Frugal Families

Anyone have any thoughts or experiences on where to buy eye glasses? I will need a new pair in the next several months and these two locations are the most available to me (I need to be able to try on frames, so internet ordering is out).

MIL just got glasses from Costco and they had by far the best price of the places she'd checked, but she did not check Walmart. I do not have a Costco membership and don't particularly care to go there, so would prefer to go through WM. However, if Costco has substantially better prices as a general rule, it might be worth the while- though I would need to take into consideration the cost of adding in a membership. The optical department is not open to non-members like the pharmacy, is it?

Any thoughts, experience, or advice?

Thanks.

Vickie

Hi Vickie!

I bought glasses through Walmart once, but they did not last. The screw kept coming out and was stripped very early on. I just didn't think the quality was there.

I have heard good things about Costco although I haven't purchased from them yet. You may call and inquire about a sale too. My understanding is that they frequently have a buy one get sunglasses free kind of thing.

My dh did order online from 39dollarglasses.com. They have a smartfit feature that shows you glasses based on your face type. They fit great and they looked good on dh. We really liked them a lot. On their web site it looks like they were highly regarded by Reader's Digest and The Wall Street Journal too.

Another option you may want to consider is Lenscrafters. Although they are not the cheapest, I always use them because the lenses are usually ready in one hour and that saves me gas and time. And, the lenses are warrantied to be scratch free for one year. So I go at near the end of one year and get a new set of lenses for the $50.00 warranty fee. They also have coupons and a AAA discount. They will always tell you which will get you the better price too. They've always been very good about that for me.

HTH

Laura

I got my last pair at Costco (the week before a 2-for-1 sale, but I didn't need two pairs and couldn't wait anyway because I had to use the insurance benefit).  I am super-picky, even though I wear contacts 97% of the time (I also buy those on sale at Costco), maybe because I rarely buy glasses.  I'm VERY happy with the ones I got at Costco.  The service was excellent, the costs were laid out in a straightforward way, upfront, and I got really nice designer frames for a total outlay of $27 after insurance.

A friend uses Walmart and she is picky in a different way (constantly has to bring back frames that aren't comfortable or lenses that aren't quite right - trifocals at not yet 40).  She has been extremely happy with the cost and service there, as well.  The one-year guarantee is huge for her; she also manages to break her glasses periodically.  (I never wear glasses enough to break or scratch lenses, so it's not a selling point for me.)

I think you can get a good enough deal at either place to go with whichever location has frames you like, especially if your MIL will let you use her membership to buy at Costco.

I've never used Costco, but have bought glasses at Walmart several times with good experiences for myself, and two of my kids. I have really, really bad eyesight (legally blind without glasses or contacts) and need to thinner lenses to not look like I'm wearing coke bottles and Walmart has usually had the best price I've found for those, the last time I bought glasses there I got the frames on sale for $19, and a free upgrade to the transition lenses with purchase of the thinner lenses so it worked out to be a great deal.

the only downside is they don't accept my insurance upfront...but their prices were low enough that once I sent in the receipts for reimbursement my out of pocket costs were $0

My daughter has gotten her last 3 pairs of glasses from WalMart. We've been very pleased with the quality of the frames - never had any issues that had to be addressed and she still has the first pair she got from them. The prescription is too different for her to wear them, but they're in the bathroom cupboard. No problems. They are very reasonable (we just got her an eye exam, two complete pairs of glasses, two cases, lens cleaner for $148 total). I was actually happier with them than the glasses she got at Pearl Vision when she first had her eyes checked and it was determined she needed glasses.