Should You Buy Eyeglasses Online?

Source: Outlook Eye Care
At our optical shops serving Princeton, Hamilton, and other New Jersey communities, we now see a lot of patients who come in with ill-fitting, uncomfortable frames or low-quality lenses saying they got a good deal online. Here’s why the so-called “savings” aren’t really worth it:
You get to physically try on the frame instead of seeing a virtual frame imposed on your uploaded picture. Beyond seeing how the frames look, you get to feel the quality of the metals and plastics of the frames, test out the hinge or flexible metal, feel the weight of the frame, and so on.
Most online optical retailers do not offer today’s latest technologies when it comes to frame and lens designs, or they have bought frames in bulk that have been discontinued. If you are purchasing a discontinued frame and you need repairs or parts in the future, it will be highly difficult to find what you need.
The right frame consists of more than just what looks good. Just as one size frame does not fit all faces, one type of frame does not work for all prescriptions. Opticians take many considerations into account when helping you choose the right frame for you. Opticians can also help you determine what lens materials and options best suit your lifestyle while taking your vision to the highest level possible.
It’s imperative that measurements are done correctly. Some lens designs and prescriptions are frame-specific. Opticians do more than just show you frames that fit your needs — they’re also paying close attention to your general stance and head positions while you discuss options. All of these subtle observations play a huge role in how opticians measure you for your eyeglasses.
Problems can arise after you receive your new glasses. Your glasses may not seem right once they arrive at your door. Did you enter the prescription correctly? Did you take the right measurements or choose the correct lens design for the tasks you need the glasses to help you perform? Did the online shop make them correctly or even verify that it did so before it packaged them and shipped them to you? Perhaps the glasses do work correctly but now you need them adjusted, repaired, or simply maintained.
Now you will have to spend your “savings” on trips back and forth to an optician to help you adjust or repair your glasses — if the optician is willing or able to repair, adjust, or troubleshoot them because they were ordered online!
Although the Internet can be a great resource, one thing is “perfectly clear”: By always having your best interests at heart and the right solutions at hand, a brick-and-mortar optician provides services that no online optical service can come close to meeting.

By Michael Trottini O.D. of Outlook Eyecare, 5 Centre Drive 1B, Monroe Township. For more information, call 609-409- 2777.

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