I was recently asked to write about Zenni Optical, which is cool with me because I love them. What’s funny is that I have read and written about them for several years now, but I only recently used their services myself. In the past six weeks I have ordered two pairs of glasses through their website, which cost me less than $50 for both, and that includes shipping. Browsing the website was easy, entering in my prescription info was straightforward (except for the PD part, but I’ll get to that in a minute), and in both instances the time between the date of order and when the glasses were in my mailbox was twelve days exactly. Not bad for an online company, especially when you think about your local optometrist’s office and the fact that it usually takes them 2-3 weeks to get glasses in!
These are the two frames I ordered from Zenni:
I’m very pleased with the quality of the frames and particularly of the lenses themselves. I also love the stylishness of both frames. Is it sad that I picked these particular pairs of eyeglasses out with several coordinating outfits, accessories and makeup in mind?
The whole process of ordering custom frames from Zenni Optical was easy and painless, except for the part of the process that required me to enter my PD. The PD, or Pupillary Distance, is simply the measurement of the distance between the center of your two pupils. It’s a number you can theoretically figure out yourself, except that the measurements are rather precise, and you’ll need someone else to do it for you. Even then, your number may be off. Dan took my PD measurement three times, and each time the number was different. And when I did track down the number from my old optometrist, all three numbers were several digits off! Speaking of optometrists, it seems like a lot of optometrists don’t want to give the number out. Why? Simple: if they give you the information that legally IS yours and you DO have a right to have, and you take it and go elsewhere, they lose out on a sale. Personally, I think optometrists are alienating customers more than retaining them by following this shady practice. Giving out every prescription component except for that little crucial one is just oh so shady. And not cool.
But if you can wrangle your PD from your optometrist, even if you have to pay for a separate eye exam (I’m not sure how right that is, ethically or legally…), then you have it made in the shade with Zenni Optical!
i work at the walmart vision center and if i absolutley know they will not be buying glasses with us ill give them their pd, it doesnt bother me, and i havent gotten in trouble for it yet. as far as i know most wvc’s will give it out, so send people there to get a pd, they dont even have to be a customer!
@Dee: Twelve days exactly, both times.
How long did it take to get your glasses after you ordered them?