Oh, I See. Do You?

Since 2015, I've ordered several pairs of glasses from EyeBuyDirect (yes, that's an "affiliate link," I'll explain more at the very bottom of this post) for myself or family members.

The most expensive pair came to $50.90, including shipping. That was for a pair of bifocals with anti-reflective coating and upgraded lenses (lighter-weight ones).

The average cost for a pair of glasses for me -- single-vision, usually no extras -- has been less than $20, including shipping. I got a little fancy more than a year ago and spent ~$25 per pair on one pair of regular glasses with a blue light filter and a pair of prescription sunglasses. 

That first pair did just break on me. Not catastrophically. It's just that the area where the right ear piece meets the main frame is starting to break around the screw. Not surprising. I take my glasses off quite a bit (I'm near-sighted and instead of getting bifocals I just remove my glasses when I sit down in front of my computer, which I probably do 15-20 times a day). And when I take them off, the way I grab them seems to put most of the stress on that particular area.

Got a new pair arriving today. $22.82 including shipping. Single-vision, anti-glare filter (it occurred to me that since most of my screen time is "glasses off," the blue filter didn't make much sense, but glare is often an annoyance when out and about).

If I said there haven't been any problems with glasses from EyeBuyDirect, I'd be lying. One pair of Tamara's just felt flimsy and cheap to her. My 18-year-old has managed to break two pairs in six months; the jury is out on whether that's really EyeBuyDirect's fault or whether he's just hard on glasses.

I've been happy with my EyeBuyDirect glasses. Our vision insurance has an allowance of up to (IIRC) $150 for frames and lenses, and I have yet to find a pair (let alone two pairs) I like at one of the approved providers that would end up costing me less out of pocket than I pay by just buying them from EyeBuyDirect. Also, that may be a whole family allowance, I'm not sure.

So here's the thing -- if you buy from EyeBuyDirect using my referral link, you get $10 off your first purchase, and I get $10 credit toward my next pair of glasses.

Unless you need bifocals or want something fancy, that $10 is probably going to bring your cost down to well below $20 for a pair of glasses. Which seems like it might be worth trying, even if you just want a spare pair to keep in a drawer for emergencies, or some prescription sunglasses for when you're going out.