
The One Product You Should Buy Online: Eyeglasses - walterbell
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-one-product-you-should-buy-online_us_598e1777e4b0ed1f464c0aac
======
trendia
Part of the reason eyeglasses are so expensive is "vision insurance", which is
not insurance at all. By definition, insurance is the spread of risk of a
high-cost, low-probability event over a large population so that no individual
has to pay a huge sum if the event occurs. For instance, eye insurance would
have a small premium that would pay out if an eye injury occured that required
very expensive medical care. However, modern "vision insurance"

1\. won't pay if you injure your eye

2\. doesn't spread any risk over a population

Instead of reducing risk, vision insurance simply spreads a known cost over a
period of time. If each customer would pay $240 / yr on eyeglasses, it allows
them to instead pay $20 / mo. That is not insurance -- that's a payment plan!

So, why does it exist and why does it increase price? Very simply, vision
insurance can be provided by a company to its employees and deducted as an
expense. This allows the employee to avoid paying personal income tax on
wages, which would happen if the $240 were provided directly to the worker.
Thus, it is cheaper for the company to provide vision insurance than to
increase wages to provide $240 in after-tax take home pay.

Because the money tied up with vision insurance can not be used for anything
_other_ than glasses (e.g. you can't cash out a vision plan and spend the
money on video games or travel), there is no incentive for the end customer to
spend less on glasses. They will want to spend as much as possible while still
remaining below the maximum budget from the plan. As a result, this distorts
the normal financial incentives in a marketplace.

As a result of the favorable tax position and lack of cost incentives, vision
insurance inflates the price of eyeglasses and exploits a de facto subsidy
from the taxpayer to the eyeglass company. This increases the profits of the
eyeglass company (owned by Luxottica) at the expense of the consumer (and to
the detriment of anyone who buys their glasses out of their own pocket)

~~~
chrisseaton
This is also why it makes absolutely not sense to expect 'health insurance' to
cover pre-existing conditions - it's not insurance if you know you already
need it when you buy it!

(I think people should be able to get good quality affordable medical care for
health conditions they already have! Just saying it doesn't make any sense to
expect literal 'insurance' to cover it.)

~~~
jdietrich
>This is also why it makes absolutely not sense to expect 'health insurance'
to cover pre-existing conditions - it's not insurance if you know you already
need it when you buy it!

Eh, not really. If I'm in remission from cancer, I'm not actually sick right
now, but I've got a pre-existing condition because the cancer might recur. If
I've got hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, I don't necessarily need any medical
treatment now, but I'm at elevated risk of developing atrial fibrillation or
suffering a stroke in the future.

The way health insurers treat "pre-existing conditions" is mostly about
improving the profitability of their risk pools rather than protecting
themselves from people who buy insurance after the fact. They use a plausible-
sounding pretext to avoid having to insure people who might actually claim on
their policy. It's one thing to exclude a specific chronic condition from
coverage, but it's quite another to refuse to insure people altogether simply
because they've had health issues in the past.

[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2009/09...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2009/09/18/AR2009091803501.html)

------
walterbell
Most near-sighted developers would benefit from single vision readers with a
focal length and PD (~3mm less than binocular distance PD) customized for the
distance of their desktop monitor, laptop or tablet. Now that a complete pair
of glasses can be obtained online for $20-$60, there is little risk in trying
"computer glasses" and seeing how your eyes feel.

Some optometrists add +1.00 to your distance prescription to obtain your
computer prescription. Some perform a separate eye test at laptop/monitor
distance. There's also a calculator here:
[http://computerglassesrx.com](http://computerglassesrx.com)

If you wear contacts for hours at the computer, you can try cheap drugstore
reading (plus) glasses over your contacts, close to the +value from above
calculator. Once you know what strength works for you, buy better quality
readers from sites like readers.com, peepers.com, etc. Or make custom ones
with your near PD and preferred frame at Zenni, EyeBuyDirect, etc.

