Not the best quality, cheap materials, one lens had a significant scratch
Written: Oct 13 '06 (Updated Oct 13 '06)
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If it sounds too good to be true, it *probably* is...
Fortunately, every now and again we come across something in life that, though it sounds far too good, is the real deal! Enter Zenni Optical, glasses we can all actually afford! For about $18 you can get a decent pair of glasses shipped to your door.
What you will need
To begin, you'll need your lens parameters (you will NOT need a valid prescription, which is questionable at best but not blatantly illegal AFAIK). You will also need your pupillary distance (the distance between the center of both pupils). Zenni implies you can measure this yourself - DON'T. Your optician can do this for you for free using a far more accurate instrument than a ruler!
You'll also need a credit card and a mailing address, my order was sent via USPS First Class Mail. When ordering on the website - expect no way to check your order status and no email confirmation of your order. I still got my lenses A-OK and I'm used to that from my ebay purchases, so no biggie!
About The Lenses
I ordered a basic pair of glasses with a metal frame for a backup pair and a funky plastic framed one I ordered just for fun. The frames were $8.95 and $12.95 respectively. The lenses included are polycarbonate. Polycarb is light weight, thinner than ordinary CR-39 resin, cheaper than higher index plastic, and very impact resistant. It would be a great material if it wasn't HORRID optically. Polycarb just isn't fun to look through, it's distorted. But hey, it's what MOST glasses sold these days are being made of.
For an additional $4.95 I added an anti-reflective coating on each. First allow me to make a push for AR. AR is the most under-appreciated lens option out there. It changes the way you see your world and brings crystal clarity to things around you. It brings far more improvement than poly ever takes away! YAY AR! I've paid $70 for high quality AR coatings (Zeiss) and considered them worth every penny. Zenni's AR coating isn't as effective. It doesn't cut glare and reflections as well as more premium coatings. With that said, I'd guess it's still probably 80-90% effective. And for $4.95 I can't think of any reason you could possibly even consider not getting this coating that I believe should be standard. There isn't a camera on the market without AR on it's lens, but we are too big of cheapskates to get AR for our eyes? Zenni gets rid of any reason not to with the great price. One warning - unlike premium AR coatings which are as strong as the lens itself these days, I don't know how well the Zenni AR will prove to hold up, but hey - they're so cheap you can afford problems!
One final lens warning - one of my pairs had a substantial scratch on one lens. It's out of the center of my visual field, and it's only in the AR coating so it's not horribly visible, but they're a backup pair of glasses. I don't know how I'd do with them in more trying situations... buyer beware. The other pair has no such defects. Both have several tiny scratches in each lens - but I've never seen a pair of glasses I couldn't find at least a coating scratch in... but that one scratch is definitely too big for acceptable - but I've had worse for $200+!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
About The Frames
The metal frame I ordered is well... cheap and flimsy. But hey, again, I've paid far more for similar quality locally! The plastic frame is toylike. I generally think plastic frames are toylike anyways and I just ordered these for fun, LOL. Not as a pair of glasses I plan to wear often. The frames LOOK great though and LOOK expensive and high quality.
Want a variety of frames? You won't have a problem with Zenni Optical - they have a ton of cute, fun, professional, stylish, hot, geeky, and just plain funky frames to choose from. All cheaply made and relatively low quality but fun and great looking. Frames look just like pictured. Be careful to look closely at the sizes and compare to what you're wearing now so that you can judge what you need.
The Whole Experience
From the time of my order, my Zenni glasses took 13 days to arrive. They Came USPS in a padded envelope, in individual hard cases, and wrapped in microfiber cloths inside the hard cases. Quite impressive! Honestly, I'd give them five stars if it weren't for the one substantial scratch - but those lenses are still totally wearable and not worth returning at this price! Would I shop here again? Certainly! Why not, tons of fun frames and cheap. It's like cheap costume jewelry - they're fun. They're backup pairs. You need to buy them expecting that yeah, they'll break and you'll toss them. Remember that you can order 18 pairs from Zenni Optical ($8.95 frames) shipped for less than one pair from your optician ($250 in my case). If your glasses, like mine, usually last a year you only have to make the Zenni ones do for three weeks a pair for them to be cheaper. Who cares if they're cheap and of relatively poor workmanship? They're a great product. Highly recommended.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
americanbear
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Member: Mark Uhde
Location: Montana, USA
Reviews written: 67
Trusted by: 13 members
About Me:
Thanks for reading my reviews! Learn more in my profile or at markuhde.com
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