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It appears that a few of the retailers that were having such issues a month ago have gotten their collective acts together. The number of problems posted in the forums, has dropped significantly in the past few weeks. I've sent a number of emails with a concerned tone to them and have gotten replies that lead me to believe that they are at least trying to improve.

I'm thrilled with that -- and hope the trend continues.

I read somewhere (and really wish I could find it again) that people are something like 10 times more likely to complain about a product in a public forum than praise it -- which makes you wonder about Amazon ratings.

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NOTE: I'm working on a few things to help you out. One will be made known to the forum users in the next few days and the other will have to do with service level/customer satisfaction trends.

Keep your eyes open!



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It's been a crazy 10 months since I started the GlassyEyes blog. It's been one of the most surprising and rewarding things I've ever done. Nothing makes your breakfast go down better than reading an email from a single mother who was able to replace her broken (for OVER A YEAR) eyeglasses after finding your site.

I'm a software/web developer by trade and have had the good fortune of partnering with one of the smartest people I've ever known (and I've known him since junior high). We've been building a top-flight software company/consultancy for the past couple of years on a strictly nights and weekends basis. This week, I was able to leave the day job behind and make the night gig, the new day gig.

What does this mean to you as a GlassyEyes devotee (grant me my delusion of grandeur)? It means that I should actually have more time for the blog. My nights and weekends, while full of carting kids to soccer and hockey games will definitely be more open to take this site to the next level. I have some big plans -- so check back often.

Additionally, and maybe more importantly, I'm going to be more available to help you if you're in a snag with one of the retailers. Over the past 10 months, I've garnered some importance to their business models -- thanks to all of your purchases -- and they tend to respond to me (rather quickly) when I have questions or concerns for them.

So, please, if you're having trouble dealing with one of the retailers, let me know. I've had direct contact (and hence know how to get to them) with the people in charge at 39DollarGlasses, Goggles4U, Optical4Less, and Global Eye Glasses. I've tried contacting the others over time, but been less successful. I can't promise results, but I can promise that I'll try.

Oh, and as always, most of the other questions you might have, have been asked (and answered by myriad sources) in the forums!

Thanks!

[begin plug] and if you're ever in the market for some serious software or web development, check us out at freemind solutions (freemind.net). [end plug]

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Much has been said about the pupillary distance when ordering glasses online and the difficulty in obtaining it. It's a very important measurement and contrary to what the opticians will tell you, it's very easy to get -- in the comfort of your own home even!

A few of the sites have methods requiring you to have a friend hold a ruler up at the bridge of your nose or something akin to that. That's a pain and not very precise.

I've got a better way.

Here are the required tools:
1) a pair of your existing eyeglasses (doesn't matter too much on the prescription -- just so you can see through them)
2) a non-permanent marker
3) a ruler (with millimeters preferably*)

How to do it:
1) Stand in front of a mirror (3 to 4 feet back)
2) Close Obscure your left eye with a card or thick paper
3) Mark the center of the right pupil with on the eyeglass lens with the marker.
4) Repeat with other eye
5) Measure the distance between the two dots
6) You're done

You can have a friend do this for you also, but I had better results doing it myself. It works. I had my "professionally measured" PD from the last time I was mugged at Len Crafters, and it was identical to my latest measurement. Didn't surprise me at all as this was precisely the method they used to measure it.

Anyway, if the optometrist is giving you hell about getting the PD, tell 'em to stuff it and do it yourself. I think you'll be happy with the result.

* NOTE: If you don't have a metric ruler (and if you're a child of the seventies like me, you'll never be without one), just pop your standard measurement as such into the google and you'll get the number you need. Ex. "2 9/16 inches to mm" returns "(2 9/16) inches = 65.0875 millimeters".


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