Eyeglasses - where do you go for great selection?

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

My prescription sunglasses broke, so it's time to get the new glasses that I've been putting off and a new pair of regular frames too. I usually go to Lenscrafters, but was thinking of looking around a little. For those of you who wear glasses, where have you found the best selection and most helpful sales folks? Any recommendations in Cambridge/Somerville would be great, a little further afield is fine too. Thanks!

Comments

[nathanjw]

Most recently I used Parelli Optical in Porter Square (upstairs from Anna's), and it was fine.

You might consider the online-offshore options, which are crazy cheap; I recently got a pair of prescription sunglasses for $20 with shipping from Zenni Optical, and I have friends who have done well with Optical 4 Less. I'm not quite ready to trust my primary glasses to them, but it's cheap enough that I'm willing to go through a few secondary pairs.

[findingthegirl.livejournal.com]

I love Zenni Optical. I've gotten 3 pairs of glasses from them for under forty dollars total. The quality isn't amazing, but it's definitely adequate and none of mine have ever broken or even had a screw loose. Plus they have a lot of nifty frames.

[lissie930.livejournal.com]

Second this!!! I think the quality of the glasses is actually fine (at least, the two pairs I got are fine) though the clips are bit flimsy...but hey, they were $4.95!!

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

Funny this subject has come up - I lost a pair of glasses (don't ask) and was sick about hte thought of paying up to $400 for a replacement pair.. I looked up Zenni and am about to place an order tonight (just want to check my PD a couple more times). I'm really glad to hear that you had a good experience with this. There seems to be a bit of an online forum-cult of people who buy a lot of glasses online.

Maybe you can answer this for me, where in the area do you take your online glasses to have them adjusted when you receive them?

[nathanjw]

So far I haven't needed them adjusted, so I haven't faced up to this. It's definitely a tricky question, since that's usually a service that shops provide for free along with selling glasses, or being likely to sell you more in the future. Maybe they'll appreciate the opportunity to tell you how crappy the glasses are and that you shouldn't go online next time; maybe offering to pay for the service would make sense - car mechanics don't usually have an interest in selling me cars, after all.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I was figuring I'd hit a nearby lenscrafters or similar and just tell them I got them at another location, if i need them adjusted.

[ceo]

Pretty much any optical shop will do that for free.

[in-parentheses.livejournal.com]

I had the best experience with 241 Optical (http://www.241optical.com/) in Harvard. Great selection of beautiful glasses, but they really shine in customer service. They have good taste and are helpful without hovering. When I took a chance on a pair of sunglasses I wasn't sure I'd like and they turned out to be too small for me, the nice folks at 241 switched them for free!

[latvianchick.livejournal.com]

Eye Q Optical in Harvard Square is fabulous. Best sales staff I've ever dealt with and the selection is good.

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

I agree wholeheartedly: Eye Q has amazing stuff. And some of it can't be found anywhere else.

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recommendation! I wound up going to EyeQ and they were awesome.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

Oh, to reply to the OP's point: I highly highly recommend Central Square Eye Care, the optometrist, frame saleswoman and the receptionist that i dealt with were all consumate professionals. I must say their hardware was a bit pricey though. They do take vision insurance too.

[rozasharn.livejournal.com]

I liked Custom Eye in Central Square. They have very good customer service, they can test eyesight, and they ground lenses to my extremely weird prescription without a blink.

[davelew.livejournal.com]

I've had some great prescriptions from Parelli optical in Porter Square, including the most in-depth eye exams I've received. I have differences in color perception in my two eyes, and they have no problems tinting my two lenses slightly differently (one a little green, one a little red).

With that said, Parelli lenses are expensive, and they are annoying when you try to take the results of their excellent exams to buy glasses somewhere with reasonable prices (they "forgot" to sign the prescription, then they "accidentally" had someone with the wrong license sign the prescription, that sort of thing).

[librarybrandy.livejournal.com]

Parelli is a little expensive, but their staff has always been really helpful. They were great in helping me pick out new frames and finding some that would (a) fit my child-sized head but (b) not have Ronald McDonald or something similarly kid-ish on them, and they really listened when I explained what kind of style I was looking for and what price range.

They were also pretty great about getting me in immediately, and then for a follow-up a week later, when I scratched my cornea a couple of years ago.

[artguychris.livejournal.com]

Another thumbs up for Zenni.
I also used eyebuydirect.com & was happy with the purchase.

They're like 10% of what you pay an optician, so you can afford to make a few mistakes!

All the online places give detailed measurements of the frames. I suggest measuring your existing glasses to get an idea of how the new ones would compare. If the temple length isn't close, they'll need adjusting.

[elements.livejournal.com]

I got my current glasses at Saragas, right in Davis Square. I constantly get compliments on them - they're funky & unique but not overwhelming, and I didn't find anything remotely as cool at the fancier spots in Harvard Square.

I also anti-recommend the Harvard Square Optical place on Dunster St. When I went there, I straight up told the guy I was expecting to be laid off soon and wasn't looking to spend a ton, and asked how much their glasses tend to run. He said $500-600, which was more than I'd been prepared to spend, but they did have some nice frames so I spent a while trying them on. It was only when I thought I'd found the right pair and he took my prescription and started adding up costs that it turned out that price was JUST the frames and the total cost of the glasses would be over $1,000! When I said there was no way I was paying that much, he tried to convince me that I needed the designer glasses he wanted to sell me in order to look professional for interviews, and that I wasn't going to get quality glasses for less elsewhere. Bullshit. I later found the same frames online for around $200.

In contrast, I got my unique, designer frames at Saragas, plus my medium-level prescription lenses and a non-glare non-scratch coating, for $417 (with about $200 being the frames).

I also had a very good experience at See in Harvard Square, and if I hadn't found the perfect frames at Saragas would have gone back for my top choice there.

Lastly, the Harvard Vanguard optical shop in Davis has a small selection, but reasonable prices, and discounts depending on your health insurance sometimes even if you don't have vision coverage.