacles. My younger sister resembles her a lot. she too have the same sight as her.

Anonymous said...

I was so happy to find your post, thank you! My wife and i always buy glasses from GlassesShop.com. Cuase it has interesting and unique frame and glasses options for men and women. And i have been looking for an kids online glasses store for months, i will check Best Price Glasses out!!!