EyeBuyDirect had a great deal in December offering half-price gift certificates. I took them up on it -- along with hundreds of others. I bought a few of them for family members and $140 worth of them for myself. They had just added a number of frames and a couple of them were different enough from my existing collection to warrant purchase.
I ordered two pair with about a week in between, and they arrived a few days apart two weeks later.
The first pair I ordered was titanium in a bronze color -- two things less than common in my piles of eyeglasses. These are a pair that I would have picked from a brick and mortar store -- if things hadn't changed so abruptly that day October. They're very light, so sturdy and I really like the look of them.
The second pair was more of a stretch in a couple of ways. I wouldn't have considered them without the discount. First off, the designer brand (Timberland in this case) isn't something I do any longer, but at 50% off an already discounted price, I made an exception. I wouldn't have even tried these on in the store, much less considered purchasing them.
That said, there were three compelling reasons I pulled the trigger on them. First, I wanted to see how well the "generics" stacked up against the name brand, and secondly, I had a theory that since the frame dimensions were close to the sizes I normally buy, they'd not only fit but look at least acceptable. The last reason was that they aren't produced by Luxottica, because that will never do.
They're well made, and different than I expected. I don't think they look terribly good on me but they're very comfortable. I've worn them many times already because I'm more interested in the utility and comfort than the fashion.
A few more notes on these orders from EyeBuyDirect. Their order process was very smooth and the site gets better and better every time I use it. They're packaged very nicely and EyeBuyDirect's cases are the nicest of the the bunch. I love being able to see what is in the case -- something more important than you'd think when you get up near 30 pairs of glasses.
Like I said, the eyeglasses are beautiful -- both pairs. The prescriptions are spot on and the coatings appear uniform and well-applied. I'm very impressed.
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9 comments:
- At February 16, 2009 at 1:05 PM Anonymous said...
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I ordered two pair from EBD when they had the 50% discount coupons and my only complaint with them at all is that they use the lowest index lenses. My prescription is -3.75 and -4.50, and since the glasses are semi-rimless, it just makes the lens look too thick. I really wish EBD would take after the competition and do away with the 1.5 index and step up to something higher as their intro lens.
I came THIS close to ordering more pairs the other day during the Buy-One-Get-One, but decided not to because to step up to decent lenses just makes it too expensive, compared to the competition. The same day I ordered from EBD, I also ordered two pair from Goggles4u, and their lenses were MUCH thinner, and for less money.
I hope EBD will take into consideration the possibility of moving to better lenses to keep up with the competition... - At February 16, 2009 at 3:26 PM Paul said...
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Just because they should offer a higher index lens doesn't mean they should get rid of the 1.5 lenses. They are most likely made of CR-39, which has the best optical qualities of the plastic lenses, very close to glass.
- At February 16, 2009 at 5:41 PM Ira said...
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I agree completely. I have a very similar prescription (-4.25/-3.75). I really like the optical properties of the CR-39and have found it's more aboutbthe lens shape and size when talking thickness. Adding mid-index options is fine bit done drop CR-39.
- At February 17, 2009 at 8:46 AM Jetset said...
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I hate to be irrelevant and off-topic, but I really need help with contact lens buying, and lenspundit is a bit out of date I believe. Either that, or there are 0 deals for prescription colored contacts, and it's not nearly as comprehensive as this blog, which by the way has inspired me to never buy glasses (or contacts!) in person again. Thaank youu.
Thanks! - At February 17, 2009 at 9:18 AM Ira said...
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@Juu,
LensPundit is out of date. It's on my list of things to get to in the next few days now that my latest gig has ended abruptly.
It's never apparently going to have the quantity of the GlassyEyes site, but I'll search for some deals today or tomorrow.
- Ira - At February 17, 2009 at 9:16 PM Anonymous said...
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I just placed my first order and it happened to be with eyebuydirect. I am very pleased, especially with the price! $25 shipped to my door.
- At February 26, 2009 at 1:37 AM Unknown said...
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What model is the top pair of semi- frame?
- At February 26, 2009 at 8:49 AM Ira said...
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- At February 26, 2009 at 8:50 AM Ira said...
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@thomas,
All of the frame information is in this post.