This iOS app can help with PD measurement, remember to hold the phone at the
same distance as your laptop/monitor: PD Meter | Pupil Distance Measure by
GlassifyMe by GlassifyMe [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pd-meter-pupil-
distance-meas...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pd-meter-pupil-distance-
measure-by-glassifyme/id1041586910?mt=8)

~~~
EGreg
Are you saying that, using this app, I can get a prescription and order
glasses online with it?

And are you also saying that a lower dioptri prescription for starting a foot
away from computer monitors is more healthy than with eg full correction
contact lenses?

~~~
lobster_johnson
Every optometrist I've spoken to recommends using reading glasses (usually
around +1) when using computers or when reading, even with properly corrected
contact lenses.

Personally I use multifocal contacts (the concentric kind), which help a lot
with near vision, but I still use reading glasses.

~~~
randcraw
I've successfully used computer glasses (CG) for a couple years now (age 60,
nearsighted, for a monitor 2 feet away). Before that I tried reading glasses,
but found their focal length to be impossibly too close for computing (no more
than 12 inches).

My opthmologist came up with my CG prescription by dividing my distance
prescription in half. It works well from 18 inches out to 3 feet, or so.

------
awareBrah
Went to the opthamologist this year cause I could tell my vision was
worsening.

After all was said and done they ushered me into their eyeglasses store which
was physically connected to their office. A nice friendly man told me the
frames start at 299 and go up from there.

I said thanks man with this eye exam I can barely open my eyes so I’ll come
back.

Got two pairs of awesome glasses from Zenni for $55 total.

I’ve read this is online movement is destroying the career of optometrists.
Also the eyeglasses scam also seems to be connected to Luxottica which is a
well known sunglasses scam also. I will continue to buy from Zenni

~~~
morganvachon
A coworker once worked as a technician at a chain optometrist's office. He
swears the frames from Zenni and other online retailers are substandard and
will fall apart, but my experience has been otherwise. He gave me one of his
old frames (never worn by him beyond initial fitting) to save me money on a
visit once, they were Ralph Lauren or something like that and he claimed
retail cost was over $500 before lenses. They lasted all of six months before
they literally fell apart on my face. I found a replacement of the same model
in a different color on eBay used for $50. After cleaning them and swapping my
lenses over, I got another three months before they failed as well.

The ones I have now were $70, are more attractive, more comfortable, and so
far have lasted over a year. I did get them at the optometrist but they were
on clearance and were only a few dollars more than if I'd gotten the same ones
online at Zenni.

~~~
coldtea
> _A coworker once worked as a technician at a chain optometrist 's office. He
> swears the frames from Zenni and other online retailers are substandard and
> will fall apart, but my experience has been otherwise._

BS, the expensive and the inexpensive ones are all made with the same
techniques in the same factories across brands.

~~~
walterbell
Some expensive frames include a license fee for the designer’s brand name.
Some indie-designer expensive frames use more expensive metal, acetate,
hinges, rivets, etc. But they usually limit distribution to brick & mortar
opticians, so there’s a sizable retail markup.

------
superkuh
This is only true if your prescription is run of the mill and fairly weak.
Anything above 5 diopter off, or with barrel corrections, astigmatism, etc and
you should go to an actual optometrist.

Zenni and the like use terrible materials with bad abbe numbers leading to
chromatic abberation. They push 'thin' but what thing really means is high
refractive index and generally low abbe number. Even their 'normal' lens
material has a bad abbe number.

So, get your frames online cheap. Then take them to your actual optometrist
and get lenses made of good materials put in.

~~~
walterbell
There is _wide variation_ in the supply chain of online eyeglass retailers.

EyeBuyDirect and FramesDirect are partly-owned by the world’s largest lens
manufacturer Essilor (soon to merge with Luxottica), so their lenses are very
similar if not identical to those sold by local opticians.

I’ve bought -6 sphere -2 cylinder from EyeBuyDirect. Their default fitting
height for optical center did not work for my face size (easily verified by
moving the frame up and down to find the clearest spot). Once I had the
correct measurement, they remade the glasses which worked perfectly.

------
leggomylibro
I had trouble reading the whole article on mobile; screen-eating ads and
forced scrolling to the bottom.

But what I read just reads like a lengthy ad.

Also, "only"? I know it's HuffPo, but come on. How about electronics? Where am
I going to find a few 74-series logic chips in person? How about materials
like PTFE? None of my local plastics stores carry it.

Sorry, am I sounding like an ass? I feel like that was sort of an ass-y thing
to write. But these 'submarine' pieces really bug me.

