Buying glasses online works well when you have the right numbers in front of
you. Most of the trouble people run into comes from missing one small thing, like
a pupillary distance nobody wrote down, or a prescription that expired last
spring. Here is the whole process, in the order you actually need it.
1. Get a current prescription, and get your copy
You need a valid prescription from an eye exam. Most are good for one to two
years depending on your state and your doctor.
Your eye doctor has to give you a copy after your exam, whether or not you buy
glasses from them. You do not have to ask for it, and you do not have to pay
extra for it. If you want the detail, we wrote about
what
the FTC rule means for you.
If yours has run out, you can
book an exam at our Dallas,
Georgia office. An eye exam is $99.99. A contact lens
exam is $139.99 and includes the fitting, which is a separate
charge at a lot of places.
2. Learn what the numbers mean
A prescription looks cryptic until someone tells you what the columns are.
- OD is your right eye. OS is your left. Some
offices write RE and LE instead. - SPH (sphere) is the main correction. A minus number means
you are nearsighted, a plus number means farsighted. - CYL and AXIS appear together and correct
astigmatism. If one is filled in, the other will be too. - ADD is extra magnification for reading, and it is what makes
a lens a progressive or a bifocal. - PRISM and BASE are less common. If you have
them, say so before ordering.
| SPH | CYL | AXIS | ADD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OD (right) | -2.00 | -0.75 | 180 | +2.00 |
| OS (left) | -1.75 | -0.50 | 175 | +2.00 |
Ours is a short walkthrough with an example:
how to
read your eyeglass prescription.
3. Find your PD
Pupillary distance is the gap between the centers of your pupils in
millimeters, and it decides where the optical center of each lens sits. It is the
one measurement that is often missing from a written prescription, because the
office keeps it for their own lab.
You can measure your PD with
your webcam in about a minute. It runs in your browser and no image is sent
anywhere. A typical adult PD falls between 54 and 74mm.
4. Choose a frame that actually fits
Fit matters more than style, because a frame that slides down your nose will
annoy you every day no matter how good it looks.
Check the numbers printed inside the temple arm of a pair you already own.
They read something like 52-18-140: lens width, bridge width and
temple length, all in millimeters. Staying close to those is the fastest way to
get a comfortable fit from a photo.
After that it is preference. Virtual
try-on lets you see a frame on your own face before you commit, and there are
over a thousand frames to go through on
the shop page.
5. Pick your lenses
Single vision lenses correct one distance, near or far. Progressives handle
both in one lens with no visible line, and they are what you want if your
prescription has an ADD value. Readers are single vision lenses set for close
work only.
Every pair we make includes anti-reflective coating at no extra charge, which
cuts glare from headlights and screens and makes your eyes visible in photos
rather than hidden behind two white rectangles.
If your prescription is strong, thinner high-index material keeps the lens
from sitting heavy in the frame. That is worth a conversation rather than a
checkbox, and you can ask us
before you order.
6. Check the total, and the return policy, before you pay
Shipping is free on orders over $59.99, and returns are open for 30 days.
Knowing the return window matters more online than in a shop, because you cannot
try the finished pair on before it is made.
7. If you already love your frame, keep it
You do not have to buy a new frame to get new lenses. Send us the frame you
own and we will put your current prescription in it through
Lenses Only. It is
the cheapest way to update an old pair, and it saves a frame you have already
broken in.
8. When you should come in instead
Online is the wrong answer in a few cases. Come see us if your prescription
includes prism, if it is unusually strong, if you are buying for a child who
cannot tell you when something feels wrong, or if you have tried progressives
before and disliked them. Those are all easier to get right with someone
measuring in person.
We are at 8876 Dallas Acworth Hwy in Dallas, Georgia, open Monday to Friday
from 10 to 6 and Saturday from 10 to 2. Walk-ins are welcome.
9. When the glasses arrive
Put them on and look straight ahead. The optical centers should sit level with
your pupils, and the frame should rest on your ears and nose without pinching.
New progressives take a few days to adapt to, so wear them steadily rather than
switching back and forth with an old pair.
If something feels off, bring them in. Adjustments are free, they take a few
minutes, and a frame that fits properly is the difference between glasses you
wear and glasses you leave in a drawer.