GlassesShop.com Review (+ 50% Off Code For You!)

Being on a tight budget for the last several years, one of the items I've had to just "make do" with is my glasses. I lucked out with having several pairs of glasses in my previous prescription, so if/when I broke a pair I always had something else I could wear. I'm sure fellow glasses-wearers can relate. Years ago I had insurance that gave me glasses every couple of years, but with all the changes in health care recently that has not even been an option (it's cheaper for me to just pay out of pocket for my exam and glasses, so why would I buy the insurance?). I finally budgeted the money to get my eyes checked after 5 years (!?) of making do with the same prescription. Imagine my elation when I was contacted by GlassesShop.com asking if I would like to review a pair of their glasses on my blog. What great timing! 

GlassesShop.com is an American owned and operated company specializing in low cost but stylish eyeglasses and sunglasses. The company ships all over the world and sources high quality products so you can get a great quality pair of glasses without the high cost you would find in a typical brick and mortar retail store. All of their glasses come with a 90 day quality guarantee, so you have the added assurance that if you're not satisfied they will work until you are happy with your purchase. Obviously shopping for glasses online is a different experience from shopping in a physical store, but the company has lots of tools on their website to make the process as pain free as possible. I wanted to outline the process here just to give an idea of what goes into buying glasses online for those who have never tried it before.

The first step in the process is just to look through the frames they offer to get an idea of what is available. If you already know the shape, style, size, amount of frame, color, etc that you are looking for, you can filter your results with a simple click to show only what you know you would wear. I prefer medium to large frames (my head is bigger than average, so I need a large frame to fit comfortably), so I selected that first. Next I know I like full framed glasses (because I'm clumsy and don't want to chip the edges of my lenses), so I narrowed the selection even further. Once you've filtered by the aspects you know you want, then you start looking through more seriously. I found it helpful to open each new frame in a new tab on my browser so that I could quickly pull aside the frames I might be interested in and then compare them all at one time.

Once you've picked a few frames, you can virtually "try on" the glasses to see how they will look on you. Without this feature, I don't think online glasses buying would be such a viable option. You simply upload a photo of your face, then the app has you mark your pupils in the photo, then you're all set. Once I uploaded my photo in the browser, I was able to pull up my photo in each new window (very useful when you don't have to upload a new one each time even). Lots of glasses websites have this photo try on feature now, but what I was surprised to find about GlassesShop.com is that you can move the frames around on the photo. You can center them on your face, you can rotate them slightly, you can even make them larger or smaller to make your photo look more accurate (since all of us will use photos that are different distances from the camera, etc, so this way everyone gets a good idea of what the frames will look like on them). I really liked all the options with this feature and it made choosing a frame even easier.

There is no limit to how many frames you can try on. You can even do this with prescription sunglasses and it shows them with darkened lenses. When I was choosing my frames, I would open the try on windows on each page (all still in different tabs in my browser) and then just click from tab to tab and narrow down which ones I liked best.

Once I narrowed my likes down to a few frames, it was time to take a closer look at the physical specs of each frame. Each frame has a breakdown of all the pertinent measurements beneath the photos. This may be where I had a bit of an advantage since I work in an industry where I have access to millimeter gauges all the time, but the measurements are also converted to inches so Americans can easily get an idea of the scale on a basic ruler or without converting everything themselves. My best advice for getting an idea of how all these measurements translate to real life is to measure a pair of glasses you already have. I drew a little glasses schematic with all the same measurements and set it to the side of my mouse. This way I could look at the measurements of the frame height and say, "Ok, these are slightly taller than mine," etc. The description also lists what lenses are available for the frames - I just need standard lenses so this isn't something I need to worry about, but if you need bifocals or thicker than standard lenses for your prescription this is very useful to see at a glance. The description above is for the frames I chose: the Port Rectangle in Black (sku:FX0980). 

