There has been an awful lot said about stealing the light, time and I assume even the air from the mall optical stores. I think the markup might just cover the lost opportunity from the .5% of America who would even consider buying online eyeglasses. I hope to help enlighten enough people to make that a much more respectable percentage.

The fact of the matter is that there is no way brick and mortar opticians will even feel it -- at least for the time being. People call foul for using these as a fitting room and then making the purchase on the internet. You can look at this any number of ways -- and here is mine:

No one needs to feel like they should buy something from every store they enter. Do your research. Ask questions. Be polite. You may find that the store you are in is in fact the right place for you to buy your glasses. If you don't, take what you've learned and move on.

Let's face it, it's up to them to "sell" you eyeglasses. If they have a good story and can give you better reasons why you should purchase from them, then you'd be wise to do so. I look at this as giving them a last chance to make a sale they weren't going to have a chance at to begin with. That's certainly worth something to a retailer.

I've always been a bargain shopper. I think it started when I was in high school and money was tight. It's a skill that one must hone through diligence and through discipline to be able to see the point at which you cross into that area of spending too much time hunting for deals to save only a few bucks. Time is, in fact, money (sometimes).

Anyway, I shop at all sorts of stores. If I can get an item at a small local store for a competitive price, I do. If it's significantly more expensive, sorry, I've got to feed my family also.

If I felt I needed to buy something from every store I went into, I'd never go out. This is simply not the way it is.