~~~
morganvachon
> _" I had trouble reading the whole article on mobile"_

I had trouble reading it _period_. It was overflowing with superfluous flowery
prose, in other words[1], it was too wordsmith-y for its own good. It's a
HuffPost piece about the advantages of buying glasses online in 2017, it
doesn't have to sound like a tabloid magazine article from 1896 to draw in the
modern reader.

[1] It was at a point early in the article where the author felt the need to
say "in other words" and provide a dumbed down version of his previous
sentence that I decided to stop reading for my own sanity. Next time, leave
the thesaurus on the shelf please.

~~~
StavrosK
Not only that, but his "synonyms" weren't really. A nose isn't a proboscis,
and "bespectacled avoidance" isn't avoidance of wearing glasses, it's an
avoidance that _is, itself_ wearing glasses. Absurd.

------
rabboRubble
My boyfriend bought his last pair of glasses from go-optic.com, and the
experience has been a good one. First time online buy as well.

Some caveats:

* We picked the frames from a physical store first and didn't buy there. Sort of dodgy of us, but their prices were insane.

* We tried to do the pupil measurement on our own, but every time we tried, we got a different number. So he went to a optical shop to have the measurement done. The shop did it for free and we were taking advantage of the brick and mortar presence.

So yes, appears to be completely doable but I don't think we would have been
happy with the final product had we not had access to a local shop.

~~~
dorfsmay
For pupillary distance, optometrist typically do it for an extra 5$, but an
easy way to do it is to hold a ruler with clear mm marks on it beside your
head level with your eyes and have somebody take a picture, then measure the
distance with a compass.

~~~
rabboRubble
We tried this, watched all the how-to videos, etc. I just couldn't take a
reproducible measurement. We tried maybe 6-8 measurement attempts, and the
results were all different.

At this point, I gave up. Of course I was doing something wrong. Without a
repeated measurement I didn't have confidence to base an expensive purchase on
my work.

~~~
dorfsmay
Three factors play in:

\- where the subject is looking. Make sure they are looking at leat 4 or 5
meters out, not at you taking the picture! Your pupils get slightly closer and
further depending where you look

\- where the ruler is. Make sure it is at the same level as your eyes, in
terms of distance from the back/front of your head. Make sure the ruler is as
close to 90 degrees to the nose as possible, as parallel to the eyes as
possible

\- make sure the camera is as parallel to the ruler as possible

Also I find printing out one of the pic (just b&w on a regular laser printer)
can be easier to measure, as opposed to do it on a screen.

------
nickjj
Do these online places include prescription lenses in their low quotes,
because that's where the bulk of the cost is in most cases.

I picked up glasses at Costo in 2016 and the cost was $237 which included an
exam. Here's the break down:

\- $49 eye exam

\- $39 for the frames

\- $149 for the prescription lenses

\- $0 hard case and a microfiber cloth (it comes as a bonus)

I paid a premium for the lenses because they are of the light weight material
that's also scratch resistent and turn into sunglasses when exposed to UV
light. The transition lens coating alone was like $49 but since I go outside a
lot it's totally worth it.

~~~
sjburt
Yes. I recently bought frames from Zenni and paid $30 total, including an
upcharge for an oleophobic AR coating (something I have not seen available
offline).

These were 1.50 index cr-39 which is fine for my light prescription. But
higher index lenses are only a few dollars more.

~~~
nickjj
That seems incredibly cheap (in a good way). Almost too good to be true but
I'll definitely look into that for my next pair.

I can't find my receipt so I don't know my exact prescription but I know it's
single vision and I'm near sighted.

I'm not sure if I'd consider my prescription light, but I was eligible for the
super thin lenses if that says anything.

~~~
jonknee
On the other hand, it's just a piece of plastic machined in an automated
process. Exactly the type of thing that has become nearly free in the modern
age.

