Comparison of Online Glasses Retailers

Background: Patients today have many options to purchase eyewear. Online
purchasing of eyewear has gained a reputation of offering convenience, fast delivery,
and low prices, yet has been plagued by poor quality and inaccurate optics.
Methods: This project will assess prescription eyewear ordered through online
retailers on three criteria; cost, quality and ease of ordering. We will order a total of
twenty pairs of single vision eyewear; two pairs from ten different online vendors. We
will evaluate the cost of the eyewear based upon the advertised base price verses the
actual price as ordered. The quality of the product will be measured by adherence to
national standards, overall accuracy of the options ordered, bench alignment of the
eyewear once received, speed of delivery, quality of frames and care items for the
eyewear (i.e. case, cleaner, microfiber cloth, etc.). The ease of order will be measured
by investigating the number of options offered, the method of obtaining critical lens
measurements and the ability to bill vision insurance.
Results: Overall, glasses ordered from online retailers were mostly within
American National Standard Institute (ANSI) tolerances and would be useable by the
general public.
Conclusion: Online eyewear retailers offer many of the same features of
traditional private offices and can carry a larger and more affordable array of frames.