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Where to buy eyeglasses

There are mainly four steps involved in the purchase of prescription eyeglasses: check personal insurance, evaluate sources, and compare prices and factor in rebates. The other three steps are closely linked with the source that is selected. There are some people asking "where to buy Sarah Palin like eyeglasses", "where to buy eyeglass frames or temples" and "where to buy the most stylish eyeglasses". This article lists four major sources providing eyewear products and their upside and downside respectively.

Eye care practitioners
  • 1.Eye care practitioners include opticians, ophthalmologists and optometrists. Only the latter two roles are allowed by U.S. laws to write patients' prescriptions after carrying out a comprehensive eye examination. This is to say that all eyesight impaired patients can receive eye exams and get prescriptions from eye care practitioners. Of course, this source also provides related eyewear products according to patients' prescriptions.
  • 2.The upside: getting lens-fitting service face-to-face from an eye care practitioner is the best guarantee of precise vision correction. This professional service helps these practitioners attract lots of customers concentrating on vision health. In addition, eye care practitioners always provide bundled packages like a case or cloth.
  • 3.The downside: as many customers think, eyeglasses sold by eye care practitioners are usually more expensive and inconvenient. The first shortcoming is caused partially by the staff expense and rental fee. The second point is because most practitioners do not offer convenient hours.
Optical chains
  • 1.With a valid prescription, vision impaired patients are allowed to get Rx eyewear from any of the optical chains like Lenscrafters and Pearle Vision. In some cases, these stores also keep their own optometrists who can provide eye exams and prescribe eyeglasses.
  • 2.The upside: buying eyeglasses from a chain store is generally more convenient than an eye care practitioner, because there are always many branches across the city. Since a chain store typically stores many eyewear items, it is more likely to offer competitive prices. This source also offers in-person service similarly to eye care practitioners.
  • 3.The downside: customers usually have to wait for several days for the opticians to get the glasses ready. And then make a second visit to the store. Optical chains usually host many customers and sometimes a wait is needed.
Mass merchandisers

Some customers may have not imagined that mass merchandisers like Sears and Target also maintain optical departments. Generally speaking, the advantages and disadvantages of this source are nearly the same as that of optical chains. In typical, these departments are owned or leased by major optical chains.

Online sellers
  • 1.This is a significantly different source offering nearly all possible eyewear models. Large eyewear stores over the Internet like Framesdirect.com and Firmoo.com keep a wide range of products in various materials, colors and styles. In recent years, this source is gaining more and more acceptance.
  • 2.The upside: convenience and competitive prices are the most significant benefits customers can get from buying eyewear online. All online stores allow people to make an order 24/7. Customers can compare prices with little effort.
  • 3.The downside: many people are still concerned about the safety of online purchasing. Prescription eyeglasses are closely linked with eye health and no risk is tolerable. Selecting a renowned retailer is the right way to minimize potential risks.