~~~
walterbell
_> become nearly free in the modern age_

.. and/or insanely profitable if you can vertically consolidate the supply
chain and exclude/delay competitors from your closed ecosystem, e.g. Apple and
Luxottica.

------
CalChris
Similar to buying eyeglasses online is buying lenses online. If you like
nerding out on materials and optics, this can be kind've interesting.

First, get familiar with your lens choices.

    
    
      Drivers
      Readers
    
      Single Vision
      Progressives
      Bifocals
    
      Clear
      Tinted
      Transitions
    
      Materials
        Trivex (I'm a big fan of Trivex).
        Polycarbonate
        Your prescription must fit in the material's range
    

[http://www.eyeglasslensdirect.com/](http://www.eyeglasslensdirect.com/)

I have Trivex single vision readers and tinted Trivex single vision drivers.
I'm near sighted and I told my optometrist to give me a reader prescription
set for laptop distance. I've also settled on a frame, Flexon 623.

I imagine I could spend a ton on personalized prescriptions but my normal
prescription is insanely good. I'm lucky. Personalized prescriptions (free
form, ...) are great for people with difficult prescriptions but unnecessary
for the common case.

~~~
walterbell
Trivex is great and 1.60 is a close second in trade-off between optical
quality, thinness and impact resistance. For lenses stronger than -5 diopters,
a smaller frame eye width (< 45mm) will minimize lens edge thickness,
[http://www.youngeroptics.com/pdf/trilogy/Trilogy_Monograph.p...](http://www.youngeroptics.com/pdf/trilogy/Trilogy_Monograph.pdf)

Zenni (China lab) has Trivex lenses for $20/pair.

------
ErrantX
I dont buy the theory that Optometery is such an expensive profession.
Opticians here in the UK do well (definitely in the richer cohort of society)
and you can get two pairs of glasses for under £100. In fact some of the
bigger chains offer free tests and two pairs for £69.

None of this is NHS subsidised as far as I know (you can get free glasses on
the NHS but it only applies to children and adults with certain medical
conditions or low income).

------
j7ake
I find buying glasses online less convenient than going to the brick and
mortar shop. I need to see an optometrist anyways so while I am there I can
try on glasses I like and buy everything on the spot.

I buy glasses once every 3 years to update prescription. The extra cost
therefore is approximately 50 bucks a year (assuming I pay 300 at shop versus
50 online).

If I need an extra pair (which I have not needed) then I can consider buying
online.

------
keyboardhitter
Personally I like buying my glasses in real life from higher end stores
because the stores offered me years of free repairs and adjustments on-demand,
and even given discounts on recurring appointments and purchases.

I used to only buy glasses from wal-mart or other cheap alternatives and went
through 2-3 pairs a year (I am clumsy and my lenses are thick, a tough
combination for durability). Customer service aside, I found the larger
pricetag has had a huge psychological impact on me not being negligent to the
item... funny how that changes if i perceive something as 'disposable'. I'm
not proud of that fact, or of the prices I've paid in the last 8 years; but
I've only had two pairs of glasses in that time -- a huge improvement from
when I was a child/teen. In fact, the last pair I owned are still intact but I
simply wanted a new design.

I will probably give online glasses shopping another time when this current
pair is exhausted. Which could be a while, and i anticipate huge advancement
in visualization capability by then!

~~~
dboreham
Costco has cheapness and customer service.

~~~
keyboardhitter
I've never been to Costco. I didn't realize they had eyewear. I'll make sure
to remember that when/if I revisit membership consideration(usually the cost
of membership isn't worth it for me as a single person with no kids or family
to support).

------
pingec
I don't wear glasses but I can recommend this store
[https://www.aliexpress.com/store/201163](https://www.aliexpress.com/store/201163)

Have ordered a few pairs for family and they are all happy with them. I didn't
tell them how cheap they were though.

~~~
Freak_NL
> I didn't tell them how cheap they were though.

They know. If they were to charge more another Chinese competitor would step
in, and customers would be less likely to give them a try because of the risk
that is part of the AliExpress experience. It's just how the AliExpress
economy works.

~~~
wikibob
He means didn’t tell the family and friends that they were cheap, not the
shop. :)

------
danso
I don’t know if there are options on this but when I bought a couple of $99
pairs from Warby Parker, the frames were fine but the lenses were of
substantially lower quality. I’m talking about how only the middle area of the
lens is clear, whereas what seems like 70% of the remaining area is
suboptimal.

