Prescription glasses for under $20? Thanks, China!

I've been toying with the notion of getting a pair of backup glasses online for a while, but the risk factor always pulled me back. As any glasses wearer knows, you often have to try on dozens of pairs to find one that looks good and fits right - what are the chances of picking one sight unseen and having it fit correctly? To say nothing of the many opportunities for fail in transcribing your Rx, measuring PD, choosing the right lens material, etc. etc. etc.

After hearing good word of mouth from a friend, I decided to try Zenni Optical, because unlike many online glasses sites, they actually had a frame that fit my special-needs face. My frame was $12.95, which included single-vision lenses and A/R coating, plus $4.95 shipping. That's it! I'm pretty pleased with my glasses, which came in a hard plastic case with a cleaning cloth and were less than 1/5 of the cheapest glasses I was considering from an optometrist. For this price, I'm thinking about ordering another pair with tinted lenses as spare sunglasses.

Be advised, this is not for the impatient. The website claims a two-week shipping time, but my glasses took about 3.5 weeks to get here. I wasn't in a hurry, but if you just sat on your only pair of glasses, this is not the speediest option. Also, most glasses will need a bit of adjustment just to fit your face correctly, so you'll have to go to an optometrist and sweet-talk them into doing that for you if need be. (Most are happy to do it for free, because they want you to come back, but it could be a bit awkward explaining that no, you're not their customer, but you want them to fix your cheapo made-in-China glasses free.)

I've heard that Goggles4U and Optical4Less are also good. 39DollarGlasses started it all, and they have an excellent FAQ page that will address your fears about ordering specs online, including a good page on measuring your PD (answer: have an eye doctor do it). If you're willing to put the work in and take a risk, you can save a lot of $$$ with online glasses!