Once you've chosen a frame, you need to chose your lenses. Do you need single vision (near sighted, far sighted, or computer work), multivision (bifocals for both near and far), or are you just looking for no prescription so these can be fashion glasses (I won't judge)? Once you choose your lens type, you need to input your prescription. The biggest difference between a regular prescription you get at an eye doctor and the prescription you need for online shopping is that you will need your Pupilary Distance (PD). This is not included in a standard prescription, but it is necessary to get the glasses to work for you properly. I had to pay extra to get my PD when I had my eyes examined, but I knew I would need the info. Any eye doctor or glasses shop can give you this info. Next you need to chose your lens. Do you want them clear, tinted, gradient tinted, polarized, photochromatic, transitions, or mirrored color? Clear lenses are included with the price of each frame, but the other options are upgrades that cost a little more. I went with clear lenses for my pair since these would be regular eyeglasses, but to do regular tinting is only $9.95 more if you wanted to get prescription sunglasses. For clear lenses, you then have the option of what coatings you would like. There is a Standard Coatings Package that includes Thin and Lite Lenses (1.57), Anti-Scratch Coating, Anti-Reflective Coating, and UV Coating for $19.85. The Advanced and Premium coatings packages include the same options but for super thin (1.61) or ultra thin (1.67) lenses, and they cost a bit more accordingly. I chose the Standard Coatings for my glasses. This is the final decision you make, then you add the glasses to your cart and checkout. So my frames were $45.95 and my coatings were $19.85, putting my total to $65.80. For every purchase you make you will get points that can be redeemed on future purchases (which are applied in the cart if you choose), and you can also choose ad-ons like anti-slip straps. Shipping in the US is only $4.95 and takes 7-15 business days, while Expedited Shipping in the US is $19.95 and arrives in 2-5 business days. To be honest the standard shipping is the same turnaround time I've had when I order glasses from my eye doctor, so I was not worried about a short wait.

My glasses arrived in 8 business days in a quaint little box. All glasses from GlassesShop.com include a clear plastic case and a lens cleaning cloth, and my new glasses were nicely wrapped in both.

And these are my new glasses :) I went with the Port frames not only for size and style, but also because they combine the look of plastic frames with the security of metal frames. The front frame is plastic, but the temples and nose pads are metal and therefor adjustable. I love my plastic frames, but all my previous plastic glasses slide down my face constantly throughout the day. I figured that added nose pads would be a great way to get the look without the constant sliding up of my frames throughout the day (and I was right).

I also love that the temples are thin and metal. Like everyone else in the world, my ears are different heights. This means my previous plastic frame glasses sit slightly crooked on my face. These metal temples mean I can adjust this so they sit straight. Also all of my previous frames had wider sides, so I couldn't really see much without turning my head. No more! It's been so nice to have this area of my vision opened up. This construction also means that I would potentially be able to get these glasses repaired if I break them, which is not an option on plastic frames unless you are really good with glue.

These glasses are also a nice temple length for me (meaning the ends don't stick out of my hair behind my ears), which I knew would be the case because of all the specifics listed on the website :) Also I'm sure you can see the slight coloring to the lenses in my modeled shots - this is the anti-reflective coating (it shows as a slight green tinge where light is reflected off of it). While it may show in the occasional photo, I've never seen it through my lenses at all. I have noticed that headlights don't glare quite as much as with some of my other glasses, which is great. So I'm very happy with the coatings choice.

I am thrilled with my new glasses :) They are exactly what I thought they would be from the website (and really what more could you ask for?). I will definitely use GlassesShop.com again when I need new glasses.

And for you who stuck through reading this long post I have an awesome coupon code to share! Use the code GSHOT50 at checkout for 50% off all eyeglasses and sunglasses with free lenses (excluding sale frames). I may have to use this one myself, lol. I recommend you give this website a try and get new glasses for a steal of a deal!

* I received my glasses free of charge in exchange for an honest review, but all opinions are 100% my own.