~~~
walterbell
High minus sphere or non-zero cylinder? Polycarbonate lens?

~~~
danso
Are those options for Warby Parker? Or do you mean are those options I
purchased for my optometrist-bought lenses? I probably spent $200 on lenses
alone so no doubt they’re better than what Warby Parker provides. It’s just
that WP doesn’t seem to have other options besides standard and progressive.
And the standard WB lenses give me a headache after awhile so the price
savings is marginal for me.

FWIW I’m also super nearsighted so I might be an edge case

~~~
walterbell
If you have a strong prescription (first number = sphere, second number =
cylinder), then all lenses (except expensive freeform lenses) will be
distorted away from the optical center, see slide #21 onwards:
[http://idaho.aoa.org/Documents/ID/CongressPara2013/Customize...](http://idaho.aoa.org/Documents/ID/CongressPara2013/Customized-
single-vision-ABO.pdf)

If the WP lenses give you a headache, most likely the PD or fitting height
(vertical location of optical center) is wrong, so you are looking through the
distorted part of the lens. Even a few mm offset can cause this. Have you
tried moving the frames up/down and side-to-side to see if the vision gets
clearer when looking at distant text? Do this with each eye separately, then
both eyes together.

Take the WP frame to a local optican and pay them a few bucks to tell you (a)
the actual fitting height on the WP lens, (b) the correct fitting height
(pupil location) for that frame on your face. Then email WP and ask them to
remake the glasses with the correct fitting height. If they won't do that, try
EyeBuyDirect, who will.

~~~
danso
Yeah I’m sure the WP frames have lost a bit of their fit, even if I had fitted
them properly to begin with. I guess my main complaint was that my traditional
(again, admittedly more expensive) pair has much less distortion from the
center. In fact, I hardly see any from when the glasses are offset to any
reasonable degree. The WP lenses have noticeable distortion in a much larger
area.

I think the value tradeoff — $95 vs $300+ - is probably right. To be sure, I
like the WP service, just wished there were ways to get better quality lenses
even if it meant $100 more, though that would probably dilute the service for
its core user base

~~~
walterbell
Interesting that there's such a big difference. Do you know the
make/model/material of your traditional lens, and whether they were freeform?
If so, $200 is a good price. If not, would be good to know which non-digital
lenses have low distortion with high prescriptions.

One of the highest quality (freeform) single vision lenses is Zeiss
Individual. Costs about $300 online and $500+ offline, without frames. Very
beneficial to high prescriptions.

I've not used Warby Parker so can't comment on their distortion level for high
prescriptions. Did compare 39dollarglasses and Eyebuydirect, there was much
more distortion with 39DG. Both provide 100% refund, no questions asked.

Essilor Eyezen lenses are digtially surfaced (low distortion), but have a
small plus segment at the bottom of the lens, like a mini-progressive. They
are available from EyeBuyDirect for about $100.

------
kolbe
Aside from the glaringly false assertion that they are the _one_ thing you
should buy online, I'm not even sold on the idea that they're an item that you
should buy online.

Call me a snob or whatever, but I like two things: high quality and local.
Some optometrists in Chicago are among the few remaining locally owned and
operated businesses. And there are several here who put an emphasis on selling
hand-crafted Japanese frames. As a local business, they're also up for
negotiations, so I was able to get some truly great non-Luxottica frames from
cool people in my own community for about a 20% premium over a cheaper online
alternative.

~~~
walterbell
Sounds like a great local business, care to share the name? In my city, the
cheapest lenses from a reputable optician (in Chinatown) are priced 300% more
than online, but are ready in a few days vs few weeks for online.

Some independent boutiques are priced for a high-end market segment who don’t
have insurance that mandates Luxottica frames or specific lenses. Such
independents don’t compete with Costco, Walmart, Lenscrafters or online
pricing.

