Buying a new pair of eyeglasses seems simple enough. You have your prescription, you find a frame you like, select your lenses, and you’re done. With online eyewear retailers and big-box stores offering seemingly endless choices, it can be tempting to make your decision based primarily on price or convenience.
But eyeglasses aren’t just another accessory you purchase off the shelf.
For many people, glasses are something they wear from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to bed. They affect how clearly you see, how comfortable you feel, and even how you present yourself to the world. That’s why there can be a significant advantage to purchasing your eyewear from an experienced local optical store with a strong reputation and outstanding customer reviews.
Here are some important things to consider before deciding where to purchase your next pair of glasses.
Eyeglasses Aren’t One-Size-Fits-All
Two people can have similar prescriptions and still require very different eyewear.
Your prescription is only part of the equation. The size and shape of the frame, where it sits on your nose, the position of your eyes within the lenses, the distance between your pupils, and the way the temples fit around your ears can all influence comfort and vision.
An experienced optician can evaluate these details while you are actually wearing the frames.
That personal attention is difficult to duplicate when purchasing glasses from a website. Online tools may help you visualize how a frame could look, but they cannot physically examine how that frame rests on your face or make subtle adjustments to improve its fit.
The Right Frame Should Do More Than Look Good
Have you ever tried on a pair of glasses that looked great on the display but somehow didn’t look right once you put them on?
Finding the right frame is a combination of art and experience.
Face shape, skin tone, hair color, prescription, lifestyle and personality can all play a role. An experienced optician can often look at someone and immediately begin narrowing hundreds of frames down to styles that may work particularly well.
Perhaps you normally choose conservative frames, but a slightly bolder style looks fantastic on you. Maybe the trendy oversized frame you love isn’t ideal for your particular prescription. Sometimes the frame you would never have selected yourself turns out to be the one.
That type of guidance can be one of the biggest advantages of shopping locally.
Measurements Matter
Ordering eyeglasses involves more than entering the numbers from your prescription.
Proper measurements help determine where your eyes look through the lenses. This becomes especially important with certain prescriptions, lens designs and progressive lenses.
Even small differences in how a frame sits can matter.
When you’re working face-to-face with an experienced optical professional, measurements can be taken while considering the actual frame you’ve selected and how it naturally sits on your face.
That personalized process provides something very different from simply choosing a frame from a photograph and entering information into a website.
What Happens After You Get Your Glasses?
This is one of the most overlooked questions when shopping for eyewear.
What happens if your new glasses keep sliding down your nose? What if they’re uncomfortable behind your ears? What if something doesn’t seem quite right with your vision?
When you’ve purchased your eyewear from a trusted local optical store, you have somewhere – and someone – to turn to.
You can walk through the door, explain what’s happening, and have an experienced professional look at your glasses and determine what may need to be adjusted.
That ongoing relationship can be particularly valuable because glasses don’t necessarily remain perfectly adjusted forever. Frames can loosen, nose pads can need attention, and everyday use can change the way glasses sit.
Personal service doesn’t necessarily end when you pick up your glasses.
What About Costco, Sam’s Club and Other Big-Box Retailers?
Large retailers such as Costco and Sam’s Club can certainly offer convenience and competitive pricing. For some consumers, they may be perfectly reasonable places to purchase eyewear.
The question isn’t whether a big-box retailer can sell you glasses. Of course it can.
The better question is: What kind of eyewear-buying experience do you want?
A dedicated local optical practice specializes in eye care and eyewear. You aren’t simply another shopper who happens to need glasses while visiting a store that sells thousands of unrelated products.
You’re working with people whose daily focus is helping patients see clearly, finding appropriate lenses, selecting frames, achieving a comfortable fit, and solving eyewear problems.
For someone who wears glasses every day, that specialized attention can be worth a great deal.
Google Reviews Can Tell You Something Price Tags Can’t
Before choosing an optical store, spend a few minutes reading its Google reviews.
Don’t just look at the star rating. Read what people actually say.
Do customers repeatedly mention knowledgeable opticians? Do they talk about employees taking their time rather than rushing them? Do people mention coming back year after year? Are reviewers recommending the practice to friends and family?
A long history of enthusiastic reviews can provide insight into something you can’t determine by looking at a frame’s price tag: how people are treated after they walk through the door.
When hundreds – or even thousands – of people are willing to publicly describe positive experiences with a local business, that’s worth considering when deciding who you trust with something as important as your vision.
Sometimes the Cheapest Pair Isn’t the Best Value
Price matters. But price and value aren’t necessarily the same thing.
If you wear your glasses 12 or 14 hours every day, consider how much use you’ll get from them over the next year or two.
Comfort, lens quality, durability, proper fit, professional guidance and access to help when you need it all contribute to the true value of your eyewear.
Saving money initially may not feel like much of a bargain if you end up with glasses you don’t enjoy wearing.
Conversely, finding a pair that feels comfortable, provides the vision you need and makes you smile when you look in the mirror can make your glasses one of the most worthwhile things you own.
Your Glasses Are Personal. Buying Them Should Be, Too.
There’s certainly a place for online shopping and big-box retail. But when it comes to something you may wear on your face virtually every day, personal attention still matters.
At Vision World, choosing eyewear isn’t simply about taking a pair of frames off the wall. Our experienced opticians work with you to help determine what fits properly, complements your appearance, works with your prescription and reflects your individual personality.
And our patients’ fantastic Google reviews tell a story we’re extremely proud of – a story built one patient and one pair of glasses at a time.
Before you order your next pair of glasses with a click or add them to your shopping cart alongside groceries and household supplies, consider experiencing the difference that personal, local expertise can make.
Come into Vision World, try on some frames, meet our team and let us help you find the pair that feels like it was made for you.
Vision World
DRVisionWorld.com | 954-753-1100