~~~
kolbe
These were both good options near me. To your point, I know that you cannot
walk out of any of these boutiques for anything less than $150 a frame, but
they also try to only sell the hand made german/japanese frames, which cost a
lot everywhere, as you might imagine.

[http://www.labrabbit.com/](http://www.labrabbit.com/)

[http://dvoptical.com/](http://dvoptical.com/)

------
nunez
100%. Eyewear is one of the biggest rackets on Earth next to furniture,
clothing and (most) luxury autos. Build a frame for $2, slap a Gucci logo on
it, sell it through eye centers _that you own_ for $700, then sell an
“insurance plan” _that you own_ to “reduce” that price to $450 or so.

Meanwhile, that same pair can be had on Amazon for $160 or for $60 (with
lenses!) for a similarly-constructed set of frames on Zenni or Coastal.

I’ve been advocating HARD for people to ditch their optos and buy glasses
through Zenni. People get blown away when I tell them how cheap their glasses
are!

Source: family works for a major optical manufacurer

------
brandonmenc
It's great that there are now cheap, online options for glasses.

However, I'm getting sick of friends who got their glasses from Warby Parker
telling me that I'm a fool for buying frames from Luxottica-owned Oliver
Peoples.

Some of us are willing to pay the extra money for "just a piece of plastic
with a name slapped on" because we can tell the difference - it _is_ possible
for designer frames to be subtly more attractive or constructed a bit better.

But again, that said, if you don't care or can't afford it, the cheaper
options are great, and I wish they had been available when I was younger.

~~~
walterbell
Oliver Peoples, like Oakley and Ray-Ban, was a Luxottica acquisition that was
once independently successful, so it’s more than a clothing fashion label
attached to a generic frame. However, like many big company acquisitions, the
best and brightest talent leave to start a new company and the parent company
has its own approach to supply chain management.

 _Barton Perreira_ and _Salt Optics_ are independent lines from California,
with some roots in Oliver Peoples.

Prodesign is an independent line from Denmark. A few of their models have
features like screwless hinges and flexible frames that cost two to three
times more from designers like Mykita. Modo from NYC is also a solid mid-range
independent line, frames made in Japan.

------
Havoc
Weird. That's one of the products I'd rather buy from a proper optician.

Hell I bought my non-prescription shades from an optician. Not interested in
name brands but I do like a solid product

------
giardini
I've bought reading glasses (the only ones I need) from the 99-cent store for
years now. There's some QC variation, so I always test each pair on some
reading material before buying.

Certainly custom-fitted glasses _can_ be excellent, but I've had less trouble
with the dollar store glasses, all in all, than with my former $300 custom-
fitted ones. And I don't worry if they're misplaced, since I always have
several spares cached around the apartment.

------
apostacy
I've had some bad experiences with Eye Buy Direct.

But the thing that really scared me was that after a few months of wearing
their glasses, my vision would start to go blurry for a few seconds at a time,
and I would feel intense tingling in my eyes.

My eye doctor told me that the glasses were putting excess strain on my eyes,
and I was glad I did not have any diseases.

At least for my prescription, I do need a more exact fitting.

~~~
walterbell
Many eye doctors (not opticians!) will be glad to verify the accuracy of your
glasses. For first time online purchases, ask your doctor to verify, tell you
exactly what (if anything) is not correct, then request a free re-make with
the correct fitting parameters.

If you have access to a skilled, craftsman local optician and can financially
afford to support them with local purchases, please do so. Such opticians are
rare and valuable, if only to have a reference point when comparing cheaper
providers. Consumers will benefit by rejecting low-quality glasses both
offline and online. We need quantitative quality tests for new glasses,
regardless of origin, instead of waiting weeks or months to check for possible
side effects.

If you are rolling the dice at a chain store, learn how to do your own
fitting. It takes a few hours and will serve you for a lifetime of glasses.

------
moonka
Last time I priced out Eyeglasses from Zenni, Warby Parker etc, they came out
to be within a percent or so of Costco. It took a bit to figure out all the
measurements so I was comparing like for like (thickness of lense, etc), and I
do have a strong prescription so YMMV.

------
allengeorge
I buy mine from Warby Parker. I don't get rock-bottom prices, but the frames I
got were good quality, their in-store experience is great, and they've good
customer service.

Plus, I can try before I buy...which I value a lot (I don't want to guess at
how glasses fit/look)

------
mark-r
My last few eyeglasses have come from Walmart. They know how to avoid the
monopolist's prices, ironically. I got a pair of their cheapest frames, which
were the ones I would have wanted anyway, with basic plastic lenses and no
coatings. Total price I believe was $30.

------
Tempest1981
Any issues with the optical center position, or pupillary distance, when
ordering online?

I had a new pair of glasses (for distance), and was struggling to focus
quickly (vs old glasses). The issue was the optical center, which was 3mm too
high. Wearing them lower was the short-term fix.

~~~
walterbell
If you know how to measure the vertical offset (fitting height / segment
height) of the optical center from the bottom of the lens edge, or can get
someone to measure that for you, EyeBuyDirect (and probably other sites that
have remake policies) will exchange a new pair with your custom height. You
need the first pair to try on frame and do the measurement. For subsequent
orders of the same frame, you can specify fitting height in “Special
Instructions” for your prescription.

If self-measuring with a mirror, ensure the temples and nose pads have been
fully adjusted _before_ taking the pupil location measurement.

------
gregpilling
quote from the article: "Even using precise measurements, which we’ll get to
in a second, your new virtually-bought glasses can turn out to be
uncomfortably tight, annoyingly loose or simply ill-fitting, regardless of the
stated measurements"

Which was my experience. Apparently I have an extra wide head, so even the
widest frames didn't fit right. Since I only need the glasses for seeing
details, it is not that big of a problem, but I spent a lot of time measuring
my head and eyes to get a bad result.

Maybe Apple will build a 3D head modeling software into the IphoneX and
revolutionize glasses! a new app idea!

In the meantime, I just increased font size on my monitor!

~~~
walterbell
The best way to determine fit is with a physical frame as a starting point.
Even 1mm can make a difference. If you don't want to visit a local store to
try on frames, you can buy cheap (non-stylish) frames on eBay for less than
$10. Once you find a few frames that fit, use those _frame measurements_ as
search criteria. Frame eye width + bridge width should be ~= PD, otherwise
lens will not be centered and one lens edge will be thicker than the other.

Warby Parker has physical stores where you can try on frames and they are
happy for you to purchase from them online. They have an app that uses the
iPhone X to measure your head, but Apple limits the camera depth resolution,
so it's not much more useful than sending a photo to a good optician.

When you said the widest frames "did not fit right" and you got "a bad
result", what exactly do you mean: poor vision from the glasses, slid down
your nose, temples too tight/short/long, did not look good? With the current
trend in oversized glasses, there are more wide frames available than narrow
ones. Online frame sizes can be confusing because of "base curves", so two
frames that say 55-20-140 can have different widths. EyeBuyDirect and Zenni
(and likely others) provide actual frame widths, although these are sometimes
off by a few mm. Frames with nose pads are easier to adjust.

------
corecoder
> No matter how fashionable – or not – we consider ourselves, we all try to
> avoid wearing the same outfit every day.

It's not so frequent that an article loses me at the first sentence.

------
d0100
I bought some at eyebuydirect, not high in quality, but pretty cheap.
Especially for sunglasses for the beach, etc.

------
bambax
> _No matter how fashionable – or not – we consider ourselves, we all try to
> avoid wearing the same outfit every day. We regularly change our shirts, our
> pants, our suits, our jackets, our shoes, our hats, even our belts._

What an introduction!?! Is this true?

I wear the exact same outfit every day. I own one belt, one coat, and zero
hat. I have a small selection of shoes but they all serve a different purpose.
It would be extremely difficult for me to wear a different outfit every month,
let alone _every day_.

~~~
webkike
Yes, most people deliberately avoid wearing the same outfit twice in a short
period of time. Motivation may very, my reasoning is I don't want people to
think I don't do laundry often

~~~
mantas
But it's the opposite. Since I have just a couple sets of outfits, I have to
do laundry often. If I'd have shitload of clothes, I might get away with doing
laundry once a month.

